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KLR stuck in Hollister

S

Socalsvr

New member
Joined
Jul 7, 2019
Location
San Diego, CA
Moto(s)
SV650, KLR650, CB350, CB360
A buddy of mine is on the road, stuck in Hollister, heading back to SD and his clutch cable broke. Any shops that make them custom on the fly up that way? Anyone with a spare first gen KLR clutch cable? Trying to get him back on the road without waiting four days with one on order....

Thanks in advance from SoCal,
Gregg
 
Just a last ditch idea to help get him to a shop, any shoe/boot laces on hand that can use to to route and tie a knot to use as a bandaid?
 
maidenfan84 said:
Just a last ditch idea to help get him to a shop, any shoe/boot laces on hand that can use to to route and tie a knot to use as a bandaid?
Click to expand...

Are you suggesting a shoelace can be used as a clutch cable in an emergency by feeding it through the cable housing and tying it to the clutch lever and the clutch actuating arm? Have you done this? I'm highly skeptical it would work.
 
Hit up Faultline Powersports in Hollister (831) 637-8550 they may have a cable that fits.
 
Probably not helpful but I have a spare new OEM KLR clutch cable for the latest gen KLrs. Located in SF. PM if interested
 
Overnight shipping is cheap from RockymountainATVMC.

How about not stopping? Use the starter to get it moving, clutchless shift, and jam home.
 
madsen203 said:
Overnight shipping is cheap from RockymountainATVMC.

How about not stopping? Use the starter to get it moving, clutchless shift, and jam home.
Click to expand...

My buddies clutch cable broke on his XL600 comimg home from the Sierra. He limped it into Madera and we found a cable that worked for his bike just to get us home.

In this case Hollister to San Diego would be prett crazy.

OP let us know how it goes. I live near Hollister and ride with 5 guys that have KLRs. Slim chance but I'm gonna ask around
 
madsen203 said:
Overnight shipping is cheap from RockymountainATVMC.

How about not stopping? Use the starter to get it moving, clutchless shift, and jam home.
Click to expand...

Yep, this works pretty well an is easy enough on a long highway burn. Clutch cables are also somewhat similar among bikes, good chance something from another bike could be made to work.
 
Hollister to San Diego without shifting is HARD to accomplish. Traffic, gas stops etc.

Digging around right now to see if the second gen cable would work.
 
clutch cable on my pre-gen KLR broke a south of Alice's recently ...

it was anarchic right-on-reds, u-turns, three-rights-make-a-left and look-out-here-I-come-sidewalks through South of Market to get it home ... total pita, but sorta do-able ... certainly nothing I ever want to have to try to do again ... :laughing

got pretty good at getting going from a stall using the starter and second gear. trick is to have a bit of downhill ... :ride

had to do it once with a '95 DR350 from Laguna Seca to SF ... on that bike you could attach a small vice-grip to the clutch arm at the bottom of the cable and work the clutch with the back of your calf ... that trick won't work with a pre-gen KLR ... :blah:rolleyes

to OP: have my extra pre-gen KLR clutch cable here in San Francisco. would guess Faultline is your friend's best bet in Hollister ... :dunno

the popped-cluch-cable is a bit of a KLR guy right of passage ... I'd be tempted to head south from Hollister toward an open dealer I'd called first and made sure had the cable ... they can get them basically overnight from Motion Pro ...
had to do that with an aftermarket place in Sonora, once ... :facepalm

anyway, imagine your friend is sorted by now ... :thumbup
 
Last edited:
madsen203 said:
How about not stopping? Use the starter to get it moving, clutchless shift, and jam home.
Click to expand...
Have you ever tried that for a long distance?
  • Did it the first time on my first motorcycle - half a mile.
  • Did it on a Ducati ST2 from Monterey to Pleasanton - Hydraulic clutches can fail too.
  • Did it during rush hour from Santa Clara to Pleasanton on my XR650L.
The only real issue is when you absolutely have to stop, it's tough to get going again. I hate to think of trying to start my XR650L in first gear to get going, since the starter has a hard enough time just getting the high compression piston past the first compression stroke. Don't know how that would go with a KLR.

So I have a spare clutch cable on my bike for the next time it happens. I actually had one with me the last time it happened, but didn't want to spend 20 minutes on the side of the road installing it. It was worth it to get home clutchless to be able to use my full set of tools for the cable installation.

I hope the KLR rider is able to find something that will work.
 
When I was young enough, I would start the bike in neutral, push it for all I was worth, the click it into gear while mounting via the footpeg. We called this a Roy Rogers start, like the moving mount in the cowboy movies.:laughing
 
SFMCjohn said:
clutch cable on my pre-gen KLR broke a south of Alice's recently ...

it was anarchic right-on-reds, u-turns, three-rights-make-a-left and look-out-here-I-come-sidewalks through South of Market to get it home ... total pita, but sorta do-able ... certainly nothing I ever want to have to try to do again ... :laughing

got pretty good at getting going from a stall using the starter and second gear. trick is to have a bit of downhill ... :ride
Click to expand...

This happened on my old Pre-Gen KLR a few weeks ago with it's new owner just north of Alices! That's a trip...

bobl said:
When I was young enough, I would start the bike in neutral, push it for all I was worth, the click it into gear while mounting via the footpeg. We called this a Roy Rogers start, like the moving mount in the cowboy movies.:laughing
Click to expand...


Yep, Had to do this on my CB750 to get home during rush hour across town once... Timing the stops is key..

I never thought of hitting the starter to get it rolling... Pro Trip for sure!
 
bobl said:
When I was young enough, I would start the bike in neutral, push it for all I was worth, the click it into gear while mounting via the footpeg. We called this a Roy Rogers start, like the moving mount in the cowboy movies.:laughing
Click to expand...

When I was very young and very poor and my starter was dead I jump started my bike this way for months. Cold mornings were a bitch and it often took several tries up and down the driveway to get the EX500 going. Some mornings I'd have to wake my wife up at 4am to drive me in because it just was too cold that morning. Ah....the good old days....LOL.

I also was able to get home with a broken clutch cable on the EX500 lucky we lived in the boonies at the time.
 
I had a clutch cable fraying on my DR650 on one ride good thing I noticed it before it broke and booked it home from Pismo. What your buddy needs to do is keep a spare clutch cable zip tied next to the clutch cable and if the clutch cable breaks you got a spare that's easily available. That reminds me I wonder if I did that to my KLR...
 
Yes, I've done it with a lace. Was it fun? No.did it get me home at least? Yes. Rigged as hell, but it worked.

Anyway, hope everything got figured out and back on the road safely
 
This is why I carry that baling wire in my kit. A lot better than a boot lace.
 
Yeah, I'm still not buying the *boot lace* story.
Sorry.:rolleyes
 
No need to buy it. Wasn't trying to sell it. Different strokes for different folks. As long as we get home from whatever problem arose, that's all that matters.
 
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