Hello. Can anyone help me with the correct clutch cable routing on my 1962 registered A50? The bike is completely standard. I am replacing a life expired home made cable and ordered part number 68-8500 as shown in the parts book for 1963. This was superseded and the cable received is part number 68-8593. The new cable inner length is 56" and seems to be about 8 or 9 inches too long. I just cannot seem to come up with a sensible routing to loose this extra length.
The frame number is A50 5090 and engine number A50 1457. Is there any way that I can confirm date of manufacture?
Thanks
This service bulletin and magazine article may help explain.
Thanks for that Julian, that's great.
I'm still struggling to lose the extra length of the new cable. Does anyone have a photo or illustration of the area around the fork yoke top cover that shows where the brake and clutch cables are supposed to route? If the cables are supposed to route along the handlebar and under this top cover to get to the frame down tube then the cover on my bike has been shaped incorrectly as there is not enough clearance to allow this to happen.
I think it would be very difficult to "loose" that much excess length. It is important to keep the cable route smooth or the action will be impaired.
You could adjust the length of your new cable but might need to reuse the fittings from the old one as the former probably has molded solder nipples.
When the clutch cable connection was modified in 1962 the cable 68 8500 was replaced by 68 8528.
The Clarkes cable catalogue gives the cable sleeve length for 68 8528 as 49 inches (does not show the overall length)
Same catalogue gives the cable sleeve length for 68 8593 as 55 inches.
Clarkes catalogue page below.
Quote from: Andy Edwards on 12 Mar, 2022, 09:19
I'm still struggling to lose the extra length of the new cable. Does anyone have a photo or illustration of the area around the fork yoke top cover that shows where the brake and clutch cables are supposed to route? If the cables are supposed to route along the handlebar and under this top cover to get to the frame down tube then the cover on my bike has been shaped incorrectly as there is not enough clearance to allow this to happen.
The inner cable length of 68-8593 you can buy nowadays appears to be 58.5"/59" - I assume you meant the outer cable length was 56" as indicated at the start of this thread?
In terms of routing the cable, I would have thought the only way to do this was over the top of the steering damper and down the right-hand side of the steering head and then down the front downtube and across the top of the primary chaincase? I believe you have a shrouded headlight fitted and, if so, I don't think it would be possible to route a cable under this and around the steering head if this is what you meant?
Thanks for the help folks. I think that part of my issue was that a couple of years ago another owner on an early A50 told me that the clutch and brake cables should be routed along the handlebar and under the fork top yoke cover (the one that sits on top of the fork trousers). I can see now that this is not possible or desirable.
As advised and shown on the BSA Service Sheet I can use the new cable. Whilst I had tried routing it down the frame tube, I mistakenly did not take it under the front engine mounting as advised. The new cable I received does have an inner length of 58" not 56" as I had stated in my opening post. Thanks again.