Brake cable length

[chaz]

if it rattles, its more likely to wear due to vibration , a nice sliding or tighter fit but not an interference (hammer in) fit as too tight can damage the cable

[JulianS]

Reality is the photo below. The bent steel ones vary.

Photo shows shackles cropped from cables over the years.

The only one which is a close fit is the one top right which came from an old A10 cable.

Ready made cable quality can be questionable, look at the prices - you can buy an imported front brake cable from ebay sellers for less than £7 including postage.

[Phil C]

The one on my old (existing) cable is like the one top right of your photo's, Julian, and fits on the arm okay. Chaz confirms what I thought, ie a decent fit is needed, rather than a rattling one.

Anyway, to recap: my bike is 1965, but the brake cable which is listed, and sold, for that year (part no. 41-8535) appears to be wrong for my bike (too long, ie 39 ins outer cable, and clevis fork a very loose rattling fit on my actuating arm, like about 2mm wider than the arm thickness.)

The old (existing) cable appears to fit the bike fine. It is, I think, about the same length as the cable listed for 1960-64 bikes (part no. 41 - 8505) (32 ins outer cable.)

I wonder if the shorter (41-8505) cables have a smaller clevis gap than the longer (41-8535) ones. I'll phone a dealer on Monday morning and check.

I'm thinking maybe my 1965 bike takes the  cable designed for the previous year's bike (41-8505, the 32ins type.) That would seem a bit weird. Why would it be?            Phil.

[hoogerbooger]

Like Phil, I am finding this frustrating. The RR books says you can just a cable off the shelf.....but if you do you'll end up with a cable that is far too long (as Phil's photo illustrates). I also can't fathom why the cable for 65-66 B40 became 7" longer, than the earlier B40 Star's

On my B40f(Sept 64 B40f star - aka '65' model) I can't quite adjust my cable so it starts to bite more or less as soon as I start pulling the brake...to get that tad further the barrel adjuster is no longer in it's recess on the bars. Measuring:  my outer is 31" and the pivot to pivot point inner cable length is 38"

My conclusion is I need a difference between the inner and outer of 6", rather than 7"  to allow me to adjust the brake correctly, with 32" outer, 38" inner being being a doable length...i.e as 1964 and before B40 Stars (with non-western handlebars). Both could happily be an inch longer ( BUT not the bizarre "official" listed cable length.

I am going to have to phone up suppliers tomorrow as so far I am not finding anyone listing both the outer and inner cable which seems just as important as citing the outer length. ( Grrrhh!)

[cdsdorset2]

Why not get jj cables to make you one to your spec.

[V500]

Why not make one up yourself? Guaranteed to fit perfectly.

[iansoady]

Why not make one up yourself? Guaranteed to fit perfectly.

As I always do. Brake cables are easy - more than throttle for example - as it's easy to measure exact dimensions. But of course carry greater risk if your technique's not up to snuff.

Venhill will make you a canle to your specifications.
https://www.venhill.co.uk/bespoke/cables/

... although not cheap. I bought materials for clutch, throttle and choke from them for more or less that price.

[hoogerbooger]

Probably not up to snuff to make my own.

Adding a 2nd barrrel  aduster (of the cut ring type) at the other end seems a cheaper option than a made to measure cable.

[Tigerfeet]

I bought several front brake cables for my C15 project - all seemed to be far too long. Eventually I made a clamp for birdsnesting the cable end, and cut one down and resoldered.  Then I discovered some old BSA pictures, which show that the C15 front brake cable should be routed over the headlight nacelle to the left side of the bike, then back across the top of the mudguard and down.  (IIRC, the clutch cable does more or less the reverse.)  So almost certainly all the cables I rejected as too long were in fact perfect.

[hoogerbooger]

Ah Ha...that'll be it then. Just been googling and found a couple of post-65 pics showing that routing. I'll consider if I can get my head to like it!!

(currently the lever almost gets to the bar when I brake, so probably do need to find a better action)