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How to change throttle cable in a Bullet

For the uninformed (you can't be if you are on Facebook), I bought a Royal Enfield Standard 350cc motorcycle on 25th Novemeber 2009. This has been the fulfilment of a long (8 years!) cherished dream.
Here we are...




After exactly three months I faced my first breakdown on my way to work on a Friday. The throttle cable snapped. Thankfully I had a spare at home and I was pretty confident I could replace it myself. Having lived with a 1984 model Bajaj Chetak for 5 years, I was in the habit of applying first aid myself. This wasn't as easy as seemed though. I manage to get the handle side of the throttle cable out. But had issues with the engine (carb side). I checked with fellow biker Aravind (who also owns a Standard 350 that is as old as him). He said it was a pretty simple process and promised to join me in 30 mins. But once he came, we realised, RE had done some changes that had lead to this problem. Here is the issue -







If you refer to the picture above, I was supposed to unscrew 'A' and get the other end of the cable out from the carburetor. But the design was modified in these newer models, such that the nut 'B' and a part of the tank didn't let me unscrew part 'A'. They interrupted in the yellow area marked. This meant there was no way we could replace the cable without removing the fuel tank. Sad enough, I had topped up just the previous evening! We dragged the bike to a mechanic nearby who said he could fix it without removing the fuel tank. But when he started using his inhumane techniques on my bike, I called up RE service centre to confirm that we HAD to remove the fuel tank. I requested one of their mechanic to come and do the honours. He came and did this to the bike...



Unscrewing the bolt B in the picture needs a different kind of tool. That will be my next buy now.

Comments

vj said…
Hello Brother,

Lucky you to face this problem, and above it so nice of you to post it as a blog. i am in the same situation. tomorrow i have a book a schedule for this replacement of throttle cable. i tried 2 days back and realised that the carb top had the tank nut as an obstacle. but wanted to confirm if there is any other way.

Thanks bro and ride safe.

Vijay.
thelaukik said…
Glad I could help!
amardeep said…
There is no need to remove the fuel tank . it can be done by loosening the carburetor a bit.

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