Five minute fix – Throttle tubes

Little spoils a bike like a graunching throttle. Cables are obvious and easy to lubricate but throttle tubes regularly get ignored. Whether it’s the conventional barrel type or early Japanese straight pull/scroll type the same ground rules apply. Carefully remove the twist grip, cleaning both the handlebar and the inside of the throttle tube firstly with clean cloth then with brake cleaner or similar removing old grease and grit. Avoiding sticky spray greases apply light grease liberally; it’s handy to load it into the tube rather than on the bar. Carefully reassemble making sure everything works, then luxuriate in the slickest throttle action on the block. Nothing this side of a nefarious act feels this good, this quickly, this cheaply.

Clean it, we say!
Lubricate it, we say!

Words/pics: Steve Cooper


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