In my shop I saw many control cable failures from these things.
1. Throttle cables on the Airheads: Left cable failing at the carburetor, due to the throttle cable being bent as owners checked the oil dipstick. Do not bend the throttle cable at the left carburetor when checking your oil. There is no need for the oil dipstick to be overly-tightened. Bending the left throttle cable is a prime cause for that left cable to have increased friction, possibly spread some coils on the wrapped sheath (& making that carburetor difficult to synchronize, if bad enough), & eventually you might break an inner strand …usually where you can see it between the throttle lever on the carburetor, & the sheath. A single strand found broken (You do inspect these cables regularly, don’t you?), will usually cause other strands to eventually break from the same reason why the first strand broke ….this will …or can …result in total cable failure in as little as few hundred miles or so.
2. The bushing at the clutch lever at the handlebars is a replaceable plastic part and as it wears the result is the lever can move up and down & also allow angular motion. If worn enough, the stranded core of the cable will start rubbing, or even catching, on the sharp edged guiding slot in the lever. Eventually a strand breaks, failure comes soon as more strands break. The bushings are easy to replace and not expensive. If your new bushing does not finger press into place, heat the lever first. The Nylon-like bushing is 32-72-1-232-662 and has been used from 1976 onwards. That bushing may need light reaming for a good fit to the pin. If you do not have a 8 mm tapered ream, you can use very carefully selected drill bits, to progressively remove a quite small amount of material, a few thousandths at a time …until the pin fits properly …an easy, but not loose, push-sliding fit. The lever has a recess, and in that recess must be a waverly washer, 32-72-1-230-871. I recommend the sharp edge of the slot in the clutch lever be filed smooth. Be sure the crimped end of the cable that fits into the clutch lever at the handlebars is not fouling the lever.
