Font end cable installations

I am getting prepared to finish building the front fork and re-install it on to the scoot.  However, before that can be done the cabling and wiring need to be finished.  Maybe I could do the cables and wires after the front fork is on but all of those lines run down the font tube in the frame and it seems it will be a whole lot easier to get the cables and wires complete before the fork goes on.

So today we started with the cables.  I have lots of pictures to show how I run new cables which may or may not prove helpful to anyone who might ever look at this page.  Here we go.

First a photo of all the bits.  In the photo you can see the parts which are involved.  The fork and the hub are central as well as the handlebars.  I took a long look at the handlebars to make sure I had the proper connectors on the ends of the cables.  More photos on that later.

I started with the front brake cable.  Here is a photo of the ends of the old cable outers coming out of the top of the fork.  I have removed the inners at this time.  The speedo cable is the one on the bottom with the silver tip.  The top cable is the brake outer.

Once I pull the cable inners I will thread a piece of copper wire (romex) which is 2.5x the length of the existing outer cable down the outer.  It looks like this.  So the copper wire now runs all the way through the existing outer which is still located in the fork.

Since the copper wire is 2.5x the length of the existing outer I then thread the new outer on the copper wire and butt the new outer up against the top of the old outer.  Imagine two cars of a train butted right up against each other on one track.  The two cars are the two outers and the track is the copper wire.  Looks like this.

Now I have the two outers running together on the same long piece of copper wire.  At the top end of the new outer I clamp a vice grip.  This locks the copper wire in place making sure the wire will not pull through the two outers.  The two outers are now linked as one on the copper wire.  Like this.

Now go the to lower end of the old existing outer and start pulling the old outer down and out of the fork.  Grab the outer firmly even kink it in your hand so it is pinching the copper wire which is running inside.  The copper wire is your pulling device moving the old outer down and out and bringing the new outer right behind.  Pull, wiggle, back and forth. pull wiggle.  And after a minute or so the old outer has made it all the way out of the fork.  And low and behold the bottom end of the new outer is right behind.  MAKE SURE THE COPPER WIRE DOES NOT BREAK FREE OF THE VICE GRIP AND PULL THROUGH.  IF YOU LOSE THE COPPER WIRE CONNECTING THE TWO OUTERS YOU ARE SCREWED.

Here is a picture of the new brake cable outer installed coming out of the bottom of the fork. I have the old brake cable outer lying alongside for illustration.  Without using the old outer as a guide and the copper wire as a pulling tool I know of no way you would ever get the new outer through the tight confines and twists of this fork.  The whole operation maybe took 5 minutes. 

Here is the new brake cable outer extending from the top of the front fork with the old outer alongside.  The old speedo cable is still in place running down the inside of the fork.  Installing the inner cable is as simple as some grease and slipping the inner cable into the outer housing.

Here are the tops of the new and the old brake cable lying alongside each other,  Note the different cable ends.  This is the end which fits inside the brake lever.  The old shape was kind of a conical lead deal and the new shapes are the more traditional bronze barrels.  Both fit just fine into the lever as they should.  I will admit that the opening in the lever is worn in a distinct oval shape due to the old cable end.  I may need new levers when I get to that step.

For the speedo cable I had to do a little rebuilding.  I did not purchase a new speedo cable so I took the old inner and the ends of the old cable and installed them in to a new outer housing.  Here is a photo of the new housing with the old inner which will slip inside.  I simply removed the barrel and threaded nut from the bottom of the old speedo cable and installed them on the bottom of the new speedo outer housing.  I will attach the silver tip from the top of the old speedo cable in the same fashion to the top of the new speedo outer.  That will happen when I rebuild the headset in who knows how many months.

And finally here are two shots of the new cables exiting the top and the bottom of the fork.  All in all it is a pretty tidy job.