MASCOT November - December 2004

Roadster Throttle Cable Stop

Peter Watts

The standard arrangement for securing the engine end of the throttle cable outer casing is to clamp it in a fairly crummy piece of bent tin, allowing no precision in adjusting the free play on the cable, and giving a pretty imprecise clamping action. In one of my other lives I am a cyclist (once upon a time a very fit one!), and anything involving Bowden cables I equate to bicycle brakes. The pictures illustrate the stop I made for the end of my throttle cable using a bicycle brake adjuster. The one I used is one from a headstock or seat pillar mounted centre-pull brake - no longer current equipment, but probably still available. The adjuster fits into a hole in a right-angle bracket made from sheet steel, which is secured under a rocker cover nut. In order to give a secure fixing and reduce distortion of the rocker cover, I have put washers on the studs under the rocker cover so that as the nuts tighten they grip both the rocker cover and the bracket. The number of washers is determined by trial and error to ensure the gasket seals properly, but without excessively distorting the cover. Once fitted, the free play in the cable can be adjusted easily by loosening the locking ring, screwing the adjuster to the required position, and re-tightening the locking ring.