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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - 1500 sticky throttle

In a previous thread I had lots of good advice (thanks - you know who you are) about a potentially dangerous problem I had on my 1500 with the throttle sticking open.

This post is to give some feedback, not intended to start a discussion.

Many people advised me to obtain a teflon lined cable kit from Venhill, intended as a universal motorcycle throttle cable kit and even though I basically solved the problem with a kit I already had from MGOC Spares Scheme I bought the Venhill kit anyway.

A few days ago I made up the cable and fitted it and here are my observations, which may be useful to other 1500 owners as it seems the 1500 is particularly prone to the sticky throttle syndrome.

First - the kit was actually cheaper than the ready-to-fit cable from MGOC, taking into account the delivery charges. The Venhill kit was delivered free.

It was very long so I cut it down to about 1.5 times the length of the original and soldered on the nipples after drilling one of the nipples axially to fit at the pedal end. It was originally drilled radially. I used a 2mm drill and counterbored with a 4.5mm drill to provide a "solder well".

The nipple for the carb end was slightly too long to fit into the clevis yoke but a few seconds with a file fixed it.

I used the adjuster and yoke from the knackered original as the Venhill kit is metric and I wanted to preserve as many original bits as I could.

The teflon lined cable made a massive difference - I was genuinely surprised by how much better it is so I take my hat off to the people who gave such good advice.

So to cut a long story short here's what I have now:

1. A delightfully free, light and silky-smooth throttle action.
2. An almost unused spare cable (MGOC spares) in the boot, in a recycled zipseal bag that originally contained Tesco's frozen peas. I like recycling!
3. A pair of small burn scars on my thumb and forefinger the exact size and shape of a brass cable nipple. That should teach me a little patience and humility!

In short the Venhill teflon cable seems to be good gear and made a lot of difference to my midget. Worth considering if yours has a sticky throttle. I hope this helps someone.

Thanks for the advice and your patience.
RS Hughes

Glad the suggestion worked, it makes such a difference to the driving enjoyment, and safety.

Thanks for the detailed feedback, very useful for others.
JB Anderson

Thanks RS

Good report... now I know what my next acceleration cable will be

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

Don't burn your fingers Prop :-)
RS Hughes

Just read this while sitting in the car thinking how sticky my throttle is :) is there a part number for it from Venhill?
S Watts

I'll see if I can track it down for you and post a link. Sorry I just saw your post.
RS Hughes

S Watts - here's the URL for the cable kit I used. A bargain IMO.

BTW I thotoughly lubed the sleeve with PTFE spray lube before I put it together. Don't know if it made any difference, but it won't have done any harm.

Cheers.


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Universal-Throttle-Cable-MX-Enduro-Motorcycle-Kit-made-by-Venhill/201321212783?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D29952%26meid%3D99ea4e64dd1c43149197c3224dee0079%26pid%3D100011%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D7%26sd%3D201287416299
RS Hughes

Assuming you cut the outer cable to length. Did you use a special tool to do so.
Nigel Axtell

Nope - it cut fine with a 24TPI hacksaw blade. Left a tiny burr at the end, but I carefully dressed it with a sharp file.
The key is to take it easy I think.
Then I filled it with PTFE lube before threading the inner wire through. Removed the excess lube from the wire with a cloth soaked with ether before soldering the nipples on. 100W soldering iron and ordinary soft solder. It's still working perfectly BTW.
RS Hughes

Thanks for the link - ordered today :-)
S Watts

Good luck S.
In retrospect there are enough bits in the kit and enough length of cable to make two of them, except for the adjuster and clevis yoke. Just a thought........
Cheers;
Rod.
RS Hughes

Just fitted a new Venhill cable, but as not used to soldering just wondered if anyone had experienced problems after soldering the nipples on the cables?

I have just used basic solder and wondered if the engine temperature would ever get hot enough to melt soldered connections?

The Venhill cable appears far smoother than the cables purchased from the usual sources but a little concerned how good a soldered joint would be.

Tim
Tim Lynam

In a word, no. It should never get hot enough in there to trouble the solder joint.
All four of the Venhill cables I have made up are fine and I used ordinary soft solder and a 100W electric soldering iron.

I trust your cable will be okay.

Cheers
Greybeard

Grey,
a 100w iron is big to us ordinary folk. My iron from about 40 years ago is a 40w and I remember reading, probably on here, years ago that 80w was needed for general work which explains why my 40w was hopeless when I tried to use it outside.

I must have mentioned something about this to my wife at some time as a few years ago she bought me another iron but I think that's a 25w - I didn't say anything.
Nigel Atkins

Physically it's small Nigel. But I just noticed on the label it's "Max 200W".

Blimey. I thought the bugger was quick!

It's a trigger action type. Only heats when you pull the trigger, otherwise I guess it would overheat pretty soon. I find it very useful because it does the joint very quickly and doesn't overcook adjacent components. Recommended if you can find one. I can't remember where I got it.


Greybeard

I didn't know such things exist, a pistol type then. :)

I must be better than I thought if I can solder with the mino I've got (maybe not though) and when my mate asked why I didn't use a solder sucker another thing I didn't know existed.

Just recently I've bought some pro style electric bits, ratchet bullet crimp and auto wire stripper and realise that not only do they take the strain out they also mean I can get a good looking finish without too much effort even if it's all wired up wrong! :)

And it looks like I was wrong as the Weller 25l, 25w, soldering iron my wife bought me is described as "All Purpose Soldering Iron for general Electrical Repairs in the Home and Hobby Workshops." which makes my 40 year old Remploy, 30w, with interchangeable tips, a beast (I was wrong with 40w before, memory fail again).
Nigel Atkins

Here's a Goot TQ-77 like Grey's.

I could have done with one recently. I was replacing the relays in the security control unit on my brother's mgtf, but was having trouble getting the solder to melt enough to suck it, despite trying several (4) different irons.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/252408060369
Dave O'Neill 2

Wow, they're only £26, I thought they'd be a lot, lot more.

I actually used my 30w Remploy this week to make up a couple of small test leads, in the shed so the wind didn't cool the the iron down and I was trying to remember if it was "solder to iron" or other way and then wondering if I made bad joins how much that would effect the multimeter readings but as my (second) cheap digital multimeter is unreliable I thought I'd take ballpark figures as usual anyway.

First reading was 6.9v off the switch wiring, then I moved from what I thought was a good earth point to one that actually was and had 12.6v, nice. That time instead of just testing the test machine before doing the test I should have also tested the tester person, me, as I know I'm also unreliable.

And yes I did once pick up the iron by the blade not thinking, when I first got that iron, I soon let go and actually learnt by that despite not having a scar to remind me.
Nigel Atkins

This thread was discussed between 22/03/2015 and 15/07/2017

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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