Clutch cable replacement?

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Have a 99 Softail Custom. Original clutch and cable. 16,000 plus miles. Have an anal fear (due to other times in my life while riding), that the cluth cable could snap at any time while far away from home. No problems of any kind with it so far, just an anal fear I have that I'm wondering if it should automatically be replaced after so may miles...any ideas? Thanks guys.

[Hammerit-]

If it is fraid near the lever...it could go.
Otherwise..forget about it...You could throw a rod, break a drive belt, blow a tire, etc far from home as well.
I have made it home with a broken clutch cable before...You just make sure you are with some one that can push you started...

My fear is the throttle cable...LMAO

Hammerit-

[tinkerman]

Not sure about the newer Harleys but the clutch cable on my 88 Heritage is as thick as your wrist. Still I give it the once over every season or so depending on the distance I have put on it....oil it and check the cable where it goes through housing ends or at the clutch lever.

Still, I would agree with Hammerit....there are a million things that can go wrong and your clutch cable is not at the top of the list. Do as much maintenance as you can do yourself or afford to have done and don't sweat it.... if something breaks on the road then hunt up a fix for it and there is another storey for the cold weather months.

Ride easy,

Tinkerman

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Thanks guys......makes sence to me     

[bagga]

my 85 has the origional cable. i remove it from the bike. i clean it with mineral spirits, i squirt some into the cable housing and let it drain out of the other end. let dry over night. then oil it with marvel mystery oil every year.

[darrelbarrows]

i have a 94 flhtcu with 60,000 and still the original clutch cable. I inspect and oil it every year..

[guido4198]

In 300,000 or so miles, I've had a clutch cable break twice. Both time it let go at the end right @ the terminus goes into the clutch lever. Both times, I was able to clamp a small pair of vise-grips onto the frayed end and ride on.

[crazylore]

Look at the cable ends at the beginning of the season when u lube it.....I have a fear too.....that my ex-wife will return

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Crazylore,
An "ex wife returning" is a hell of a bigger fear than a clutch cable snapping 

[Inda Win]

And an ex wife snapping is a lot worse that a clutch cable returning.

[JohnS_Rosamond]

Harley Clucth cables are a braided steel cables and generall don't "snap," they get frayted at the end first, then they let go.  So, before anything goes bad, you'll get a clutch cable that is hard to pull.  Make sure to keep the cable lubed, and you should be good for a long time.  I like to use an oil based lube ("Cable Life"), but some of my friends like to use the graphite based lubricant where the liwuid is designed to dry up and the graphite is left behind ("Dry Slide.")  A cable that's not pinched or routed with a sharp bend in it, should last a decade.  I've had bikes that came in and the only reason the cable failed was due to a pinch or break in the sheath - letting out the lubricant and letting in dirt.

[Bruno-Katz Fokkerpilot]

I tried one of those cables with the braided steel outer casing a few years ago. It was ok at first but soon the outer sheath began to compress and i was forever having to adjust the clutch.

I went back to the good old HD vinyl cable and not a problem since. At the start of every riding season, i remove it from the bike, hang it up and squirt cable lube in at the top end and wait until it appears at the bottom of the cable. Then you know for sure its lubed properly. Do exactly the same with the throttle cables.

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Again, thanks guys...lots of good advise