FX Trim and Throttle Lube

In the last three FXs I owned I’ve found the lubrication of the trim actuator and most of the cables leave a bit to be desired. It ranges from absolutely nothing to a token smear on the outside. This job AFAIK is a job done at the pre-delivery as the bars and trim are not on the ski.

In my experience they are ok with no lube at all for a period ..so don’t panic. IMO it should be taken apart and inspected somewhere between 6 months and 1 year. The pics below are from my 06 Blackie and they were taken when I did the lube job on all the cables and trim at 5 months.

BE WARNED … stripping the trim down and removing the cables assumes a certain standard of mechanical ability and if you remove the bars requires the use of a torque wrench for the assembly of the handlebar bosses. It is possible to do it without removing the bars by disassembling the units with the bars on.

Below are some pics of the units as unassembled, no lube discovered and rust forming on the detent ball already …

Inside the lanyard/start/stop switch its a good idea to spray a good marine lubricant in there before re-assembly … good insurance.

Note how void of any lube the trim lever cable is … and the rust starting in the ball detent !!

I use a mix for cable lubing. It consists of 1 part grease containing molly and 4 parts synthetic gearbox oil … or even synth motor oil. My 05 had it done when only a week or two old and was still well lubed 140 hrs and 16 months later.

To push the mix down the cables I clamp a plastic line over the barrel and fill it with 10mls of lube and push it down with compressed air. After it disappears …you may have to work the cable at the other end … and it has not appeared at the other end add another 5ml and go again.

It is a bit of a pain to do but rewards you with cables lubed for an greatly extended period. I’d say in the realm of 18months to 2 yrs.

After lubing the Black 06 trim my wife noted her 50th was stiffer to shift ..so over the next month or two it will be done as well.

Pics below of some of the lubing …with one showing how the trim cable tracks and balls should be lubed. I used Yamaha Marine Grease for that.

Even though the cable is not that flexible you can work it out to the side without too much trouble.

Don’t remove the cable barrel that attaches it the the steering arm ball …. its loctited/locknutted and best left alone. Then remove the little black grommet that seals the inner and outer cable from water ingress. hold it away from its home with a small zip clip … that’s stops it going down and stopping lube from entering tube.

Place a large enough tube over so a ring-grip tightens down on the large diameter brass area of the cable mounting barrel.

Fill with a lube …. seal the end with a compressor barb or similar and hold vertical as you can ..and apply air gradually …. remove rubber grommet from rear ..

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