Stuck throttle...what happened?

[Z (fka Sweet Tooth)]

I rode with my husband this past weekend for a cruise across town to meet some friends and just as were getting there, the throttle starts to stick and the only way that it would work was at high speeds. Now what the heck is the best thing to do when this happens? Ofcourse he insisted on riding it back home because..... well, because he's hard headed...lol anyways when we got home he took of the thottle and discovered a little broken piece that mas making it malfunction. So two new grips later, everything is fine.

My questions are...
How the heck did that piece break in there, bike was never dropped?
What to do when this happens? is it safe to ride it like that, wont it mess up something else?

Thanks for the info and pardon my ignorance of bike mechanics..

[Kal]

Plastic fatigue. All parts have a finite lifespan and will eventually fail. Most of the parts that fails on me are bolts I am trying to unscrew

As for is it safe? Not as safe as it could be, but you did it and nothing bad happened, so it was safe at the time

[TechTMW]

The throttle cable must be kept lubricated. Unfortunately, it is really difficult for a rider to notice that the cable needs lubrication because it binds up over time. It happens so slowly that the rider gets used to having to crank on the throttle a little more. He never notices a problem.

This additional stress on the cable can cause components to fail occasionally, or cause the throttle to stick eventually. Performing your own cable maintenance can also have the added benefit of giving you a heads up about what's going on with your bike. It's possible you might have noticed the plastic bit that was failing before the throttle started sticking.

Lecture over

Sometimes this stuff just hapens even with the best maintenance. Your husband sounds like a good rider, and good riders know their bikes. He obviously felt he could deal w/ the problem on the fly, so who's to question him ? The only thing I probably would have done differently is taken the throttle apart at the friend's house - but i usually carry an assortment of tools w/ me.

[Z (fka Sweet Tooth)]

Thanks guys... now I know!