Why does my Yamaha cruiser have two throttle cables (push and pull) instead of just one (pull)? It seems ridiculous. I took the push cable off and the throttle snaps much better and slides smoother.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

I would say it is to insure no stuck throttle, If the spring in that returns to closed throttle fails or something sticks, you can pull the throttle closed with the "push" cable, which is now a pull cable. I think safety.

Yes you are correct, one cable to pull throttle open and one to close throttle. This is to stop the throttle locking open, could be pretty scarey ! If the cable you disconnected was stiff to pull, my guess is the cable has been twisted/wrongly routed or rusty.

In case your jamming hard and your cable gets hung up , the return cable it to shut down the carb

That's ridiculous! The push cable won't to squt. I too, always wondered why two cables. Think about it... the push cable is not stiff enough to apply any force it just goes slack. I had my carb off my Road Star and just held the push cable between my finger and turned the thottle and there is no force at all. It still baffles me.

Starkruzen,
Not sure if all are like that. If designed correctly, it would/should actually be a Pull and a pull cable, 1 pulls the throttle open, the other pulls it closed.
If yours is like that, maybe they are trying to sell more cables. Replacing 2 instead of 1 is a chickenshxt way to make a sale.

I have A Yamaha Venture... it has two PULL cables. As someone already said, the throttle linkage does have a spring return but if that spring should fail, twisting the throttle will pull the throttle linkage back to idle.

The push pull throttle cable is the motorcycle industries answer to the EPA. The return throttle cable ensures that the fuel supply to stopped to the carb, or EFI.