Throttle mod
 

In the general section you will see |I have a question on paintshops as I lost the front end at the weekend and down she went.

The cause was me cathing the throttle on the way for the front brake, which I then grabbed too much off. Ham fisted I know. But hey!

Anyway, I find the throttle to be really light, is there anyway of tightening up the resistance as I have caught the throttle a few times and ended up rolling on when I am trying to just use the brake. Does anyone else find this or am I just a bit too clumsy. Any tips appreciated. Bike is a 749s

cheers

Mike

Hi Mike. First up, sorry to hear about you dropping your baby - hopefully there isn't too much damage.

Secondly, welcome to the club. I'm sure you'll get plenty of help and amusement out of this place.

I'm not quite sure I understand how you're rolling the throttle on when reaching for the brake? When I reach forward the movement is a natural roll off. What are you actually doing? I don't have one of the later machines and haven't heard of people trying to do this so can't help on that front. Most people want to speed the action up!

I know what you mean Mike. I have a 999 and i found that changing the angle of the brake level helped - also with the comfort factor too.

It seemd to me tha if you have your hand on the throttle grip and especially if you use 4 rather than 2 fingers, as the lever is angled higher than line of your forearm, wrist & outstrectched fingers the tendancy is to have to sink your wrist to get your finers up over the lever, and the heel of your hand will wind the throttle on.

Does that help?

kp

Mike,

You can get a throttle mod, which basically uses the 916/996/998 throttle assembly, the advantages of this are two fold, one the action is a lot quicker, less angle to open the throttle fully, secondly the assembly is heavier, so requires more force to turn the throttle, not as light.

I rode my 999 for 30 miles before I decided I didn't like the throttle, impulse maybe? I had come from several 996/998 bikes. The downside is this mod isn't cheap as it's only using one cable rather than two, and requires quite a bit of work by someone in the know. JHP did mine and never had any issues since.

Bret at Pro Twins was talking to me about something similar. He reckoned it was about 3 hours work for them so it sounds like the same solution. He also said it makes it less jumpy/jerky.

Hi TP
What I think is happening is that my wrists are low, and that I have dragged my fingers up the way before reaching out for the lever. As I have done this I have rolled on. It has happened a couple of times. Bad habit really, in not closing the throttle first by trying just move for the brake in one movement.

Will have a look at these mods

thanks for your help all.

Any one know a good body shop in south London?

Mike

Hi Kerry
So did you lower your brake lever, to make you reach over more? Must admit I only ever normally use 2 fingers at the fulcrum, but I think I may have used a few more on the weekend

cheers

Mike

Throttle mods . . .
 

I have gone a different route - I bought a quick-action throttle kit (see previous thread "quick action throttle #2") and it makes a hell of a difference.

The throttle is a bit heavier - which is great - and obviously its quicker!!!

The Pro-Twins route is one way to go - but @ £200 - I think you can get better for less - mine cost me £150 + 2 hours of my time.

I bought my bike from Pro-Twins and I think they are really helpful - but sometimes (like most Ducati dealers) a little opinionated.

They modify the standard throttle as follows -

install single-cable 916/748 etc throttle
modify the throttle end cams + springs

You loose the safety features of the standard 2 cable setup
It just sounds too complicated to me

They told me that if I didnt modify the throttle end cams and springs it would be too too heavy and that they had spent hours and hours of development on their mod - which is probably OK but I think its flawed - safety wise anyway!

I didnt bother and I think its perfect!!!

and £50 cheaper - if anyone wants the mod done - I will do it - less than 2 hours start to finish - no worries.

Khushy

[Edited on 13-7-2005 by khushy]

Hi Kushy
How do you mean "flawed safetywise" what is the downside?

cheers

Hi Mike,

No changing the angle of the brake lever lined it up with my wrist and outstretched fingers so it negates dragging your fingers up and over the lever. Hence the tendancy pull back on the throttle while reachingover the lever goes.

Having said that I am also going to look at the quick action throttle kit khushy was talking about.

kp

Flatspot & KP, try using the 'search' feature to reveal the countless discussions we've already had on the subject.

KP, I have the ProTwins mod which I find excellent. If you make it to a Surrey meet you could try it out and see.

Will do - thanks Rally. We are both newbies here so forgive us going over old ground.
I have only just discovered what u2u is!!:o

thanks,

kp

It is too light and requires too much twisting but I only brake with one finger so haven't experienced the problem described.

I know I'm swimming against the tide of opinion here, but I don't think the throttle action's too light. Yes, it's hard to twist your wrist enough to get full throttle but how often is that actually a problem?

Flatspot, I think Kerry is on to something by suggesting you angle the brake lever to align with your wrist/ forearm.

Well said Wylie1 - completely agree

The too light bit is only an issue in the early days of ownership. Then muscle memory kicks in and you adjust to it.

So kind of agree.

Shame to have all those horses and not use them ;)

I found it a problem on the first track day on my 999S. I couldn't work out why I wasn't able to out drag an RSV down the straight. :devil:

In fact, now I think about it, that's how I first came across the DSC... I wanted to know if it was a known problem with a cure or if I was imagining it. Now I just hang around like a bad smell :D

Am still trying to work out where ir should be. If the bike is on the rear paddock stand, front wheel sitting straight. Looking at he bike side on, taking the bar to be the centre of the clock face, where do you have your lever, 3,4, or 5 o'clock, or somewhere between those numbers?

cheers

Mike

To check the lever positions, put your hands on the bars in your usual riding position and flex your fingers without moving your wrists or arms. Both levers should lie just beneath your fingers.

Ideally, your hand should be horizontally in line with your forearm. If you have to move your hand significantly to reach the controls, the levers need moving.

Mark the levers' original position against the handlebars with tape and then slacken the clamps. Move the levers around the bars and re-clamp them in position. Repeat until they're right.

I agree, but if you're tucked in behind the screen (as you would be on a track), you can get full throttle.


Overtake them in the bends :D . It's much more fun :burn:

I came from a 748 to a 999 and I have struggled with the transition. But for me I think the main problems have been caused by too much play in the return throttle cable and to great a span to reach the brake lever.

I don't know if this helps but I didn't realise that if the throttle has the correct play that isn't the end of the matter. You have to also adjust the return cable to set the clearance (mine had about 6mm play and it had been to 2 dealers neither of whom spotted the problem) to stop the engine running on with the throttle closed.

My hands are not that small but because of the distance (it is set to the minimum) to the brake lever I find blipping the throttle to change down and brake at the same time while rushing at a round about quite a challenge!!!