i have been riding bikes for twenty yrs but have been wondering if a thumb type throttle would have any benefit on a bike. i have seen some nasty spills because of feet getting bounced off of pegs and the ensuing rider trying to hold on ends up wfo unitl the crash. any opinons? has anybody tried it?
pro vs con thumb throttle
- Thread starter tx246
- Start date
Ya know, I asked a similar question to the parts guy at the local honda shop (they are also a snowmobile dealer) I asked, "why dont snowmobiles have twist throttles?" He said "snowmobiles go over too many bumps to have a twist thottle." LOL, I just walked out the door, and havn't been back since. Sorry, not really relative to the question asked, but it reminded me of a funny story.
- Thread starter
- #3
i know they make conversion kits for quads to a twist type throttle. so i would think that it has been done for snowmobiles too. it just seems that on a bike that you could hold the bar better. your wrists would always be in an ideal and equal position. make believe you are riding right now...........see how your elbow drops when you gas it?
early motorcycles had foot clutches and shifted gears by hand. i just wondered why motorcycles havent tried thumb throttles.
early motorcycles had foot clutches and shifted gears by hand. i just wondered why motorcycles havent tried thumb throttles.
- Nov 13, 2001
- 1,173
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Thumb throttles are too lazy for a dirtbiker that's why they got em' on the beer haulers! :confused:
MoO_coW
Member
- Jul 14, 2000
- 486
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Ya, When I ride a quad my thumb gets sore. A while back though someone posted on the pros and cons and said with a thumb throtttle he had better control in the chopy stuff, but i dont know if that holds any water, with a thumb off and some fingers off for the brake i dont see how you could hold on too well though.
Coming from a quad to a dirtbike, I thought I'd hate the twist throttle because anytime I had ridden a friend's bike, it felt so unnatural and stupid when compared to the thumb control. But in the year that I've been riding bikes, I feel totally comfortable with it. But I do wonder what would be better. Like tx246 said, a lot of nasty crashes happen because of a bad landing when someone accidently twists it to full throttle.
The strangest thing is that no motorcycle, streebike, dirtbike, moped or whatever that I know of has ever had a thump throttle. And I don't even see any conversion kits in any magazines or anything. I don't know if I would like it better on a bike, but it sure would be nice to try it, see if maybe it was better.
The strangest thing is that no motorcycle, streebike, dirtbike, moped or whatever that I know of has ever had a thump throttle. And I don't even see any conversion kits in any magazines or anything. I don't know if I would like it better on a bike, but it sure would be nice to try it, see if maybe it was better.
dklink2000
Damn Yankees
- Feb 18, 2002
- 764
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My one good riding buddy is a quad rider. we put a twist conversion on his banshee. After we both almost crashed it because of the twist throttle, we put the thumb thhrottle back on. I think we were having such a problem on the quad because you have to really force those things around the trails. It would be interesting to ride a bike with one.
kciH
LIFETIME SPONSOR
- Jan 28, 2002
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Twist throttles on ATV's are a matter of preferrence. The danger of the thumb throttle is when you rail an ATV around a corner and are leaning forward to keep the front tires glued down, you can sometimes find that your chest has the throttle pinned! I have never seen a thumb throttle on a motorcycle. I think it would make it very hard to hold onto the bike the longer your rode because you would only have the three smaller and weaker fingers on the bars. I also think that braking with one finger on the brake and one on the gas could be a very difficult skill to aquire without injuring yourself, especially if you need the brakes in a hurry. But, if you want to try it I have a Honda thumb throttle in the garage. :p
I think like you said kciH, probably the main reason bikes will never be popular with thumb throttles is safety. Most guys at the track that race quads have switched to a twist system probably for this reason. Like you said the thumb and forefinger are the two most powerful for gripping and with the thumb locked around both grips, the bars are very safely gripped. On ultility ATVs where constant slow speeds are the norm, quick gas to brake transitions are not occurring very frequently. But in racing, you're either hard on the gas or hard on the brake usually and coming into a set of braking bumps without your thumb locked around the grip could be disaster, and if you try to grip, you're going to lose a lot of speed coasting in like that. Perhaps there is some value for trail applications, but even then I don't see it as a superior.
- Thread starter
- #12
i dont know too many people who stay upright by being on the gas and grabbing the front brake. i never could do the middle finger on the brake lever thing. i usually ride like a road racer with the index and middle finger covering the brake. that leaves the thumb, pinkie and the one next to it for grip. havent had a bar come out of my hand yet. i agree that thumb throttles for quads usually return springs which are too stiff for motorcycle use. bikes probably use more throttle movement and transitions than quads. but if you had a lightly sprung thumb throttle that you could use while you gripped the bar normally, might be useful. to be honest with you, most people grip the bars too tight anyway. i think 80% of armpump comes from using too tight a grip with the hands/arms and not enough gripping with the legs. there have been some high profile gp roadracers who because of injuries to the lower leg have used thumb brakes for back brakes.
SprtrxRidr
Mod Ban
- May 27, 2002
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ATVs have thumb throttles for one reason. Turning an ATV requires more handlebar movement than a dirtbike. This means that it can be awkward to use an ATV Twist throttle in a sharp turn. Especially if you are talking about a beginner.
An experenced ATV rider can get used to using a twist throttle with no problem at all. It just takes practice. When I first switched over, shifting gears was scary (I never seemed to let off the gas) and bumps usually resulted in jerky acceleration. :eek: You get used to it, and Its like second nature.
A thumb throttle would work on a dirtbike quite easily. The problem is, they are not as stable as a twist throttle (1 finger off at all times). Since twist throttles are easier to use on Dirtbikes, it is safer to stick with that.
An experenced ATV rider can get used to using a twist throttle with no problem at all. It just takes practice. When I first switched over, shifting gears was scary (I never seemed to let off the gas) and bumps usually resulted in jerky acceleration. :eek: You get used to it, and Its like second nature.
A thumb throttle would work on a dirtbike quite easily. The problem is, they are not as stable as a twist throttle (1 finger off at all times). Since twist throttles are easier to use on Dirtbikes, it is safer to stick with that.
I can't think of any pros for thumb throttles, and I've spent thousands of hours using them. The worst thing is it's impossible to use throttle and front brake on anything remotely rough. Taking thumb off the throttle and lifting fingers up to grab the brake takes time, and is dangerous over rough stuff. The other main con is bumping the thing with my leg when I'm leaning forward. I've never tried a twist throttle on a quad so I can't say it would be an improvement, but there's no way I'd put a thumb throttle on a bike.
