[cbrnub]

I know as a beginner rider you are never supposed to use the throttle and front brake simultaneously, but as your skills improve, don't you guys find it difficult to use a twist throttle in certain situations?

Take for example a simple wheelie. You are supporting some of your weight with your right hand, but that hand also controls the throttle. Could easily gas it too much or too little.

Or howabout taking a high-speed turn: hit a bump and your throttle could twist, causing the back tire to break loose. Or say you have the throttle halfway open exiting a turn or just accelerating, when you need to stop suddenly. Having to wait for the throttle to unroll before you can shift your hand correctly to grab the brake could be the difference between crashing or surviving.

Just some food for thought. Would love to hear opinions or if anyone has a thumb throttle installed on their bike!

 

[sanchezero]

but as your skills improve, don't you guys find it difficult to use a twist throttle in certain situations?

this is backwards. as your skills improve, you get better at controlling the throttle.

throttle control is about relaxing enough that you've isolated the inputs to the throttle from the rest of your body. this is why you have to learn to support your weight and control position with your legs and back, not leaning onto the bars.

 

[User Name]

I've always wondered why thumb throttles are used exclusively on 3 and 4 wheelers and twist throttles on motorcycles.

As for your specific situations, I don't think it's ever a real problem. I don't do wheelies, so I can't comment specifically, but I've seen enough videos of wheelies that I don't think twist throttles are generally a problem when doing them.

It would take a pretty significant bump to jar your hand enough to increase the throttle to the point where the rear tire breaks loose, if it would even happen at all. More likely, a bump that big would upset the suspension enough to land you on your ass anyway, so the throttle isn't really an issue.

As far as having to stop quickly, a properly adjusted and functioning throttle should snap closed in less than a second. If that impacts your ability to avoid an obstacle, you weren't giving yourself enough margin for safety in the first place, so it's your fault anyway.

 

[FZR6Raven]

I'm still a big noob, but are you implying that eventually, it IS ok to use the throttle and front brake simultaneously? When would that be, aside from burn-outs?

 

[cbrnub]

I'm still a big noob, but are you implying that eventually, it IS ok to use the throttle and front brake simultaneously? When would that be, aside from burn-outs?

Yes that's exactly what I'm implying. Certain situations require it. i.e. the sudden stop. Or downshifting while braking, you need to blip the throttle while going hard on the front brake.

And yes burnouts.:cheers

 

[RayOSV]

Your muscles get trained to perform certain motions with practice. If maximum braking is needed, forget about downshifting. Too much concentration taken away from the primary task. Simply pull the clutch and brake.

Starting on a steep uphill while holding the front brake is probably one of the most difficult one-handed moves requiring simultaneous throttle and front brake. With practice, it can be done smoothly and easily. Before someone insists that the rear brake should be used in that case, think about an off-camber road where you have to put your right foot down at the stop.

 

[cbrnub]

Starting on a steep uphill while holding the front brake is probably one of the most difficult one-handed moves requiring simultaneous throttle and front brake. With practice, it can be done smoothly and easily. Before someone insists that the rear brake should be used in that case, think about an off-camber road where you have to put your right foot down at the stop.

You just blew my mind. As a rider I have given up trying to use the front brake to hold on a hill, and have mastered the rear brake hold. I guess I haven't encountered an off-camber stop on a hill, because it's not legal to build roads that have off camber stops. But, that's not to say a biker wouldn't need to stop on a cambered road ever.

Your example is the exact reason why thumb throttles are better and even safer. Sure, with time a person can hold the front brake and get on the throttle from a stop on a hill, but it's not easy. Just because it can be done doesn't mean it's the best way. I think I am going to get a thumb throttle now.

 

[Pure Adrenaline]

this is backwards. as your skills improve, you get better at controlling the throttle.

throttle control is about relaxing enough that you've isolated the inputs to the throttle from the rest of your body. this is why you have to learn to support your weight and control position with your legs and back, not leaning onto the bars.

x2,847

 

[RayOSV]

There aren't many off-camber roads where one may need to stop. The one example I can think of didn't have a stop sign, but an intersection with cross traffic that required a stop.

I can also remember stopping on an uphill because the road ended unexpectedly in a lot of gravel. The front brake wouldn't stop the bike from sliding backward and I stopped in second. Getting out of that mess took some work.

I would imagine that a thumb throttle would get tiring on highways/freeways. On a twist throttle you can reposition your hand to get comfortable.

While on this subject, time to remind new riders that brake and clutch levers are adjustable in angle. Most bikes are delivered with levers too "high" and need to be rotated downward until your wrist is straight while operating the lever. This helps in many ways.

 

[User Name]

Your example is the exact reason why thumb throttles are better and even safer.

I've used both, and I'm not seeing how a thumb throttle is better or safer when having to simultaneously apply throttle while releasing the brake. A thumb throttle would require three completely separate tasks from your hand - 1 holding onto the bar, 2 releasing the brake, and 3 operating the thumb throttle. Since a twist throttle combines holding the bar with the operation of the throttle, the right hand need only worry about two actions - 1 twisting the throttle and 2 releasing the brake.

 

[jim schmidt]

I had a chance to research this personally when I broke my wrist a couple of years ago and it looked like I might no longer be able to twist the throttle.

A thumb throttle is a much less precise method. It works well in lower power vehicles but is much harder to control when modulation of more power is important.

As it turned out, it was almost impossible for me to use with my injury anyway. Luckily, a good surgeon got me back to 84% of my uninjured rotation, which is plenty enough for riding.

 

[Mantis]

I know as a beginner rider you are never supposed to use the throttle and front brake simultaneously, but as your skills improve, don't you guys find it difficult to use a twist throttle in certain situations?

Take for example a simple wheelie. You are supporting some of your weight with your right hand, but that hand also controls the throttle. Could easily gas it too much or too little.

Or howabout taking a high-speed turn: hit a bump and your throttle could twist, causing the back tire to break loose. Or say you have the throttle halfway open exiting a turn or just accelerating, when you need to stop suddenly. Having to wait for the throttle to unroll before you can shift your hand correctly to grab the brake could be the difference between crashing or surviving.

Just some food for thought. Would love to hear opinions or if anyone has a thumb throttle installed on their bike!

All of these issues arise because the rider is gripping the throttle too tightly. You aren't supposed to be white-knuckling the grip. When racing or doing wheelies your grip on the bars is very light.

 

[NattyDrez]

I cant tell you how long it took me to get used to twist throttle.

I rode quads ever since I was lik 4 or 5, then at 14 my brother got a dirtbike and after like 10 years of thumb throttle, twist throttle seemed impossible. I just couldnt seem to be smooth with it.

Then 3 years later I was ripping around the woods on his YZ125 like no tomorrow. Then got onto the street, and its all history after that:banana

 

[cbrnub]

I think I just figured it out. If thumb throttles came on bikes, when you went on a 20min or longer ride your thumb would be sore from holding the throttle open. With a twist throttle your arm isn't doing much work to keep the throttle open.

 

[User Name]

I think I just figured it out. If thumb throttles came on bikes, when you went on a 20min or longer ride your thumb would be sore from holding the throttle open. With a twist throttle your arm isn't doing much work to keep the throttle open.

Yes, in addition to the other points that have been made.

 

[jimphunpants]

I think it would be stupid hard to control pressure on a small button/lever to keep a constant speed on an inline four engine.

 

[bassjones]

In my experience thumb throttles tend to be very "jumpy", which would not be a good thing on a 120HP motorcycle on the street.

 

[F2 600 Guy]

thumb throttles are used on atv's becuase it is extremely hard to control a twist throttle when turning a quad because your body changes angles compared to the constant vertical axis of the 4 wheeler always staying flat and on 4 wheels. a dirt bike on the other hand leans over with your body in turns therefore your body angle always relates to the vehicle angle enough to allow control of the twist throttle, your body never becomes to close or to far away from the throttle. i think if your streetbike had a thumb throttle youd be very upset even though to some of you it makes more sense in logic there are many reasons why bikes have twist throttle and quads have thumb throttles.

 

[DaleCaliente]

A thumb throttle is a much less precise method. It works well in lower power vehicles but is much harder to control when modulation of more power is important.

I agree completely. Its much more of an on/off adjustment than a standard sportbike throttle

 

[ReadNotReed2007]

Your example is the exact reason why thumb throttles are better and even safer. Sure, with time a person can hold the front brake and get on the throttle from a stop on a hill, but it's not easy. Just because it can be done doesn't mean it's the best way. I think I am going to get a thumb throttle now.

By installing and getting used to a thumb throttle I think youd be crippling yourself and your riding skills in a big way