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Twist or Thumb


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Ive been twisting banshees since 95. I dont have any problems with it at woops or anything. On accident, they can both have ups n downs. Its harder to power brake and burn off half of your tires in one spot with a twist if your one of those. :ermm:

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the reason dirtbikes and motorcycles have twist throttle and atv's have thumb throttle is because an atv had 4 wheels, a dirtbike has 2.

if you go through some gnarly terrain with bumps and ruts on a dirtbike the bie only pitches up and down since the wheels follow each other.

on an atv in the same terrain, the bike pitches up and down as well as rocks left and right. if you run over a bump with the left tyres, that side goes up but the right side stays down. on a dirtbike it doesnt have that problem. when you ride really fast through that type of terrain its a dirtbike can get away with a twist throttle but on an atv you be rocking left and right and have more of a tendency to lose youre grip so its a lot safer to have a thumb throttle.

 

look at it another way. on a drtbike you can avoid a lot of bumps on a trail just by going around them. on a quad you can only avoid the bumps that go between the wheels. on a 3 wheeler you cant avoid any bumps.

 

because most people, my self included dont really run our atvs through the rough shit so fast that we are nearly out of control, you can get away with using a twist throttle on an atv. but if you run through some really gnarly shit you would be finding it difficult to maintain the throttle position that you want with a twist. with that said i prefer a thumb throttle for atv.

 

for the banshee throttle system, it sucks. no other way to say it. it just sucks. the thumb throttle is hard to move. it tired you thumb and palm out. but there is a few tricks you can do to make it A LOT better.

 

1. remove the throttle cable entirely from the bike. put it in a bench mounted vise and dribble some motor oil, 2 stroke oil, or atf down the cable and work the braid in and out until you actually see oil comming out of the Y box where the cable splits into 2. do not use grease or any thick motor oil. i personally wouldnt use anything thicker than 5w30. when it gets cold outside oil thickens up. you do not want thick oil in the cable. this thick oil causes extra resistance inside the cable. if you dont have 5w30, use 2 stroke oil, or atf. both of those are thin oils. next pop open the Y box and dribble more oil into that and keep working the cable until you see oil some out the split ends. after working the cable for a while it will start sliding really freely. if the cable does not slide smoothly you probably have a frey somewhere in the cable and need a new one. when you have it all good and lubed the branded cable should be so free that it will almost slide out of the cable sheath under its own weight from gravity. well, almost! then tie the table up high so it hangs straight down. let it sit for 24 hours and drain the excess oil out so it does not make a mess once you install it back on the bike. while its draining out do the next steps below.

 

2. pull the thumb throttle housing apart and clean it in the sink. when it is dry GREASE the thumb throttle pivot and linkage. dont use oil here as it wont stay on the shaft very long. use grease or antiseize. put some on the very end of the throttle cable as well but dont let it get into the cable sheath.

 

3. take the carbs apart and hit ANY rough parts of the carb barrels with a fine hand file. then polish the barrels up smooth. now clean and oil the carb caps.

 

4. cut 3 complete turns off each of the stock carb return springs. for whatever reason yamaha made the springs way too stiff. (maybe for all you suckers with dry throttle cables). by cutting 3 turns off each spring that 1 single mod will cut 40% of the thumb throttle resistance out of the equation.

 

5. put everything back together and remember to oil the carb barrels with some 2 stroke oil before putting them back in. take special care to route the throttle cable in such a way as to minimise how many turns it makes, and avoid at all costs any sharp turns. that throttle cable is long enough that you can make it go from the thumb housing to the carbs without ANY sharp turns or twists. if you cant get it to fit like that take the cable out and try to route it a different way. dont forget to mount it to the frame and handlebars with zipties. this keeps it from vibrating around.

 

 

you go through and do all those steps and you can cut the thumb throttle resistance by probably 60%, that is what i did to my brand new banshee and it worked wonders even though my bike was brand new.

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The thumb was the first thing to go after the stock air intake. For me it was easy. Punch the wall with youre fist. Then punch it with youre thumb, see which breaks first.... I really dont know if its more dangerous, I squeeze my bike with my legs in the whoops, so the tw2ist really doesnt bother me. JMO

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I've always debated on switching to a twist but since i hear that it could propose a problem with ridin I wont. Only thing i hate with my thumb is that its like twice as hard to push as my buddies 400ex. you think its cuz of an old throttle cable?

 

Throttle cable will do it... also the slide springs are way more diesel then they need to be.. I cut mine down and its much easier on they o' thumbpiece... This does however increase the chances of the slides stickin wide open... Fun stuff

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yeah i had a twist on my banshee and i rode it twice in the whoops and on this desert trail with rocks, boulders tight turns etc etc, and dang near killed myself. thats why i changed to thumb and have a thumb extender, its a lot easier to push because more leverage.

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