Throttle response?

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oldburnthippy
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Throttle response?

Post by oldburnthippy »

I just tried another VTR in my search.

This one was not to my taste cos something had been done to the throttle, or some other race mod.

There was no take-up in the throttle cable at all. To explain, I usually move a bike away from lights, roundabout etc with a combination of opening throttle and releasing clutch, and the bike / car / bus responds by moving forward, accelerating as I open the throttle.

This particular bike didn't do that. If I left the throttle alone it stalled when I released the clutch, OK, fine, but the slightest movement on the throttle sent the back end into the tarmac and the front upwards.

Obviously modded, but the owner reckoned he hadn't done it.

Are there external signs of modifications other than white haired riders with really strong grip, so I can check for them on photos? I'd like to avoid another eight hour round trip to see a bike I can't ride..... :sad2
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MacV2
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Re: Throttle response?

Post by MacV2 »

It's probably had a quick action throtle mod done. QAT mod. Different tube with a quicker action.

Nowt wrong with that as it means you dont have to take two goes to open the throtle right up.

Can take a bit of getting used to spesh around town.

I have one on one bike & not on the other I use to commute...Takes a few miles from jumping on the modded one to recalibrate the wrist.

Then there is the other one in the cave that has a std throttle but is out of adjustment & you get nish for the first part of the turn... :lol:

The way to check is to just turn the throttle if it hits the stop with a 1/4 turn its a QAT if it goes about 3/4 around its std.
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oldburnthippy
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Re: Throttle response?

Post by oldburnthippy »

:thumbup:
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fabiostar
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Re: Throttle response?

Post by fabiostar »

iv spent 3 years getting my bike to go like that lol :clap: .

was there any slack in the throttle cable on the bike you tried? it might have been wound up so there wasnt any slack in it at all.
the older i get,the faster i was :lol:
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MacV2
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Re: Throttle response?

Post by MacV2 »

fabiostar wrote:iv spent 3 years getting my bike to go like that lol :clap: .

was there any slack in the throttle cable on the bike you tried? it might have been wound up so there wasnt any slack in it at all.
Good point it could just be that...
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oldburnthippy
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Re: Throttle response?

Post by oldburnthippy »

No slack at all, which bothers me cos the little roads I have to use to get to bigger roads are somewhat agricultural. The idea of hitting a pothole and bouncing the throttle through maybe a quarter of it's travel halfway round a gravelly bend on a narrow road is a provocative one..... 8O
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Varastorm
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Re: Throttle response?

Post by Varastorm »

fabiostar wrote:iv spent 3 years getting my bike to go like that lol .
Me too :lol: :lol: :lol:

When I adjust my throttle cable I adjust it when the bars are all the way turning right.

On my bike, that's when the cables are the tightest & I adjust for the quickest closing speed when I leave go of the throttle when released from full.

Then when the bars are straight it's spot on. well, for me anyway :thumbup:

I also have a quick action throttle (Yamaha R6 tube) & I too find it very touchy. I tend to have half my hand on the bar end weight & half on the throttle. I do ride a Varadero though & has an upright riding position.

If the bike rides as well as you say, just buy a Std throttle tube from eBay for a £10er :thumbup:
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VTRDark
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Re: Throttle response?

Post by VTRDark »

was there any slack in the throttle cable on the bike you tried? it might have been wound up so there wasnt any slack in it at all.
That was my first thought too and the cutting out could simpley be the idle adjutstment too low. The front wheel popping up could be a bigger rear sprocket and / or smaller front. Look for standard things not right first before automatically thinking something has been modded. A QAT is not something that is common for modifying but sprocket changes are. There's still a lot of folk out there that will keep a bike pretty much standard but badly looked after / serviced. You know the kind of folk that will stick a K&N filter in and dynojet kit and think they have a stage 1 bike because it's called a stage 1 jet kit :lol:
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oldburnthippy
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Re: Throttle response?

Post by oldburnthippy »

Thanks for all the replies.

TBH I was so fed up after trogging four hours to see the bike I didn't think to check the obvious, like cable tightness. Different bars, perhaps? Also i haven't seen many VTRs knocking about so sprocket size identification, easy on my bicycles, is not automatic for me.

At the risk of seeming like an absolute beginner, I am right in thinking that in standard trim, although it's not keen, a VTR will work at slow speeds? As a litre class V twin it will need some exercise to stop coking and so on, but it's not a balls-out race bike?

The hunt continues :think:
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Wicky
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Re: Throttle response?

Post by Wicky »

At the risk of seeming like an absolute beginner, I am right in thinking that in standard trim, although it's not keen, a VTR will work at slow speeds? As a litre class V twin it will need some exercise to stop coking and so on, but it's not a balls-out race bike?
Lugging it around at low speed, low revs in high gears isn't recommended esp in town - best to use the gearbox. Then when out on the open road it still doesn't need all out revs as there's the torque wave to surf...
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VTRDark
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Re: Throttle response?

Post by VTRDark »

Well they don't like poodling along in heavy traffic that's for sure. They can cope but they don't cope well and want to get out of there and get a wiggle on. So will your wrist and lower back by that stage. The funny thing is, the faster you go the more economic on fuel they become too. A steady cruise at 70 - 80 mph and it's more than happy, especially if you have the revs up so it's in that sweet spot where you open up the throttle and it just goes and before you know it your well over a tonne. :lol: They cope a lot better than say an SP though which would be even more jittery and cruel to the bike. Engines do adapt to the way they are ridden, so yeh may coke up a bit but nothing a good thrashing wont sort out. That's just the nature of the game. Being a carbed bike it's interesting how different weather conditions affect things too.
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Varastorm
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Re: Throttle response?

Post by Varastorm »

If you really feel you've made a mistake & feel the need to tame it, fit some Varadero camshafts, flywheel & carburettors'n air box.

I had all the above fitted & I can tell you first hand, you'll soon get bored. Long live project Varastorm :thumbup:
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Re: Throttle response?

Post by tony.mon »

It might have also had a lightened flywheel; that also makes them spin up faster.
Last idea; did it have a flat/high bar conversion?
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sirch345
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Re: Throttle response?

Post by sirch345 »

oldburnthippy wrote:Thanks for all the replies.

TBH I was so fed up after trogging four hours to see the bike I didn't think to check the obvious, like cable tightness. Different bars, perhaps? Also i haven't seen many VTRs knocking about so sprocket size identification, easy on my bicycles, is not automatic for me.

At the risk of seeming like an absolute beginner, I am right in thinking that in standard trim, although it's not keen, a VTR will work at slow speeds? As a litre class V twin it will need some exercise to stop coking and so on, but it's not a balls-out race bike?

The hunt continues :think:
I would say in standard gearing the Storm is slightly lumpy in town work. However gearing the bike down slightly will help to make the bike easier to use at slower speeds, one or two teeth extra on the rear sprocket is enough IMHO,

Chris.
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oldburnthippy
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Re: Throttle response?

Post by oldburnthippy »

Once again thanks for the ideas.

I don't know about the bars - again, lack of experience with the VTR. They weren't flat, but they weren't clip on low either, just a reasonably comfy position. I thought perhaps different bars might have pulled the cable too tight - is it possible to keep VTR bars but invert them for a better position? I've seen posts on here where new bars have led to cutting fairings, and that hadn't happened.

Gearing may have been changed, or not, but TBH I've decided that if a VTR is in my future I'll avoid towns, stick to country lanes and roads where 30mph is doable, and find shorter routes to faster roads. I believe the expression is "making normal road progress."

Due to an unexpected change in employment, commutes may not now be happening. Unfortunately by the same token, VTR may not be happening. :eek2
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