PARTS & SUPPLIES NEEDED
RE Hand Throttle
Throttle body ball & cup ends
TOOLS NEEDED
Electric drill/screwdriver
Assorted sockets & wrenches
Rat tail (round) file
Wire cutters
So why use a hand throttle? Imagine you are on a steep section of rock laden, off camber hill just as your engine stalls on you. Now you are in danger of rolling backwards and things can get nasty. With one foot on the clutch and the other standing on the brake how are you going to start up and get moving again at idle throttle? You either need to pull your foot off the brake and apply the perfect amount of throttle instantly, an extra foot to work all the pedals or a hand throttle. With the hand throttle you can start applying throttle while you are on the brake & the clutch and have a more controled climb.
A lot of guys go ahead and make their own hand throttle with parts bought from a bike shop. You basicly need a gear selector, brake cable, tubing & a tubing adjustment bolt & nut from a bike shop. Add in some zip ties, self tapping screw a fat rubber o-ring/bushing .... it's not to hard to create your own kit for less than the RE kit. I'm lazy though so I went ahead and purchased a kit. The interesting part is that even if you purchase a kit, you still need to go to a parts yard and grab one of the ball/cup ends off another vehicle.
1. I removed the gear shift knob and slid on the bushing. You may need to remove a little material from the inside of the bushing with the file.
2. Using the self tapping screw, I mounted the L bracket to the throttle body bracket as shown and add in the adjuster nut & bolt.
3. Next I slid the gear selecter onto the bushing and tightened it down. You'll need to cut one end off the cable if you have a kit. If you made your own kit you'll need to crimp the appropriate end on the cable and slide it all through.
4. Next I slid the tubing down between the gear stick & boot and fed it towards the engine compartment. Be wary of your exhaust and remember to leave some slack for body movement. When you have it routed the way you want it, zip tie it all down.
5. Now you need to go into the engine compartment and slide the wire & tubing through the adjuster as shown. Before you crimp anything down make sure you have a little slack but that the new cable will not prevent the TB lever from returning to it's idle position.
6. That's about it. Take it out to a parking lot and get a feel for how far your lever needs to move before it gives you gas past idle.
