Twitchy Throttle

nbadvrider

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2018 ES - great bike - twitchy throttle is bothersome. Use cruise control on hwys but the jerky throttle is an issue on gravel roads and mild first gear hill climbs. I am 65 years old and am not looking for more power so I do not need a flash or reflash or whatever they call it. But am wondering if anyone has any ideas about how to smooth out the action on the throttle?
 

Jlq1969

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2018 ES - great bike - twitchy throttle is bothersome. Use cruise control on hwys but the jerky throttle is an issue on gravel roads and mild first gear hill climbs. I am 65 years old and am not looking for more power so I do not need a flash or reflash or whatever they call it. But am wondering if anyone has any ideas about how to smooth out the action on the throttle?
If you do not want a reflash, try a soft spring in throtle body, which works backwards, so that the closure is not so abrupt, without removing anything. just try, to see if the closing is smoothed
If you feel softer, you can think of changing the throtle body spring for one with less tension
 
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EricV

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Welcome to the forum. Please take a minute to fill out your profile with your location. State or city, state is fine, or country if outside the US. It helps add context to your posts and makes it easier to offer more accurate answers to any questions you may post, as well as helping others to better understand your point of view when you offer answers yourself.

First, if you haven't double checked, make sure you are in T mode. T mode requires a bit more rotation of the throttle to get the same results then when in S mode.

Most of what you are noticing is the difference between Carburetor bikes, EFI bikes and Throttle by Wire bikes. Carb bikes have a very soft throttle, (by comparison), that is very forgiving and allows small hand movements that do not affect throttle action. EFI bikes are more sensitive to throttle movement and have a more precise fuel delivery. Throttle by wire bikes are very sensitive to throttle movement and virtually any rotation of the throttle will cause a change in fuel delivery, thus the twitchy feeling you have.

Most people train their wrist as they ride the bike and get accustomed to it over time. If your last bike was a carburetor bike, the change to the Super Ten's throttle by wire is a dramatic one and it will take you longer to get used to it and master the fine motor control required to be smooth in some conditions.

On to things you can do to help make this easier or better for you. Start with free and easy things before you decide to throw money at this. :) I found a BIG help was to minimize the slack in the throttle cables. Yamaha specs a pretty good amount of slack. There is an adjuster nut under a rubber sleeve near the handlebar end of the cables. Pull the rubber sleeve back to get to the nuts. It's a normal double nut arrangement. Loosen the jam nuts and experiment with the amount of slack, reducing it as much as you can w/o impacting the idle speed.

Remember that when you have the bike off there is a small difference between the active slack than when the bike is on. What I mean by this is that the slack will feel good with the bike off and then when you fire it up, it will be reduced and may impact the idle speed. As the servo comes on, it "tightens up" just a bit. Some experimentation is usually involved to find out how much slack you need to not impact idle, but still get it as little as possible. Remember to give the bars a good back and forth swing, lock to lock, to be sure no idle changes occur after your adjustment. I did this when I first got my 2012 Super Tenere in 2011. After riding a Super Ten for 100k plus, I did not find this necessary on my 2015 Super Ten when I moved to a Gen II bike.

Some riders have un-wrapped the throttle spring one turn. You have to be careful when doing this so it doesn't get away from you. There are two springs, if I recall correctly, and they wrap around the barrel at the throttle more than once. Some have reported that un-wrapping one of the springs reduces the 'snap back' action of the throttle and makes it easier to modulate at the grip. I have not tried this.

There are throttle tube kits that allow a cam system that reduces and alters the progressive action of the throttle. It makes the off idle action require more rotation of the throttle tube while still making higher rpm changes quicker. Here is a link to the most common one that I am aware off. Several vendors sell it. G2 Throttle Tamer Edit: Be Aware that many different cams are available for the G2 and some will make the issue worse! The 400 cam was designed to cure the abrupt initial power delivery.

The Flash that people talk about can alter and improve many facets of the bike's engine and throttle. The standard ones you can buy are only tailored for basic common desires like improving air/fuel delivery to match accessory changes like exhaust pipes, cat deletes, etc. However, a custom Flash done to address the issues you specifically have is available at a reasonable cost and does not have to change other things if you do not want to. Even things like engine braking can be adjusted. One of the forum members offers this and is very experienced in doing them just for the Super Tenere. You may wish to start a private message conversation with Tony to see if what he can do will be something you may want to consider, but I would try the free things first, one at a time in progression, before you decide to spend any money on a G2 or Flash. The thread HERE is 23 pages long, but worth reading if you get serious about this, as many answers to questions you may have have already been asked. He's been doing it for a while and has learned a lot along the way.

In regards to your comments about gravel roads and mild first gear climbs. On gravel, changing the traction control, (TCS), to 2 is helpful. (I think that's what Fennellg meant to say since 1 is the default setting.) It defaults to 1 when ever you turn the bike off. ( Remember that when you stop during a ride for a break! ) 2 setting allows some wheel spin w/o getting carried away enough for the rear to step out. It makes things a little more forgiving on gravel and I find that easier for me to be smooth with the throttle too.

First gear. That's what you use to get to second gear, not a travel gear. ;) The Super Ten's big parallel twin motor has a lot of low end torque. Try shifting up to second and keep your speed in your comfort zone and see what that feels like. You may be surprised and how the bike will allow you to just chug along. It will also make a difference in the throttle response with the taller gear at low rpm. A small throttle movement will result in a less abrupt change in speed and should be less jerky.

Try this stuff and see what others offer as well. If those changes help you while you adjust to the throttle by wire system of the Super Tenere, then you may have no need to go further, but if not, you have some direction to investigate. Enjoy the bike and I hope this helps.
 
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magic

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This is a very common topic on this forum and there is a lot of info here. I would like to add a few tips to Eric's post. First remove almost all the play from the throttle cables. Synchronize the throttle bodies and back out the air bleed screws 3/4 turn as discussed on this forum. I use a throttle tamer with the 400 cam, it came with a 200 cam. These adjustments helped a lot but still not perfect. I took some advise from one of our forum members (eemsreno) and set the CO settings to 50. This made a noticeable improvement. I have a 2013 and could adjust this myself. Your 2018 may require a trip to a dealer.

I ride in S mode all the time, on and off road. The off idle response is much better now, still not perfect, but I think I can live with it. Read through some of the threads on this topic on this forum. I think any new bike takes some getting used to. You can also play with the adjuster on the clutch lever to change the engagement point. Rotate the little adjuster on the lever through the 1-4 positions. All these little adjustments should help. Good luck and enjoy the ride.
 

SHUMBA

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2018 ES - great bike - twitchy throttle is bothersome. Use cruise control on hwys but the jerky throttle is an issue on gravel roads and mild first gear hill climbs. I am 65 years old and am not looking for more power so I do not need a flash or reflash or whatever they call it. But am wondering if anyone has any ideas about how to smooth out the action on the throttle?
Well, first I'm going to make you feel better.
I'll turn 69 in exactly one month. So age is not a factor, only a number.
Agree the throttle is rough and very sensitive compared to other bikes I have ridden.
Suggest you keep it in Touring mode and I'm sure that your wrist will adapt. My 2018 Tenere is 3,600 km new and I'm gradually getting used to it.
Best to you
SHUMBA

Sent from my SM-T380 using Tapatalk
 

bigbob

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Figure I have 13 more years till I am 80. Then I may have to quit or get a trike or slingshot. (Assumes I can get into a slingshot at 80 when I am drooling!)
 

Roddylee

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Agree with throttle cable. Bought mine used at 3,000 miles. It was horrible I’m sure that was a factor in the sale. I adjusted that, night and day. And you do get used to it, also everyone says breaking makes it better by 5 or 6k. True for me. Rarely do I even notice or think about it anymore at 9k.
 

Sierra1

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Practice. Pure and simple. And, not highway practice. It took me about 30 minutes of bumper to bumper city driving. Before you know it, your wrist will recalibrate, and smooth out. Personal opinion: EFI is a contributing factor, but the RT and ST1300 did not have the abrupt throttle response. Neither did the FJR, but I suspect it had been re-flashed by the first owner. I think Yamaha believes the throttle should be this way; and made it so. And, now that I've grown used to the Tenere throttle, I wouldn't have it any other way. By the way, I'm 56, and this is my favorite bike....ever.
 

nbadvrider

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Thanks to everyone on the forum for your advice and encouragement. Everyone is very helpful. I took some of the play out of the throttle cables, but don't feel competent enough to start messing with throttle bodies and other more technical stuff. I have started to really focus on the throttle though with the goal of improving my own response. I am going back and forth from S to T modes and practicing as best I can. I think I am getting used to it a bit more. Thanks again for everyone who took the time to respond, I really appreciate it.
 

Sierra1

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Once I became used to "S", that's where I stayed. If I put it into "T", I kill it taking off from a stop sign. With practice, you won't even have to think about "clutchin' & gassin'"; it'll be second nature.
 

Wareagleguy

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Thanks to everyone on the forum for your advice and encouragement. Everyone is very helpful. I took some of the play out of the throttle cables, but don't feel competent enough to start messing with throttle bodies and other more technical stuff. I have started to really focus on the throttle though with the goal of improving my own response. I am going back and forth from S to T modes and practicing as best I can. I think I am getting used to it a bit more. Thanks again for everyone who took the time to respond, I really appreciate it.
I just purchased a Tenere a few months ago. On the test ride I was taken by how the bike would buck around. It was simply the engine braking and I had to ride it in a small area for a half hour to get the "feel" of the throttle. This may not be your issue but it took me a while to master the wrist to throttle ratio, LOL!

Once I got enough seat time, I don't think I want to go back. Using engine breaking a wonderful thing!
 

Sierra1

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....Once I got enough seat time, I don't think I want to go back. Using engine breaking a wonderful thing!
Wrist to throttle ratio....I like that. I was referring to it as wrist recalibration. Either way, just a little practice and, viol'a.
 

Squibb

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Speaking personally, I prefer to keep the bike in Sport mode, as I don't find the lag in T after it searches for eco fuelling helped me adapt to the throttle response. Just my take, but give it a little time - maybe rest your right index finger on the base of the brake lever in rough conditions to steady things.

On my previous KTM 990 Adv, I used a G2 tamer with the 400 cam that EricV mentions in post #4. It worked a treat, but would need great care with fitting the throttle tube to avoid damage to the ES heated grips on the Super10.
 
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