Does your throttle snap back?

[billday]

Every year when I get my K100 inspected, they give me a hard time about my throttle not snapping back with enough vigor.

I have fiddled and fussed with it but never found anything that makes much of a difference.

Wondering if "they all do that" -- what's it like on your bikes?

[Laitch]

Wondering if "they all do that" -- what's it like on your bikes?

My bike's throttle isn't snappy but it returns completely in one second or so depending on the state of its lubrication. What's really needed is to eliminate vehicle inspection in the remaining 13 or so states where it is still practiced.  :2thumbup:

[K1300S]

my 94 k75s throttle snaps back immediately.

my 92 K75s throttle closes immediately, but is would not call it a hard snap.

these things are old....ya gotta go through the entire system and freshen it up.  grip, grip/cable gears, new cable, take the TB's off and thoroughly clean all the linkages, springs and butterflies.  I did all this to my 94...resulting in a very nice "snap".

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Do you have heated grips?   

My RT had a very sluggish throttle.  Turned out it was the wires being pushed against the end of the bar because the throttle mechanism was pushed too far inboard.  It wasn't until the insulation wore through and I had to fix the short that blew the fuse whenever I used the heaters that i found the real problem with throttle return.

[Martin]

Clean, lube and align your gears I use white lithium spray grease. Make sure you grip is not binding on the perch. And lubricate your throttle body linkages and make sure the cable has a clear run, free of sharp bends. Against general consensus for the last twenty years I have been flushing and lubricating all my cables with a PTFE lubricant called Tri Flo. It is used on bicycle cables and it will not degrade the Teflon liner like other lubricants can. All my cables are now 25 years old.
Regards Martin.

[Chaos]

Mine didn't snap back at all.  It was almost like really bad cruise control.  Cleaned build up of crud between the rotating grip and handlebar, now it snaps back with like a pissed off pit bull.

[Motorhobo]

Do you have heated grips?   

My RT had a very sluggish throttle.  Turned out it was the wires being pushed against the end of the bar because the throttle mechanism was pushed too far inboard.  It wasn't until the insulation wore through and I had to fix the short that blew the fuse whenever I used the heaters that i found the real problem with throttle return.

That happened to me, too.

[Andy FitzGibbon]

Mine snaps back if I loosen the "cruise control" friction screw on the underside of the gear housing- which I never do, because the transition from zero to part throttle is so abrupt on the Jetronic that I prefer to slowly roll it off on my own (or, quickly, in a panic stop situation).


Andy

[stokester]

Mine didn't snap back at all.  It was almost like really bad cruise control.  Cleaned build up of crud between the rotating grip and handlebar, now it snaps back with like a pissed off pit bull.

During my recent mountain ride I ran into the "bad cruise control" issue where the grip did not return at all and had to use the manual return on the way back home.


I haven't taken a good look at all the components, did the cleaning of the crud prove to be the cure or just a temporary fix?

[Chaos]

Mine is still good, probably something that has to be done every 20 years or so.

[Barry in IN]

When I got my K this winter, the throttle wouldn't return.  After checking a few things, I remembered it had been dropped on the right side by a previous owner.  Hmm, maybe the grip hit the ground and was jammed up against the switch housing when it hit.
Yep, that was it.  It was jammed hard against it.  Pulling it out a little gave it some clearance and it worked fine.

[stokester]

Mine didn't snap back at all.  It was almost like really bad cruise control.  Cleaned build up of crud between the rotating grip and handlebar, now it snaps back with like a pissed off pit bull.

I found that the grease in the perch was the consistency of paste so after bit of cleaning and lube with AC Delco Super Lube I'm back in business.


Not sure if it is at pit bull level though :dunno2:


While working as a Chevy mechanic I used both the aerosol and paste AC Delco Super Lube on many things.  What I like about the spray is that the PTFE lube turns to a grease after application and is plastic-friendly.

[TriSpark]

Mine is not as snappy as a sport bike but it still closes fast enough to be safe. PO had greased it a few times since 1987, and removing all the caked-on hardened grease from the bar and the inside of the grip housing bought the snap back to it. I run it dry - the nylon in the throttle housing provides enough slipperiness to prevent sticking.

[stokester]

Mine is not as snappy as a sport bike but it still closes fast enough to be safe. PO had greased it a few times since 1987, and removing all the caked-on hardened grease from the bar and the inside of the grip housing bought the snap back to it. I run it dry - the nylon in the throttle housing provides enough slipperiness to prevent sticking.

I found the cable itself to be free as evidenced by removing the cam gear in the housing.  The caked-on grease was causing the cam gear to stick.


After thorough cleaning and adding lube it now snaps back.

[Mongrel]

Mine snaps back if I loosen the "cruise control" friction screw on the underside of the gear housing- which I never do, because the transition from zero to part throttle is so abrupt on the Jetronic that I prefer to slowly roll it off on my own (or, quickly, in a panic stop situation).


Andy

I know it's not as safe (although I've actually crashed her before and the throttle was never been an issue), but I agree with Andy.
I prefer to do the rolling off myself and it's MUCH easier on my wrists (and I got some early-onset arthritis), so I keep the "Cruise Control" friction screw fairly tight.

My K was and still is the only large-displacement bike I've ever owned, so for me no snap back actually feels "normal".