Ask The Editors: Why Do ATVs Have Thumb Throttles?

Believe it or not, the very first ATV to be manufactured using motorcycle controls (unlike earlier ATVs, which mostly operated like a skid-steer), came equipped with a thumb throttle and the trend has been a staple of ATV operation ever since. That ATV was the Honda ATC90, or as it was originally known: The Honda US90.

While many complain of thumb fatigue and prefer the feel of a twist throttle as is standard on most motorcycles, the thumb throttle’s roots can actually be traced back to our snowmobile cousins. There it is generally believed to be the preferred method on account of the possibility that the twist throttle’s gathering moisture then freezing in an open position. While there is some truth to this risk, the manufacturers themselves give a slightly different explanation as, after all, many of their motorcycles are consistently operated in equally cold conditions without any such concern.

The actual reason, according to the engineers who designed the early ATVs is that an ATV’s (or snowmobile’s) operator seating position places a different degree of required leverage on the handlebars than does a bike. The results of their studies concluded that a throttle applicator that did not require a change in the operator’s entire right hand position worked better for steering the usually heavier front end of an ATV.

Now while that may be true from an OEM standpoint, many aftermarket companies have had success marketing conversion kits that would allow a twist throttle to be installed on an ATV in place of the stock thumb throttle. Additionally there were even companies who made kits that offered the rider either the twist or thumb throttle option simultaneously.

While no ATV designed specifically for the North American market came stock with a twist throttle, there have been a few examples of factory twist throttle machines throughout the years, perhaps the most well known of these coming from Spanish company Gas Gas.

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