Real happy with the performance of the TM45 except for the tension of the thumb throttle. I have the spring mod(thanks Hightower) and I am running the pump and I have removed the small return spring inside the thumb throttle housing also. It is quite rideable as it is except when I am doing wheelies where it seems not as easy as when it was the soft stocker. I was thinking about trying to extend the throttle arm on the carb itself, has anyone tried this with any success? I would of thought it only would need 1/4" or so to give it more leverage which inturn would make the pull lighter, am I on the right track?

Gav

 

You can get an aluminum extended thumb throttle. I got mine from On-Dunes but I think the store is closed. You could PM sandbomber (he owns On-Dunes) and see if he could help you. Or otherwise try albaaction.com, they might have one.

 

If your not running the stock cable, Put it on there. The cable that is recommended for the tm45 is to big. The stock cable will make a night and day difference. That is if you already haven't done that

 

I have not tried swapping the cable over AMD, I have tried lubing the cable that came with the kit and it made no difference. Is the stock cable a better quality? Hey Goodsound do those extended thumb throttles make much of a difference?.

 

With an extension, what you gain in a softer pull you lose in throw distance and extra movement. You will end up with a much longer throw from closed to wide open (it will feel like alot) and every throttle adjustment you make while riding will require more throttle position adjustment than before. I hated mine.

 

The stock cable is just a smaller diameter cable then the one that comes with the kit. The one that comes with the kit is almost the size of a clutch cable. The stock cable moves more free then the big one that comes with the kit. I always use the stock cable for the tm's. With the light throttle return spring and the stock cable, the pull is almost stock.

 

amd, are you running the pumper? When I had my TM, even with Hightowers fix, I still thought it was alot of work! Maybe I'm just a wuss!

 

to run the stock throttle cable, you must use a grinder to cut off the hex nut at the carb end - the part that threads into the stock carb. then you simply slip the cable sleeve right into the pocket on the tm45. the stock cable is a finer braid and slides thru its sleeve easier than the aftermarket does. i got about a year and a half out of my stock cable before it started birdcaging and fraying where it curves around the white roller on the tm45. then I changed to the RWR cable. it is heavier braid, and a little more resitance inside the sleeve due to this, but hopefully it will last longer. trail riding is just hard on cables, moving them in and out hundreds if not thousands of times each and every ride trip.


the tm45, even after the spring mods to alleviate thumb tension as much as possible while still maintaining pumper action, is always gonna be stiffer than any vacuum slide carb out there including the stocker. but it really isn't much different than some of the other flat slide carbs out there, although it is stiffer than most people care to get used to.

my best advice to everybody - take heed and read this with care because it really does help - is to experiment with the positioning of the thumb throttle - don't have it in a position where the end of your thumb is being used to push it - move it all the way up against the grip, and rotate it way downward so that your thumb is almost wrapping under the grip to reach it. this will require a small mod to the brake lever mounting - you will notice that you can only rotate so far before the thumb housing hits the bottom cap screw on the brake lever clamp, well just remove this screw, countersink the hole in the aluminum clamp with a drill bit the size of the screw head, then replace the screw with the next size shorter from hardware store (metric) and screw it in so it is set down in the countersink. Now you can rotate the thumb lever housing that much further, and doing this just makes it OH so much easier on the thumb. Rotate the lever housing down as far as you can while still being able to set your parking brake - go too far and you can't set it - and you won't regret the bother of doing it. You will find that you can almost "palm" the lever with the heavy meat of your thumb, instead of being way out on the delicate little tip of it. Just try it, it might not work for you, but you have nothing to lose but a buck for a bolt (go stainless), and it just may do the trick for ya.

 

I will try those couple of tricks thanks Hightower, and I will give the stock cable a try. I have been getting spoilt riding the 700R's with the fuel injection, those are super light. Still too hot for me to ride, 43 deg cel today, lucky I am stuck in the air cond office today(sat). I will get out in the work shop tomorrow and see how I go.

Gav

 

Hightower, these mods you are referring to with the positionsing of the thumb throttle....
Are you doing this with stock or extended thumb throttle?
Will it work the same with extended thumb throttle?