I got my 2010 Can Am Outlander 800R Max XT three months ago. I use it for a short time almost every day but still I hate the thumb throttle. I have been riding big bikes for 50 years and thought it would take time to get used to the thumb throttle but after three months I still don't like it.

If I was going fast all the time it would be OK but I am using it for farm work where most of the ground has hidden holes and bumps. I often need to weave between trees with very little space and manoeuvre in tight spots so good control at low speeds is critical.

Is there any good reason not to convert it to a twist grip throttle?

 

Main reason is that if you were to loose control or balance the first thing you'd do is to grab the bars out of instinct.Doing so could cause you to roll the throttle on even more and a good chance of a wreck or injury or both.I've seen some of the wreck jobs where people converted throttles.Most of these people converted back to the thumb throttles afterwards.

 

2 issues with twist throttles. First, unlike a bike, you have 2 front wheels that may not hit the same thing at the same time. It is easy to apply too much throttle if the bars whip, say if you rub a tree or rut with just one wheel. Second, a twist can be difficult to control when tightly turning.

Personally, I have used them and found them acceptable on lower powered machines. They also work well on trikes. That big bad Can Am may be a handful though. I would rather suffer with the thumb than die with a twist on a higher hp machine.

 

Another advantage is thumb throttles do not freeze like twist throttle if your into cold weather riding.

 

Have you tried one of those thumb throttle extenders? It allows you to use the bottom portion of your hand to operate the throttle, which if you pretend hard enough could feel like a grip throttle.

 

This is not true, I have had thumb throttles freeze before. If anything, a dual cabled cabled system like you would find on certain dirt bikes would be less likely to stick open, as you "pull" the carb slide up and down. Water or condensation in the cable is an issue no matter what style throttle you have.

 

Thank you for the feedback guys.
I have been riding for over 50 years so my reactions are well trained to avoid things like accidental acceleration but its a valid point if if I let my helpers ride it.

The power steering is always set to full on so hitting obstacles with one front wheel does not effect steering much at all. There is very little feedback. There are small holes, ruts, remains of tree stumps, coconuts, and fallen branches, etc everywhere on the farm so almost all riding is going slow over bumps and holes. Almost all my bikes were bigger than 800cc (1,520cc, 1,300cc, 1,200cc, etc) and a lot more powerful but thats comparing apples and oranges so I take your point. 800cc on a farm can be a handful compared to 1,520cc on the road. A few times I have taken the ATV on a big gravel road and it does seem like its not very powerful. On the farm its a very different experience.

Cold weather is not an issue here. Unusually cold is 65F here.

Extending the thumb throttle sounds like a good idea. I can bodge something up just to test it. When I first got the ATV I tried using the tip of my thumb on the tip of the throttle lever. That was a big mistake for the conditions here. Now I lay my thumb right along the lever and its a lot easier. Extending it would make fine control even easier I think.

We get very little rain during the day so I am not too concerned about water. When it does rain it is often torrential so we run for cover.

 

We did sell these for awhile,but I was never crazy about them. Can exaggerate throttle travel if your not careful,but some old farmers and ranchers loved em. Have even seen some Polaris owners that have been able to rig up pwc throttles with the lever in front,but not too crazy about those either.Plus they disabled the etc safety switch. May get away with on on a Polaris since the brake lever is on the left,but still seems it may be too dangerous if you have a brake lever on the right also.Kinda gives me the shivers on this..

 

LMAO! this is funny right here (i was thinking the same thing )

 

Thanks I will try a temporary set up. Its much easier than converting to a twist grip and can easily be removed. There is no brake lever on the right side. There is an all wheels brake lever on the left side and a rear wheels foot brake on the right side. Its taken me three months to stop trying to use the left side brake lever as a clutch. 50 years of manual shift with a clutch is a hard habit to break.