I need to adapt a left handed throttle to my new rancher 420.Unfortunetly my wife lost her right arm in an accident at the age of 5-she never had any interest in driving my snowmobiles but soon as the quad shows up she wants to get interested.Anyhow I use lefty throttle on my mountain sleds but wonder if anyone has adapted a similar item to a quad-or is the a replacement throttle I could use for her on the left side?I have the ES version so shifting it wont be an issue for her but this throttle thing is important-Thanks if your able to offer a suggestion

 

The new power steering, seems like it is made for someone like her! What I would worry about riding one handed, would be feedback from the bars or getting the bars ripped out of my hand. Currently only found on the Foreman 500 and Griz 700, but it will filter down to other machines in time....

 

I express the same concern as reconranger.
What kind of trails would she ride?
I don't know about the 420 in 2wd but I would imagine in 4wd it is like my 350 Rancher.....a little heaving on the steering. In 2wd it's easier(I have a Warn 424 on my Rancher).

I can undestand her interest in driving an atv but you also need to consider that she will not have front braking either, except in 4wd and only then because the front drive is engaged.

I wish you two the best of luck in overcoming this atv problem and please keep us posted on how she does.

 

I would look at modifying a motorcycle/snowmobile twist throttle to work on the left side of the handlebar of the ATV. Some good folks to talk to would be Manufacturing and Productions Services Corporation at 1-800-243-4051. They built the custom hand controls for Mike Young, a pro motocross rider who was injured in a crash and now races Yamaha Rhinos.
His story can be found here.
http://www.atvrideronline.com/featur...mike_young_jr/

I would also look at a seat mounted kill switch that would kill the engine if she falls off.
Good Luck

 

She would only be riding on our property trails which are wide and fairly smooth and occasionally a trip north to run some older RR bed trails in the UP of Michigan-or so she seems to think at this point anyhow.If she was to get serious about it the new foreman PS does seem more userfriendly towards her type of riding but adapting the 420 at this point makes the most sense right now.I highy doubt she will ever hit 4th gear on it -I was riding with my buddies the other day and rode one handed for about 15 minutes over fairly uneven terrain and was suprised at how well it holds its line without much darting or jerking from side to side-I was thinking Id go see what the bikeshop has to offer-maybe a bmx brake lever from a lil kids bike will be the right size for her and unintrusive for myself when I ride.

Thanks for the help and link-I'll check into it some more

 

I would get her a Rhino!

 

Absolutely! Buy the sweet lady a Rhino or even a RZR just in case you want to borrow it! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

Seriously, give a Rhino some thought. You wouldn't want her to get hurt would you?

 

The Rhino is her ultimate ride forsure-she has wanted on for a few years now but there just too big for woods running and cost too much for the use it would see.Yeah-I am alil concerned about her getting hurt but shes a tough girl and knows her limits-she's not an aggressive driver by any means -she just thinks she might enjoy rolling thru the woods occasionally and I wanted to make it so she could do that if she decided.

 

Well, I don't think it would be too difficult to rig up a left side throttle. You could use a road bike throttle, since they are designed to accept two cables (a safety feature so you can force the throttle closed if something binds up or the return spring on the carb breaks).

My concern with a twist throttle would be that steering with only one hand it would be easy to accidentially peg the throttle when you smack something and the bar kicks back. As you know, some people equip snowmobiles with a left hand throttle, which is helpful in being able to get your weight all the way off the left side of the machine and still run the throttle. This place also makes a quad version, so far just for Polaris, but they say others are coming soon. I bet if you called and asked, they would move the Rancher to the front of the line...

http://fullthrottleinc.com/

Are you going to set the Rancher up for her, or are you considering another quad just for her? Considering the situation, I would think a full auto would be optimal (like a 400 Rancher AT) or if she wanted a bigger machine the Griz with power steering would be the logical choice.

I suppose the other consideration would be operation of the front brake. BPR and some others have an integrated/unified braking system, but I would think with a little engineering a person could set up any quad with a left side brake pedal for the front brakes using another rear master cylinder from a quad or road bike. Then it would be just a matter of mounting the master cylinder, running the brake line, and making or modifying a foot pedal.

I'd probably look for a master cylinder with a bore considerably larger than that of the stock handlebar master cylinder to reduce the mechanical advantage provided by the hydraulic system.

The foot pedal you fabricate will likely be longer than a hand brake lever (making up some of the advantage) and also it's easier to apply much more pressure to a foot pedal than to a hand lever.

I'd error on the side of making it take a good strong press to lock the front wheels, rather than making the front brake pedal too powerful, touchy and difficult to modulate.

Anyhow, good luck. Let us know what she decides she wants, and how it works out.

 

I have installed a twist throttle conversion kit on the left side of a Rincon for a fellow who was impaired by a stroke, affecting the right side of his body.
He was unable to use the standard thumb throttle.
The twist throttle mounted to the left handlebar end actually acted as a safety feature as it needed to be twisted foreward to accellerate. He liked the idea because if he encountered a problem while checking cattle, the throttle would naturally be pulled back closing the throttle and slowing the unit which in turn would give him time to remaintain control of the vehicle and riding position.
I still service this unit and he uses it daily.
The twist throttle on the left bar may be the answer in this case also.
Enjoy the 420 !!