I don't care what anyone says, a twist throttle is more tricky to use on an ATV than a dirtbike. For example on a bike you lean with the machine when you go into a turn, on a quad you lean away from it. Its much harder to maintain a consistent throttle position. I have been one of the biggest advocates for twist throttles on these forumns as I have had one on my R for the past 5 years. But after an incident thanks to a twist 3 days ago, I bought a billet thumb throttle from Terry Cable. You can ride longer on a twist with less fatigue so if you can cope with a twist its great....but Ill never put another one on my R.

 

i prefer the twist i like not having to jsut use your thumb it can get soar but what ever you prefer i supose

 

Twist throttles don't cause problems...it's the people using them. Just because you had an "incident" using a twist throttle doesn't mean it was the throttles fault.....sounds to me like human error. I've had my own "incident" on my Banshee a fews years back with the stock thumb throttle - I was pounding through some whoops & my tired human thumb slipped off the throttle & instantly threw me into the handlebars as the quad started to do the meanest swap I have ever experienced! That whole incident was my fault & I'm not blaming the throttle...it was my tired thumb(which I guess I could blame on the thumb throttle, but I won't)because I had been riding hard for about 45 min. Thumb or twist? Whichever one floats your boat.

 

thumb on your quad.

 

personally i think it really depends on what you started with. most people that started on bikes love the twist because thats what they learned on. its like the whole 2wd 4wd truck thing. once you own a 4wd you will never go back, but if u havent driven one u dont see the need. i am the same way but like many here im a tightass and live with the thumb. heck it opens the carb and makes me go fast so what the hell.

 

Twist is not superior in every way. I have Banshee with twist for sand and 400EX with thumb for every where else. I also own several 2 wheelers that I actually ride much more than the 4 wheelers. I often go back and forth between the Bansh and 400EX in same day while in the dunes and there is no safety issue one way or the other. Also no problem bouncing back and forth betwen the two.
The main area where thumb is superior by far is that a thumb throttle is much more resistant to plugging up with mud and dirt. Also a thumb will not get jammed when the quad is rolled onto its side. So if most of your riding is in the mud and slop then the thumb is more reliable and requires less maintenance. If your riding is in the sand or mud free roads and trails the twist will do allright.

 

[quote]
Originally posted by: oldturtle
That's a good point. I like twist because I grew up on 2 wheelers but I never wiped out and had the throttle get yanked up full. On a quad, I could definately see that being a major problem on a rollover.

 

You are right! I have argued twist over thumb for a long time and you are the first to come up with a very valid point about thumb throttles advantage. They would be much more resistant to gumming up in mud as opposed to a twist. I'm not a serious mudder, prefer sand and trail riding, but I have gottem myself muddy on occasion and I can see your point.

 

OK, heres the update. I fitted twistgrip conversions (really simple job) to my LTZ250 and my sons LT80. We both thought they were great when riding on flat grass but as soon as we took the quads on our motocross type track with bumps and jumps etc we both had no confidence at all with the twistgrips, didn't feel as safe as with the thunb throttles where you can 'hang on' more. The thumb throttles have both gone back on!

 

Yep thats pretty much my experience . Twists were great for bikes because of the nature of how you ride the machine but on a quad they just feel wrong .