Switchback throttle
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Joined: Jun 2015
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From: Gresham Oregon
Switchback throttle
I just acquired a '12 Switchback with about 17k miles logged. It appears to be an OEM bike with a couple of new tires on it. I'm perplexed by the sensitive throttle it has. Turning it either throws you backward (accelerating) or forward (decelerating) whenever I barely move the throttle through the first three gears. There doesn't seem to be a coast position and you have to either be speeding up or slowing down.
Do I just have a high compression engine and/or a high power-to-weight ratio causing this or??? There also seems to be very little resistance to twisting the throttle when compared to other bikes I've ridden (metric bikes). Any thoughts or suggestions?
Thanks,
Inspectorbill
Do I just have a high compression engine and/or a high power-to-weight ratio causing this or??? There also seems to be very little resistance to twisting the throttle when compared to other bikes I've ridden (metric bikes). Any thoughts or suggestions?
Thanks,
Inspectorbill
Road Captain
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 600
Likes: 10
From: Rochester, NY
Your clutch cable probably needs to be adjusted. I had my bike at a Harley dealer for warranty maintenance and the tech adjusted my clutch so that the clutch lever was pulled all they way out. This made it difficult to reach the clutch lever even though I'm 6'4" tall and have long fingers. This also prevented me from feathering the clutch so I experienced the same issue as you have.
On your clutch cable there is a rubber boot. Slide it down and it will expose the adjustment nuts. When you adjust the cable you should see gap widen where the lever meets the housing, similar to when the gap gets bigger when you pull the lever. Do not adjust it too much or you could risk the clutch not fully disengaging when you release the lever. That can cause the bike to move in neutral and wear out the clutch plates faster.
Also, your throttle assembly consists of two cables, a throttle cable and a idle cable. While sitting on your bike looking at the throttle housing you'll see the two cables. The one furthest away from you (Closest to the brake lever) is the throttle cable. The cable closest to you is the idle cable.
The idle cable should be tight (no play) so the accelerator can return to the 0 position (idle) without issue. The throttle cable can be adjusted with a little play if you want so the throttle comes on a little later but remember the throttle position goes from 0 (idle) to 99 (Wide Open). Once you hit 1+ the bikes going to move so this probably won't help anyways.
One other option: It might just be easier to learn to hold on.
Good Luck!
On your clutch cable there is a rubber boot. Slide it down and it will expose the adjustment nuts. When you adjust the cable you should see gap widen where the lever meets the housing, similar to when the gap gets bigger when you pull the lever. Do not adjust it too much or you could risk the clutch not fully disengaging when you release the lever. That can cause the bike to move in neutral and wear out the clutch plates faster.
Also, your throttle assembly consists of two cables, a throttle cable and a idle cable. While sitting on your bike looking at the throttle housing you'll see the two cables. The one furthest away from you (Closest to the brake lever) is the throttle cable. The cable closest to you is the idle cable.
The idle cable should be tight (no play) so the accelerator can return to the 0 position (idle) without issue. The throttle cable can be adjusted with a little play if you want so the throttle comes on a little later but remember the throttle position goes from 0 (idle) to 99 (Wide Open). Once you hit 1+ the bikes going to move so this probably won't help anyways.
One other option: It might just be easier to learn to hold on.
Good Luck!
Last edited by enodrano; Jun 7, 2015 at 12:02 PM.
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