No more sore thumb/hand cramps

[tri5ron]

I did this for my wifes 250ex, but thought some here might like the idea. It will also work for those of you who use a stock thumb throttle on your 400ex.

many people already replace the stock throttle lever from a 250ex or 400ex, with a stock lever from a 90ex due to the lever on the 90ex is about 1/2" longer.
Below is a pic of a stock 250/400ex lever on the bottom, and a stock 90ex lever on the top.
<a href="http://s111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/?action=view&current=IMG_8812.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/IMG_8812.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>


the problem my wife was having, is that her hands are not that strong, and trying to hold the grip with her 4 fingers, and keeping her thumb on the lever, would cause her hand to cramp up. and the lever got hard for her to push very quickly.

So naturally, the "quick fix" answer to that, is to put a longer lever. BUT that also creates another problem....
The longer lever causes the need to "open" the riders right hand even more than before, resulting in a lever that is easier to push, But more likely to cause cramping in the hand.

so here's what I did to fix the Cramping issue, as well as making the throttle lever eaiser to push.

First I took a stock lever from a 90ex, and bent it back a little just to where it snapped off.
(you cant bend cast aluminum much before it breaks)
Then I cut the head off of a roofing nail, and bent it to the desired angle. Next I mixed some epoxy putty, and puttied the nail shank to the back side of the lever, and covered the nail shaft with more putty to completly cover it up. let it harden overnight, then file and sand to smooth it up.

Below is a pic of the stock 250ex lever on th left, a stock lever from a 90ex in the center, and my puttied 90ex lever on the right.
<a href="http://s111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/?action=view&current=IMG_8813.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/IMG_8813.jpg" border="0"
alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/?action=view&current=IMG_8819.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/IMG_8819.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

next, I got some Plastic tool dip, to give it a little more gripping quality, and to make it look nicer too.
<a href="http://s111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/?action=view&current=IMG_8817.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/IMG_8817.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

and end result is...
<a href="http://s111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/?action=view&current=IMG_8820.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/IMG_8820.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/?action=view&current=IMG_8822.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/IMG_8822.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

I will let this dry overnight, and may do a second dipping tommorow. after I get it done, I wil post some comparative pics of it installed.
BTW- before doing the dipping, I had my wife sit on the quad while I changed from original, to stock 90ex, to modified 90ex levers. She said that the modified lever was MUCH more comfortable than the stock 250ex lever, AND is eaiser for her to push.
Enjoy...

[CJM]

what kinda epoxy putty did you use?

[Pipeless416]

wow.. now that is impressive! great work.

[SPDSNYPR]

Cool. Thanks.

[tri5ron]

CJM,
The putty I used I got from harbor Freight tools. it can be purchased from any auto parts, hardware, or Home emprovement type store. pretty much any brand of epoxy putty will work fine. It comes as a roll with both the putty and the catalyst together.

you just cut a little of it off the roll, then knead it together till uniform in color.
(note- you must have everything ready to go first),
this stuff gets hard in a matter of 3 to 5 minutes max., so you gotta be quick.
you literally have less than 2 minutes working time.
great stuff!

[tri5ron]

Ok, I've dipped the modified 90ex lever a total of 3 times. The coating is plenty thick enough now to be durable, and I'm happy with the results.

below are some pics to show the different angles between all 3 levers...


stock lever looking down

<a href="http://s111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/?action=view&current=IMG_8823.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/IMG_8823.jpg" border="0" alt="stock lever looking down"></a>



stock lever looking inboard

<a href="http://s111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/?action=view&current=IMG_8830.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/IMG_8830.jpg" border="0" alt="stock lever looking inboard"></a>



90ex lever looking down

<a href="http://s111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/?action=view&current=IMG_8825.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/IMG_8825.jpg" border="0" alt="stock 90ex lever looking down"></a>



90ex lever looking inboard

<a href="http://s111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/?action=view&current=IMG_8831.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/IMG_8831.jpg" border="0" alt="stock 90ex lever looking inboard"></a>



modified 90ex lever looking down

<a href="http://s111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/?action=view&current=IMG_8827.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/IMG_8827.jpg" border="0" alt="modified 90ex lever looking down"></a>



modified 90ex lever looking forward

<a href="http://s111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/?action=view&current=IMG_8828.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/IMG_8828.jpg" border="0" alt="modified 90ex lever looking forward"></a>



modified 90ex lever looking inboard

<a href="http://s111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/?action=view&current=IMG_8829.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/IMG_8829.jpg" border="0" alt="modified 90ex lever looking inboard"></a>


My wife is VERY happy with the new throttle/thumb position, and hopefully this will aid in her having a better hold on the handgrip, a more comfortable thumb action, and less cramping in her hand.
we will find out over Thanksgiving weekend, when we will be camping for 3 days of riding and Landsailing at El Mirage dry lakebed...... WOOHOO!!!

Ride safe, and keep the rubber side down.....
Happy Thanksgiving to all...

[CJM]

Very nice, i think ill do this mod myself.

I thought you were talking about the putty with catalyst but wanted to be sure.

[sc400ex_rider]

sweet mod i hope it dont break off on the trail. what i did for hand cramp is removed the spring in the lever. then i took the cover off the carb and pryed the shaft spring tab around 1 full turn. it was alot better on the hand. they are way to stiff from the factory

[tri5ron]

Originally posted by sc400ex_rider
sweet mod i hope it dont break off on the trail. what i did for hand cramp is removed the spring in the lever. then i took the cover off the carb and pryed the shaft spring tab around 1 full turn. it was alot better on the hand. they are way to stiff from the factory Super old thread, but I thought I'd give an update, and reply to the legitimite concern raised by sc400ex.

many hours of riding, and many different people riding it,... And it still holds up fine !
(I have ridden it HARD at WOT through some whoops that should have bucked me to the moon), (Yeah,... maybe I'd had a little too much JB around the campfire that night ),...
and it hasn't broken yet, and shows no signs of weakening.

The trick here, for having it strong, is to get the shank of the nail to rest nicely in the back side of the throttle lever, and completely covering it with the Epoxy.
(I should have shown a pic of that before I applied the Epoxy Putty, but I forgot)

Works so well, I did the same for my daughters quad too.

They both are very happy with it.

[400man]

I deffinatly need to do this on mine. one question though, on the modified lever, is the red stuff just paint or is it rubber like on the un-modded levers?

[tri5ron]

Originally posted by 400man
I deffinatly need to do this on mine. one question though, on the modified lever, is the red stuff just paint or is it rubber like on the un-modded levers? It is rubber, just like the OEM lever.
It's called Plasti-Dip.
It comes in a few different colors. Red, Black, (and depending on where you find it,.. sometimes Yellow, Blue, Grey, White).

Go back and re-read the original post, and see the pic I included.

It is available at any Hardware or Home Improvement store like Home Depot, Lowes, or even Walmart, or Harbor Freight Tools.

[400man]

Originally posted by tri5ron
It is rubber, just like the OEM lever.
It's called Plasti-Dip.
It comes in a few different colors. Red, Black, (and depending on where you find it,.. sometimes Yellow, Blue, Grey, White).

Go back and re-read the original post, and see the pic I included.

It is available at any Hardware or Home Improvement store like Home Depot, Lowes, or even Walmart, or Harbor Freight Tools.


LOL im so blind :o , the plasti-dip bottle is even in the pics. honestly I didnt even read the posts except for the main post at the top, I just looked at all the pics.

but I do have one more question about the modded lever. when you push it to WOT, is your thumb stretched out pretty far past the handlebar? like with the stock lever at WOT, it stops close to parallel with the handlebars

[tri5ron]

I'll take another pic for you later today.
both of the 250EX at WOT, and the TRX90 at WOT.

[tri5ron]

as promised, here's some shots and vids showing the modified TRX90 throttle levers, on both my daughter's TRX90, and my wife's TRX250EX.
This mod will also work on any 400Ex with the OEM thumb throttle.


My daughter's TRX90 with modified lever pushed to WOT

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/2006%20TRX90%20Quad/IMG_3519.jpg
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/2006%20TRX90%20Quad/IMG_3521.jpg
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/2006%20TRX90%20Quad/IMG_3522.jpg
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/2006%20TRX90%20Quad/IMG_3523.jpg

<iframe width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/r8H5-wn4xaI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>



My wife's TRX250EX with Modified TRX90 throttle lever

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/IMG_3527.jpg
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/IMG_3528.jpg
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/IMG_3530.jpg
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/IMG_3531.jpg

<iframe width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/D9RoUpjL_WA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[honda400ex2003]

nice vids ron! you have been busy with the go pro today. :D

looks great as usual!
steve

[tri5ron]

Haha, to be honest,... I haven't even used the darn GoPro yet. these were just done with my little Canon PowerShot A590. it actually does OK for a little Point'n'Shoot.

The one and only time I tried the GoPro, was back when Brandy got lost in the desert, and it's been in it's case ever since !
Maybe I should pull that thing out tonight, and practice with it some before the upcoming Baja 500 race !
I don't even know how to download it onto my laptop yet ! Guess I'd better get busy ! :D

[honda400ex2003]

lol nice... real nice... get these kicking toys and you dont even play with them.

hahahahaha
steve

[400man]

Wow! Great pics and videos! answered my question PERFECTLY :D I think this thread should be added to the stickied "Popular 400ex thread links"

I raced my first GNCC last fall with my 400ex and toward the end of the race I had so much arm pump that I was literally using my palm in some cases to push the throttle, especially after any big hills where I had to use alot of my hand and arm strength just to hold on to the bars and keep from falling off the back of the seat and keep the bike in control and not tagging a tree, and the way the stock thumb throttle arm is angled it makes it rough to have a comfortable grip and hold on tight at the same time in rough and fast paced conditions.

I found a extra old thumb throttle lever that I think may be a stock 400ex lever that im gonna try this with first before I buy a trx90 lever. again thanks for the pics and videos

[muddy maki]

hmm this is a good idea! i may have to do this to my 400
Thanks for the heads up

[djwilliams0822]

So did you crack the throttle lever or break it in two pieces?

[tri5ron]

Yes, the first one that I did for my wife's bike, cracked and broke into two pieces.
no problem though,
the nail shank held in by the epoxy is more than strong enough.

Use the epoxy as a "Filler putty" to fill in the gap at the point of the cracked area.
But remember, this stuff hardens FAST !
You only have about 1 1/2 - 2 minutes working time once you get it mixed properly.
It does not need to be formed perfectly, to the shape you desire, at first.
That is what the sanding and filing is for.

The second lever I did for my daughters bike did not visibly crack,... but obviously, bending cast aluminum, causes internal cracking.
Therefore, the reinforcement with the nail shank and epoxy putty is still necessary.

To date, both levers are still holding up well, and both wife and daughter are very happy with them.