Throttle Rocker Review  by Dennis DenHartog

If you're wondering, "What is a Throttle Rocker?" so was I when I first heard about it.  It sounded like something for people who were limp wristed and too wimpy to twist the throttle "like a man!". It seemed like something akin to the steering wheel spinners that used to be a popular accessory for people who couldn't quite master the hand-over-hand steering technique necessary for quick or tight turns. Something that purportedly made steering easier, but at best, got in the way, and in actuality, could be dangerous and break your wrist.  But most of the motorcyclists were only using the Throttle Rocker on long rides and cross country trips, where there isn't a lot of throttle twisting going on.  After a 150 mile ride(both ways) one very long afternoon, I started wondering how I would like it for extended rides at around 2/3 to 3/4 throttle and ordered one from JC Whitney.

 
Since most motorcyclists who reviewed the Throttle Rocker said it was a nuisance and in the way while riding in town because of the number of stops and starts, with all the attendant gear changes, I decided to test it first while riding around town.  After several days of using it around town, several things became apparent.  One is that a twist and go scooter with a CVT is very different than a motorcycle, in that the amount of throttle twisting, even in town, isn't nearly the same as when you're running up through the gears and back again for every start and stop.  I didn't find it a nuisance at all, although I couldn't quite get the throttle rocker adjusted to where I could comfortably use it to control the throttle all the way from idle up to full throttle with just the heel of my hand.  I didn't find that to be a problem, though, since if I needed full throttle, all I had to do was to wrap my fingers around the grip and twist it normally.  When I didn't need full throttle, my fingers were resting on the front brake lever most of the time, and the thumb stayed hooked around the underneath the grip whether using the throttle rocker to control the throttle or not.  Because I was able to keep my fingers on the brake lever at nearly all times, instead of having to maintain a firm grip on the throttle grip just to keep the throttle on, I found that when I was approaching potential problem areas, I was ready and could ease off of the throttle some to slow down while at the ready.

Without the throttle rocker the choice approaching "situations" was either, off the throttle, fingers at the ready on the brake lever, or  just easing off the throttle some, knowing that at any moment I might have to quickly unwrap my fingers from the throttle and grab the brake.  That can be accomplished in about half a second, but at 35 mph I've just moved another 25.5 ft in that half second.

The downside of using the Throttle Rocker in town was that no matter how tight I pulled the velcro around the soft rubber grip, after an hour or more of use, it would eventually move around the grip a little bit, so I could no longer give the scooter 80 to 90% throttle with just the heel of my hand and needed to wrap my fingers back around the grip for any kind of healthy acceleration.  I decided that was possibly just because I was in town encountering lots of stop and go traffic, so I needed to find out by getting out of town.  I readjusted it again and headed out of town, into what I call the countr-uburban part of Allen county Indiana, where stops(many of them "almost stops") were few and brief.  After arriving back at home after around 25 miles of "country" riding, and examining it, I decided it had slipped a bit again, so...  time for corrective measures.  By this time I was pretty sure it was something I was going to make a permanent feature, so I removed it and put some Scott's Grip Stick(a rubber cement designed to keep throttle grips from slipping) on the part of the grip the Throttle Rocker strap covered, reinstalled it, and let it dry overnight.  No more slipping! That Grip Stick keeps things from slipping, but isn't made to entirely harden, so it can still be removed, and with a little work you can usually get the grip glue to roll off in little balls.  I'm not sure how easily it would remove from the soft rubber grip, but I didn't expect to be needing to find out.

The last test was to go for a 61 mile ride through the countryside so I could find out about the difference if any, in fatigue of my hand and wrist.  While I was at it, I found out a few other things along the way.  The first was when I filled up the tank on the way out.  I had run through nearly a full tank of gas since beginning to use the throttle rocker, and when I filled up, I found I had gotten 7 mpg better gas mileage than any time since my first two tanks when the scooter was new, when I ran full throttle only briefly and occasionally.  Since then I had gotten pretty heavy handed with the twist grip, and mileage suffered even more after I rejetted and adjusted the carb for max performance.

The next thing I found out, was when I was on a 17 mile stretch of highway running north in a nearly constant constant crosswind from the west.  Pretty scary when a tractor trailer would come from the other way on the 2 lane blacktop road I was on.  After the first one, I decided that I'd better wrap both hands completely around the grips when the next one approached.  That gave me a lot more control in a situation where I had to fight for it.  Once I got off that section of road, the next 18 miles was much more sheltered and partly into the wind, so the wind quit being as much of an issue, but there were lots of very long sweeping curves, some of them with fairly uneven or rough pavement.  I soon realized that for long sweepers, to maintain the acceleration and control needed, especially with less than perfect pavement, control is a lot better with both hands firmly gripping the handlebars...  not the time to be casual, and the last place you want your fingers while leaning into a curve is on the brake.  I'm sure I always gripped both handlebars through curves before, but using the throttle rocker makes me have to think about just what it is that I'm doing more, not a bad thing.

When I came in at the end of the ride, my wrist and hand wasn't all stiff like it usually would be after a long ride like that.  I also really like being able to be ready to brake for stupid moves by cagers, if necessary, at almost all times.  I had a couple errands to run that evening, and some shopping took me to the other side of Fort Wayne and back the next day, so time to fill up again.  This time it was 8 mpg better than I was getting before the Trottle Rocker, in spite of the fact that I ran a couple miles at full throttle in that crosswind and the rest of that 17 mile stretch was very hard running...  with the throttle rocker pushed down as near as could be to full throttle without actually grabbing WOT, probably 85 or 90% throttle all the way.  Also went through a bunch of those long sweepers doing full throttle through the last half.  But I attribute the better gas mileage to the fact that now I have to make a conscious effort to crank the throttle all the way to wide open, whereas I probably had been grabbing wide open throttle a lot more than I realized when accelerating, going up hills, or every now and then for no apparent reason whatsoever.

Unless there are reasons I need more control, like in severe winds, hard cornering, or really bad pavement, I already often ride with the fingers of my left hand on the brake lever, but since I try to always use both brakes at once, it's a real plus to be able to have both hands ready to brake when necessary.  Between that, the lack of fatigue on long rides, and the un-anticipated bonus of better gas mileage, I certainly plan on keeping a Throttle Rocker on my scooter, and expect that I will want one on every scooter I ever own.
     Dennis DenHartog