How do you hold the throttle/brake?

[geetarhero]

While it might sound very elementary, im just wondering how everyone here holds their throttle (on most occasions)
I have bought my FZ6 as my first bike (foot of snow still on ground right now though) so I have yet to head out and start picking it up. I was taught at my training course, similar to the US's MSF, to hold the throttle with my thumb, index and pinky while my middle and ring fingers on the brake.
After cruising the forum a bit and reading MANY threads ive noticed that not everyone seems to be using this hand position? I may be wrong but some pictures of "shorty" brake levers on some bikes makes me wonder how anyone does it as well. I find the way I learned made it harder to release the throttle when compared to index and middle fingers on the brake. I just seemed to have more control that way.

just interested, Thanks! :rockon:

 

[Hellgate]

That's about jacked up. Index and middle fingers on the brake lever, ring and pinky on the throttle. :thumbup:

 

[Red Wazp]

Bingo! Once again Mr Gate has it correct.

What else did these "trainers" tell you.

I am getting to where I cover my front brake (rest these two fingers on lever) whenever I ride in town around other cagers.

 

[sideshow_downs]

I am going to go ahead and agree with the previous posters. index and middle fingers here

 

[blitzcraig]

really? my training course never said anything about what fingers to use. i'm five fingers on the throttle. when i sense trouble, or in traffic, i cover the clutch to be ready to yank it in and simultaneously jump my hand from the throttle to the brake. obviously my foot is on call for the brake as well, though i do know that the front brake is like 75% of total braking power. i see where you guys are going in having fingers on the throttle and brake and the same time, it just seems to me that i have a better grip on the bike when the whole hand is dedicated to the throttle. this is coming from someone who has owned a motorcycle for less than a year, and may be a little too deep in the habits of a riding a dirtbike. i was warned btw from street bikers to not bring the habits of dirtbiking to street biking. good opportunity here please for the pros to show me the error of my ways? :thumbup:

 

[wrightme43]

And to continue the theme of people do things differently. LOL

I use my index and thumb on the throttle, and keep my middle and ring over the brake at all times. They are only moved for very short periods of time when riding for more than a few hours.

Pinky and thumb on the clutch grip, index middle and ring on the clutch.

It works better for me this way, and I am more comfortable. I have tried and tried to be comfortable and in control with the index middle brake, ring pinky thumb throttle but I just cant stand it.

 

[reiobard]

i use pointer middle and index fingers on mine and keep them covered and relaxed at all times. i would love to use 2 fingers but the big levers get in the way. I can;t wait to get some Pazzo's

 

[scottsst]

I have always just gone with the two finger use for the brake and throttle side . its best to to it that way and be mindfull of it down the road if you get on to a bike with stronger brakes I know of people in my Ducati owners club that had real problems getting use to the power of their 1098 brakes . they can get away with useing one finger around town and use two fingers at the track

 

[geetarhero]

great, thanks a bunch guys. I plan on always having 2 relaxed fingers resting on the lever as It seems far more natural for me than a fist full of throttle.
This basically answers all questions in my mind (is there any safe/tried and true other options to the index+thumb rule) but more posts are still appreciated!

 

[shaggystyle]

I guess I'll be the real oddball......

Pointer and middle cover the brake; thumb, ring and pinky on the throttle. Really, most of my throttle control is from the heel of my hand (I use a crampbuster at all times). I will break this when I'm WOT or doing fancy throttle trickery that requires a finer touch, but 90% of the time this is how I roll (pretty sure that's a triple pun ). Now that I think about it, my hand is kind of doing the vulcan death grip.....weird. And for further safety, I also cover the horn with the my left thumb.....those of you who do lots of city driving can probably identify with that one.

Also, I have enormous hands which may or may not have something to do with why I hold the throttle this way.

 

[wrightme43]

I also always use a cramp buster and the heal of my hand is major part of the control on my throttle. It just works great for me.

 

[MisterX]

When I first started to ride again, for some reason, I immediately started using my thumb, pointer, and middle fingers on the throttle, and my ring and pinky fingers for the break. With this style, I noticed a lot of hand fatigue when riding any distance. A couple of months ago, I saw a vid somewhere on YouTube that showed that it is best to use the pointer and ring fingers on the brake, and the ring and pinky fingers on the throttle. After training myself to do this, I have to admit that it does feel better. Not only that, but I don't seem to suffer from hand fatigue as much on longer rides.

 

[geetarhero]

whoever mentioned the crampbuster.
I thank you!!!! hit up the manufacturers website. this is a brilliant piece of work.
I plan on doing alot of touring this summer and have been looking at throttle locks, but was kind of nervous about that entire idea..
this is fantastic, cheap and practical

 

[SovietRobot]

I was taught by the MSF to never put your fingers over the brake unless you are going to brake, and always keep your fingers covering the clutch.

 

[Red Wazp]

I too have a crampbuster. I did find the tongue a bit long so cut about a third off and used the wire wheel on my grinder to round off the cut edge. Looks and works well, easy to rotate out of the way for playtime in the twistys.

 

[luckyirishboy209]

That's about jacked up. Index and middle fingers on the brake lever, ring and pinky on the throttle. :thumbup:

yep thats how i do it to Index and middle fingers on the brake lever, ring and pinky on the throttle and i do the same for the clucth.

 

[Smittyboy]

I'm all on throttle, and cover the clutch... If things get fishy, then maybe slip pointer up, but the rest stay on the throttle. Rather dart around something than try to stop before it.

 

[Mississippi]

I keep my middle and ring finger on the brake, and the index, middle, and ring finger on the clutch for just regular riding.

 

[ozzieboy]

Just to be different yet again...lol... I use my index and thumb for throttle and the rest for brake on the right and I've recently taken to leaving just my pinky and thumb for the grip and the rest for the clutch (aint Arthritis a biatch).:spank::spank::spank:

Cheers
Mike

 

[paul1149]

i use pointer middle and index fingers on mine and keep them covered and relaxed at all times. i would love to use 2 fingers but the big levers get in the way. I can;t wait to get some Pazzo's

For a poor man's alternative to pazzos, I drilled out the rivet to the stock levers, took the unit apart, ground down the stop a SMALL amount, then bought a clevis pin to put the unit back together. End result was 3/4" off the resting width of the lever. It was quite a simple procedure.

If you try this be conservative about how much material you grind off, for reasons of strength.

p.