[calaski]

As a first year rider, my thumb has been killing me after rides. I see they sell a thumb saver product that allows you to use your palm instead of just the thumb.

Is it worth it? Less fatigue? Less jarring injuries?

Best brand and where to buy?

Jim

 

[sneutel]

Hi Grizzly NJ,

The cheapest fix is to use a few inches of rubber hose pipe and slip it over your throttle lever.

If you like the idea, and want something "pretier" then get a Moose Thumb Assist for Cabellas or the like!

Regards

 

[calaski]

Is it worth it? Does it make a difference?

Jim

 

[sneutel]

Hi Jim,

Personally I love it!!

You choose whilst riding to either use the top/middle/base of your thumb, or your wrist, or any combination of them, to push the throttle. NO MORE THUMB FATIGUE!

HOWEVER it does take some getting used to, If whilst braking, your front end "jolts" or "bumps" something in your path, YOU WILL END UP ACCELERATING when you least want to!!!!!! LOL

I have accelerated whilst trying to brake HARD a few times, fortunately with nothing more serious than an adrenalin rush!

Overall I would strongly reccommend it!

 

[robg]

My Grizzly is the only ATV that I've needed one of those darn thumb savers. They have the stiffest darn throttles. I got mine from the local dealer, they're made by IPI and worth the $10-20 they cost.

My Rincon and Predator didn't need the extension... their throttle was easy enough to use. Oh wait, my '03 Artic Cat 400 needed one also... so the Grizz wasn't the only one.

IMO Polaris has the best throttles. Great feel and lightweight too. Wish I could adapt one to the Grizz.

Rob

 

[tinmandan]

I have thumb assists on both grizz's and both Kodiak's. One of the best investments you can make.

 

[calaski]

cool, thanks guys

 

[marine]

Has anyone thought about converting the thumb throttle to a twist throttle?? Like they use for motorcycles..I have seen kits that do this and that would eliminate all fatigue.

Personally its not a problem for me, but I have large hands and have been riding ATV's since I was 5 yrs old...

 

[bigstick]

My problem is backing off the gas.I owned a 450 honda before and releasing the throttle lever was easy but now i own a grizz and have a hard time getting my thumb back far enough to let off the gas so times.Thinking about adding an extension with a bend in it to allow this. It would come out 1"off the leaver, in towards the bike 2" and out again 2".I have big hands so I blame the position of the throttle lever.This would place the leaver in towards the bike 2" thus allowing my thumb extra 2" of space to throttle off? Any other ideas?

 

[calaski]

I just ordered the extension so I'll let you all know what I think about it soon.

Jim

 

[atvrk]

I purchased an IPI Thumb Assist Pro from Montana Jack's. A bit pricy at $20.00, but worth it. It allows using the heel of the hand if you fully grasp the handlebar grip and the palm of the hand if you have big hands or move your hand slightly downward. I like the various thumb position options.

http://www.montanajacks.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=148

Ron

 

[dlarcher]

We have the Moose assist ordered from Cabelas, nice for the trail but not in the technical stuff, especially if you have a tank bag. The assist can actually throttle up tight turning situations. We take it off for the technical stuff and have put it back on for the long trail rides. Got good at using the palm of my hand when the thumb gets cramped.

 

[robg]

I have two of those IPI extensions in the garage if anybody wants 'em... what do they sell for new? I'm thinking these might be worth $10 each.

I removed them from my quads because I think they're unsafe. More than a few times, my hand would hit it just the wrong way and the quad would lunge briefly until I could catch it. It happened to my wife last year too, only her incident with it led to a rollover and some pretty good bruises on her.

They're just too easy to hit, especially in a startling situation. Since I removed it, we haven't had anymore problems.

So use it at your own risk...

Rob

 

[atvrk]

The IPI sells for $20.00 each so $10.00 is a fair price. They are easy to hit and throttle-up when you least expect it. They are nice on long rides.

 

[irv]

This guy Gregory runs his own atv site and has ridden thousand of miles and he doesn't like the thumb savers either. It can be very dangerous as Rob says so use with extreme caution. There is a thumb saver glove I have seen for snowmobiling but I can't tell you anymore about it? It would be a lot safer IMO. Anyways check out this link before purchasing a thumb saver.......Irv

http://www.atvonlinemagazine.com/aftermarket_reviews/product_reviews/evaluation_Thumsaverandgrips.html

 

[sneutel]

Irv,

Personally I disagree, I have used the moose thumb assist for over a year and over 5000km now.

"Should you get into a difficult situation or you get panicked"

If panicking is your thing, you will hit the throttle, with or without the thumb assist, and crash anyway. Most panicking leads to chrashes!!

Also you only get 2 types of grips in the world,

Type one, lasts forever, and hurts you hands!

Type two, needs replacing fairly often (2-3 times a year) and are VERY COMFORTABLE!!

just my 2 cents!!

 

[irv]

Beast, that link was posted to show people another side to the thumb assist so people could choose/decide for themselves after reading the pro's and con's. The hand grips review was attached to the thumb saver post for some reason? It doesn't really matter to me what anybody uses and if you are happy with them then by all means purchase them and enjoy them. If I loggeed as many miles as you each year I would have a set myself. The link was posted only to show someones else's experiences with the thumb saver........Irv