Howdy!
I found a handy modification that fixes the lightswitch-like on/off abruptness of low throttle openings on my 2000 Cagiva Gran Canyon (Ducati 900ie fuel injected motor). Since this was an issue on the '98 ST2 I used to own and on a lot of fuel injected Ducatis of the era, I wanted to share some photos of the mod.
PROBLEM: Riding the Cagiva off-pavement was pretty difficult, as bouncing around a bit at small throttle openings had me lurching from hard acceleration to engine braking with every little bump, which is hardly a comfy feeling for someone like me who's got limited dirt experience. I had the same issue with the ST2 in low-speed traffic and the couple of times I took it out on gravel & dirt.
SOLUTIONS: The G2 Throttle Tamer looks like an excellent product, which uses a modified cam at the throttle tube (right grip) to slow the amount of cable it pulls at small openings. I was just about to buy one, when I read about a modification to the other end of the system, the cam at the throttle body. That one's free & reversible, so I figured at worst I'd be out an hour of my time if it didn't work.
Here's the video I worked from:
And here's my job in progress:
Unmodified cam, taken off the throttle body with a 12mm wrench -
20210513_104940 by
triangleforge, on Flickr
I marked where I wanted the new pivot hole to be with a scratch awl, used a punch to start two 3/16" holes inside that space. I then used small files from this set to open up the second pivot hole to approximately 5mm x 8mm, checking with a set of calipers to make sure I wasn't opening it too much.
The finished cam looked like this:
20210513_121956 by
triangleforge, on Flickr
And here are a couple of shots to show the relative position of the cam as original vs. modified. Of course, I put the nut back on after I was done...
20210513_122238 by
triangleforge, on Flickr
20210513_122216 by
triangleforge, on Flickr
I'm really happy with the result; being able to keep a steady throttle has made a huge difference in the performance of this bike (and rider) off road, especially when standing on the pegs, which used to be pretty sketchy. If you've got a middle-aged, fuel injected Duc that's a handful in city traffic, this mod might be worth a look.
