I recently installed a Motion Pro Twist Throttle Kit on my 2005 Honda 400EX. It works so well, I am now installing the similar conversion on my 2004 450R.
This time I will be not be removing the handle bars or plastics. I am also installing a Pro Armor kill switch at the same time. Both projects require the fuel tank to be removed. I will document the kill switch details in another post.
1 Remove the old grips
Whoever installed the grips on these bars used just a touch of glue, so they were easy to remove and very easy to clean up. I used a pair of wire cutters to clip the ends of the grips open, then tore them back like a candy wrapper.
The Pro Taper handle bars have a diamond pattern cut in the ends to hold the grips better, so they don’t need as much glue.
2 Remove the fuel tank
There are 2 bolts and 2 straps that hold on the fuel tank. There are also 2 bolts holding the front plastic to the fuel tank.
- Remove the seat
- Reach over the air filter, towards the carburetor and release the straps from the frame.
- Remove the 2 bolts on each side holding the plastic to the tank.
- Pull the plastic away from the tank far enough to fit a wrench in between and remove the bolts that hold the gas tank to the frame.
- Turn the fuel valve to the Off position.
- Remove the fuel line from the carburetor.
- Lift the gas tank up off the bike.
3 Remove the thumb throttle
- Remove the 2 screws from the bottom of the thumb throttle assembly on the handle bars. Let the cable and assembly hang over the hood.
- Remove the plastic cover from the side of the carb. There is one Phillips screw near the top of the cover, then lift and pull it out.
- Detach the end of the cable from the lever. You can pull down on the cable to create slack, then slide the ball out of the lever.
- Loosen the lock nut at the top of the carb where it threads in and unscrew the cable end from the carburetor.
- Guide the throttle cable out through the front of the quad.
4 Install the Motion Pro Twist Throttle Kit
- Guide the throttle cable back through the quad, reversing the way the original one came out.
- Thread the cable in to the top of the carb and attach the end to the throttle lever.
- Back the threads out until there are a couple rows showing inside the carburetor and tighten the lock nut.
- Assemble the twist grip and the cable half of the twist throttle and slide them on to the handle bar.
- Insert the cable in to the housing and attach it to the twist grip. then screw the two halves of the housing together to tighten it to the bars.
- Twist the throttle all the way open and make sure it returns to closed without any binding.