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R6 1/6-turn Throttle Tube Install - Lots of pics!

179K views 292 replies 131 participants last post by  bostontremblay 
#1 · (Edited)
Ok, after reading the various threads about different options for 1/6-turn throttles, I decided to go the R6 throttle tube route. I'm a DIY kinda guy, and figured if can build an engine, I should be able to make the R6 tube work, and save some serious bucks over the HRC kit.

In case you've never heard of this mod, basically it works thusly: The standard throttle tube on the CBR1000RR is a "1/4 turn" tube, meaning you turn the tube approximately 90-degrees of rotation to go from idle to WOT. The Yamaha R6 '06 and newer come stock with a "1/6 turn" throttle, which reduces this rotation down to 60-degrees to go from idle to WOT. You can go WOT easier without putting your wrist at as odd an angle. The way it does this is simply by having a larger diameter at the throttle cable end, hence pulling faster on the cables as you rotate it.

HRC makes a full kit for this which includes the tube, new cables, etc. in the $150 price range, but the R6 tube will work with the stock cables and is less than $20.

I've seen some warnings on the board about "not taking the cheap way out" but to be honest, compared to some things I've seen people do, I consider this very safe if you do it right, and it's not that difficult. I think installing the HRC kit with new throttle cables is considerably more complicated for a home mechanic, and leaves more room for error messing with the airbox and throttle cables at the throttle-body end, but that's just my opinion. If you want the "best" setup, it's probably the HRC kit, but this works great if you are willing to put a little into the install. It's not hard at all.

Ok, step by step, here we go.

Here is my throttle tube, stock. Note I have Helibars, so yours may look a bit different, but it's the same tube. Note my cables are spun around to the bottom to allow the slightly higher bars than stock, but aside from that, same difference.



First, remove the two screws holding the throttle-tube housing onto the clip-on. On mine they are on the top, but with stock bars they will be on the bottom instead. Since mine are on top, it's actually easier to see. I've heard stories of people having big problems removing these, but mine weren't that bad. If one is too tight, try the other one first before stripping the first one off. I've also read that these are actually JIS-type screw heads, and not standard phillips, so it might work better if you use the JIS screwdriver that came with your bike, or buy a set.



Next, remove the bar-end weight. Just hold the weight itself securely, and remove the screw in the end. It's long winded, so takes a while to back out.



Here's a shot with the bar-end weight removed. Note the throttle-tube extends out past the end of the actual bar, and the weight goes up into it.



Ok, next are a couple shots of what you will see once you remove the top of the throttle-tube housing. This is the stock throttle-tube with cables still in it.

I took pics of a few angles so you could get a good view of it. Notice the housing is far larger than the cable-end of the tube, allowing room for a larger tube as well. :thumbsup:







Here's a pic of the throttle cover that comes off; note it is large, and has no obstructions in it. The larger R6 tube fits fine in this side!



Ok, next up, we need to talk about the throttle cable connections that come into the housing. Since you will need all the slack you can get in the cables, I recommend loosening the locknuts that hold the cable elbows to the housing, and unlock the cable adjuster on the right of the pic, and screw it all the way down, as shown in the pic. You are looking to loosen the cables as much as possible here, to get them off of the stock tube, and then onto the R6 tube without having to loosen the cables at the throttle body.

I actually had to slide the throttle-tube off the bar to wrangle enough slack to get the cables out of the stock tube. I used a small screwdriver to get my fingers under the cable, and push the end of the cable out of the tube. It's not easy, so work with it, and be careful not to nick or damage the cables in any way.







Here's a shot of the end of the throttle cables, after removing from the tube entirely.



Ok, let's get to the new tube! Here's the package the R6 tube comes in, along with the part number (2C0-26240-00-00). It cost me $13 at the local Yamaha dealer, but my brother bought one a couple days later and it was $22 now, so maybe there's been a recent price increase. Either way, not much money, and the quality is good. It looks just like the Honda OEM piece, just with a larger cable end.



Next, here are several pics comparing the stock Honda tube and the R6 tube. You will notice they look very much alike, except for the much larger end on the R6 tube. I took a photo of the grips comparing them. The Yamaha grip is slightly different than the Honda one, but I'd be willing to bet no one notices. :) I'm leaving it until they wear out, and I'll replace both.







 
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#2 · (Edited)
Ok, now we crash into the only real speedbump in the road. The other side of the housing, where the throttle cables thread into, has some metal in the way of the larger R6 tube. Some people sand down the tube itself to clear these bumps, but I decided to grind down the bumps themselves with a dremel. That way my housing was compatible with whatever tube I want to throw at it. Either way works though, you need to grind down these bumps, or the back-side of the R6 tube, opposite where the cables connect, to clear these bumps. When you insert the new tube into the housing, it becomes clear what has to happen.

In these photos, you can clearly see the bumps in the way. (I have some photos later of them after I ground them.)





Next are a couple photos showing the clearance of the R6 tube in the stock housing. Notice except for the metal bumps mentioned above, there is PLENTY of room.





Ok, time to whip out the dremel with a carbide cutting wheel. The material is aluminum, so grinds easy. 15 minutes later, I had plenty clearance for the new tube, and it fits perfectly! Here you can see the bumps, ground down enough so the R6 tube doesn't touch them at all. I'd say you have to grind like 1/32" off the bumps to make room, but I ground probably well over 1/16" to make sure there was no chance of it hitting.

Once this is done, it fits perfectly in both sides of the housing. Note, this is the main place an error could occur during the install. Be sure you grind these bumps down enough so the tube has plenty of clearance. You do NOT have to completely grind the bumps off, just enough for the new tube, and a little more to spare.





Ok, time to start reassembling. Here you will note I screwed the "accelerate" pull-side of the cable elbow much farther into the housing, to give me as much cable slack as possible. The Helibars take up even more slack, so you might not have to do this, but I had to screw this in farther, as well as set the slack adjustment nuts as slack as possible, and even then I BARELY got the cable on the new tube. Be careful with the cables and be sure not to damage them with a screwdriver tip or anything similar.

(Notice the elbow on the left is screwed in farther than it was initially above.)



Ok, here is the R6 tube, with the cables in it. It was NOT very easy in my case to get the cables in. I had to fiddle with it a while, but again take your time, work with the slack as best you can, and again don't damage the cables. Try not to twist them either, they should be as relaxed as possible, not twisted up, etc. I noticed the stock tube had a little grease on it, so I put a light coating of anti-sieze grease on most of the stuff that moves.

Here are several pics of the R6 tube installed, from various angles.









 
#3 · (Edited)
Next, here's where we come to a part I messed up. The R6 tube has a large black plastic or nylon washer between the cable end, and the grip. I wasn't sure if I should put this into the housing, or outside. The Honda tube has no such washer, so I couldn't go by that. I initially installed it inside the housing, but it was too tight, and the throttle was sticky. Here's a couple pics, first with the washer inside, and then again with it moved outside. (This was a pain; I had to remove the cables and move the washer, then re-install the cables again, and this is difficult!) Take my advice, put the black washer OUTSIDE the housing! You don't want to do the cables twice, trust me.





Ok, all that's left at this point is to install the top of the housing (two screws), and the bar-end weight! On the bar-end weight, be sure it is oriented correctly. You will note it only fits into the bar-end a certain way, so be sure the orientation is correct before tightening.

There is a hole in the handlebar that locates the throttle housing; you will see a nipple on the housing cover that goes into this hole. Be sure these are aligned properly; this is what holds the entire thing in position on the bar. In the pic near the top of the housing, you can see this nipple.

Once done tightening the housing back onto the handlebar, tighten the lock-nuts on both cable elbows so they point at the correct, most relaxed angle. Then set your proper throttle play with the adjustment nut. The service manual calls for 2-5mm (1/16-3/16) play in the throttle tube rotation.

With mine adjusted loose as possible, my throttle slack is PERFECT. About 2-3mm or so. Some light it tighter, but I like a little slack in mine. My bike is fairly new so the cables haven't stretched, but some of you might have more slack to work with.

Make SURE you have some slack, and there is NO BINDING anywhere; the housing, bar-end, anything. When you open the throttle and let it go, it should snap back with no friction, just like stock. Check it at all turning angles; straight ahead, locked left, locked right, etc. Make sure no binding, and proper slack at all locations.

Again, my pics are with Helibars, so if you have stock bars your throttle cables will be on TOP, not like mine which come out the bottom. Aside from that, it will be the same.

My throttle feels smooth as silk, just like OEM, with no binding, or any problems whatsoever! The throttle tube is a Yamaha OEM part so the same quality as the stock Honda part. With the minor modifications to the housing, it fits perfectly.

Here are the final pics, all done! I did the entire thing, start to finish, in about an hour and a half, taking pics along the way and taking my time listening to X-Mas music. This included grinding.

Good luck! You can't go wrong for around $20!







 
#9 ·
That nylon spacer was a pain. I did the R6 tube mod on my SV track bike and made the same mistake, putting it inside.

But a fairly straightforward mod. Not sure whether I'll need to do it on my RR, since I won't be tracking it and probably won't need to have such a quick responding throttle.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Thanks man! I rode her to lunch today (I finished the mod at like 1am last night so didn't ride) and I LOVE this mod. It has to be one of the best bang for the buck things you can do. I don't know why the bike doesn't come this way. It just feels perfect for the bike!

It feels like you can just put "pressure" on the throttle now and accelerate hard with the bike's stomping midrange. It's super smooth like stock, and I didn't notice any issues in parking lots, walking speed, etc.

I might not recommend it to someone new to the bike, maybe get a bit acclimated to it first, but once you're used to the stock throttle, I think most would love this mod!

My brother bought one for his FZ6, going to help him install it. Hope it fits, was a crap shot, I haven't even looked at his throttle housing.

I wonder if Yamaha wonders why they sell so many R6 throttle tubes? lol
 
#21 ·
Yeah, that was what I actually thought after doing it. Makes total sense, but interesting that Honda didn't put one there? So yeah, I hadn't seen this mentioned before, but the black nylon washer goes outside the housing.

When I did mine I had to take the airbox off an run the adjusters to the limit on the throttle body end of the cables.

To the OP...how the hell did you get away without doing the same? It wasn't even close to possible on mine.

I'm about to do this mod again on my new (second) '08. If you know a trick please share. Awesome write up BTW.
Ok, there were a couple things I had to do to get the slack needed. First, you must unlock the lock not on the slack adjuster and set it loose as possible. Here's the pic of that again. You hold the longer cylindrical nut with a wrench, loosen the small lock nut off it, and then move both as tight as you can onto the elbow giving as much slack as possible.



Even doing this on mine wasn't enough, so I had to remove the tube entirely from the bar, so I could screw the elbow farther into the housing, giving even more slack. Notice how in this photo one elbow is actually threaded and screws into the housing. The farther you screw it in, the more slack you get. In this photo you have like 1/4" of threads showing, so you can go in quite a ways.

Also remember since you are getting rid of the Honda tube, it's not the end of the world if you have to maul it a bit to get the cable out of it. Just don't damage the cable itself. Once you get it out you can screw the elbow in farther giving you more slack for the new one.



:angry: :banghead:

i had a r6 throttle, so i tried to install today...
i failed..wtf
the thing is that actually i couldn't even take the oem off from the handle bar cuz the two cables on the tube were freaking short, so i took the cables off. then i took the oem tube off from the handle bar..
i don't understand how u could take the tube off without taking the cables off.
after i took the oem throttle off, i tried to put the r6 throttle. however, i couldn't get enough cable's length on r6's one cuz the r6 tube is bigger than oem.

what did i do wrong?
Well, I couldn't get the cables onto the new R6 tube either with it on the handlebar, so I had to figure a way to do it OFF the bar. I loosened my clip-on, and rotated it forward which lets you pull the tube right off, with the cables on it.

Note, this is pretty easy with Helibars, but will not be quite as easy with stock bars. You will have to loosen the clip-on, remove a small retaining ring below it which sits in a groove in the fork tube, so you can lower it. The stock clip-on has a nipple which sticks up into the upper tree so it cannot rotate. You have to drop it down like a half inch to get it to rotate, and you can't drop it without removing that wire ring underneath it.

If you end up doing this, be sure you put it all back when done. Raise the clip on, rotate to the proper spot, and put the retainer ring back.

One more thing; even removing the tube from the bar, loosening everything as much as possible I couldn't get the cable QUITE to go in.

Here's what I did to make it that final LITTLE bit. I installed the push cable first, this cable goes into the bottom side, the one with the slotted area for it where it can slide to and fro a bit (the one on the left in the below photo). If you notice this side has more of a "hook" on it where the cable end goes in, so it's harder to get the cable end over this hook. Insert this side first.

Then, if you are unable to get the other side in, you may have to resort to what I did; take some wire cutter dikes or similar, and BARELY cut the tip off where you are trying to push the wire end on. I cut like 1/32" off this tip, you can barely even tell, and that let me push the wire end into the retainer.

Here's one of the photos I took, with an arrow pointing to the tiny little tip of plastic I cut off so I could get the cable in.

If you look at some other "after" pics I posted from other angles, you wouldn't even know I'd cut the very tip off here, you can't really tell, but just this tiny thing let me put the cable on. I even had to remove them to move my nylon washer, and was able to get the cables on a 2nd time without too much work. Just cutting a tiny bit off this tip made all the difference.

To get this cable in, I had the cable off to the side (top of the tube in the photo), inserted the cable-end into the round slot it fits in, then using my fingers worked the cable up over the top into the slot while holding the cable-end in the tube. Removing this tiny tip with dikes allowed it to do this.

Good luck, hope some of these tips help.

If you can't get enough slack no matter what, you'll have to resort to loosening the cables at the throttle body. MUCH more work.

 
#17 ·
When I did mine I had to take the airbox off an run the adjusters to the limit on the throttle body end of the cables.

To the OP...how the hell did you get away without doing the same? It wasn't even close to possible on mine.

I'm about to do this mod again on my new (second) '08. If you know a trick please share. Awesome write up BTW.
 
#19 ·
:angry: :banghead:

i had a r6 throttle, so i tried to install today...
i failed..wtf
the thing is that actually i couldn't even take the oem off from the handle bar cuz the two cables on the tube were freaking short, so i took the cables off. then i took the oem tube off from the handle bar..
i don't understand how u could take the tube off without taking the cables off.
after i took the oem throttle off, i tried to put the r6 throttle. however, i couldn't get enough cable's length on r6's one cuz the r6 tube is bigger than oem.

what did i do wrong?
 
#22 ·
So far I'm with you. I screwed the elbow as far into the housing as I could...only had about 1 turn of thread on the lock nut. I'll try again on my second one...maybe the bikes aren't always adjusted the same at the throttle body from the factory?

Thanks for the write up...I hope others will take note before spending way more on the HRC unit and really not getting anything better in the end.
 
#23 ·
FINALLY, i finished my job...:eek:wned:
i couldn't sleep at night, so i decided to do this job again....
first of all, i would never do this shit again~~
:signs006:
however, it works..it is much easier than opening the gas tank cover...
the problem i had was is getting enough cable length..
i was able to manage that issue by getting slack from the adjuster and the bolt just like zboomer said...
after that, i had the same problem which zboomer had - putting the cable on the r6 throttle....wtf!!! i was battling with this shit for about 40 mins...eventually, somehow i got it....:thumbsup:

thank u for ur post~~

i couldn't do this job without ur help:th_salute:
 
#27 ·
:thumbsup:

Yep, BARELY is the key word here. The cable definitely BARELY is long enough to get on the new tube, but once you get it on there's room to adjust it. :)

Glad my posts helped!

I personally love the way the bike responds with the 1/6 tube. It just really increases the fun factor a lot.
 
#29 ·
If you do a "Reverse part lookup" on any Yamaha OEM site (like ronayers.com) for 4c8-26240-00-00 it comes up as an R1 throttle tube for R1's '07 or '08. These are NOT 1/6 turn as I understand it from other threads I've read, but I think 1/5.

See part #10 on this page for your part #:

http://fiche.ronayers.com/Index.cfm...1/GroupID/333905/Group/STEERING_HANDLE_CABLE_

You can do the reverse part lookup on that part number here, http://fiche.ronayers.com/Index.cfm

Why bother with Ebay? These are so cheap from any Yamaha dealer, and you can order them online. (At Ron Ayers or probably your local dealer)
 
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