1299 Diy Throttle Slop/freeplay Mod Panigale

Ever thought the throttle seems loose and rattly on your Panigale? Is there too much free play? Read on if you want to change this...

Having fixed this myself on my last bike and tested it successfully for about 15,000 miles I thought I'd create a (hopefully) helpful guide to removing that horrible sloppy throttle action and reducing the free play down with a very simple but effective home fix that's easy enough for even those who get scared just looking at a socket set!

Things you will need:

1) A Panigale...
2) A decent sized empty can of beer/draught/lager
3) Scissors
4) A Philips screwdriver #2 size and T60 Torx bit and ratchet
5) spray grease ideally, or a tub of something similar. Vaseline would also work
6) Some of those small rubber bump stops you get for the kitchen cupboards to stop them banging closed (if planning on removing the throttle freeplay)
7) Contact cleaner/brake cleaner or some other kind of solvent
8) a piece of tissue and/or cotton buds for cleaning

I was also installing new grips so you may notice they're also removed in the pictures

To remove the general rattly freeplay between twist grip and clip-on:-

Remove the bar end with the Torx bit. They're on quite tight.

Here are the bits all laid out


Cut the top and bottom off the can (I used a Guinness can) so you're left with just the straight bit of the can. Size it up and cut it to size so it wraps one complete revolution around the clip-on (the silver bit) but ensure it doesn't overlap. It's best to leave a couple of millimetres gap between. The aim here is to shim the gap between inside of throttle twist grip and clip-on bar.




Length should be just a tad longer than the grip itself. It can only go in so far as the little pin that secures and locks the throttle housing in place will stop it


Test fit once cut to size:


Lube it up with some grease on BOTH faces, and don't be shy with using lots:


Installed! Can't even see it. The Guinness can being black helps too


IMPORTANT: CHECK FULL OPERATION OF THE THROTTLE AND ENSURE IT SNAPS BACK FIRMLY FROM WIDE OPEN TO CLOSED. IF IN ANY DOUBT REMOVE THE MODIFICATION

Once happy, reinstall the bar end and secure it.

To remove the actual freeplay between closed throttle and 'on throttle':

On the back side of the throttle housing there are 4 screws. Two are black #2 Philips screws and the other two are silver security screws. You only need to remove the black Philips ones. Hold the housing while you do this as it will spin as it comes loose:




If you hold the remaining piece of the housing and rotate the throttle you'll see how the freeplay is built in. There's a gap between the plastic parts creating that slack. I personally like little to no freeplay hence doing this mod. Using the soft rubber stoppers gives a tiny bit of freeplay after a few miles of use as they bed in slightly


Use a bit of tissue or cotton bud soaked with brake cleaner or similar solvent to clean the grease residue in the gap shown here. Note I have the throttle slightly rotated open to get to this:


Next, cut a slither of one of the rubber stops to size so it'll fit in the little gap. They have an adhesive on the back face and are about 6-8mm diameter I guess:


Peel off the backing paper and press it into the gap. Ensure there is nothing that sticks out beyond the plastic that could foul the housing. Here's mine installed:


Replace the housing and note the little pin which needs to line up with the hole, see picture: This is the little pin which people have mentioned breaking off when installing new grips etc and you can see just how flimsy it is:


That's it, all done! You should now have a lot more finesse in the throttle actuation.

I've tried and tested these mods on my last bike and have installed them on the new R on the weekend. As always, undertake this at your own risk and if here's any limited movement in the throttle assembly following install then remove them in case it causes an issue with a stick throttle. I consider these mods safe enough to do as there isn't anything to get stuck or trapped, and haven't had an issue myself. Ultimately, if in doubt don't do it [emoji106]

Sam

 

You could try it but I'd expect it'll just work its way back out and go everywhere. There's a fair gap to be taken up

 

It's ride-by-wire throttle on the Panigales. I'm guessing the 999 is cable?

 

Just passing on something I've done in case anyone found it useful. Note the beer can 'bodge' stops the sloppy throttle where it wobbles around on the clipon. The other £25 mod stops freeplay. Two different things.

 

Actually I've just fitted some new grips [emoji4] It's the tolerance between the plastic throttle tube and the clip-on itself. Always bugged me and being an engineer I found a bodge that gets rid of it safely

 

Take apart the housing and compare it to my pics at the start of this thread? If it looks the same inside then no doubt they'd work