New Thumb Flange Handlebar Grips
- Thread starter DavesNotHereMan
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Spimothy Leary
Well-Known Member
its a nice little area down there. We were in Orange beach a few months back
Jaybeaux
Member
Well, that took all of 15 minutes, and I'm not exactly a wrencher! Thanks for the write ups and coaching. The hardest part is removing the old grip. Don't twist....just pull straight out.
I did find a bit of corrosion under the old grip, inside the handle bar tube. I took a few extra minutes to address that issue. Oh, and it is a bit difficult to do one side if your ski is on a double trailer!
I did find a bit of corrosion under the old grip, inside the handle bar tube. I took a few extra minutes to address that issue. Oh, and it is a bit difficult to do one side if your ski is on a double trailer!
Mine is a double trailer. I just sat on the seat of the other ski.
Spimothy Leary
Well-Known Member
I decided about 1am to do one, after 3 beers. , umm, forget that.
edit: oh jeez, that was so easy.
edit: oh jeez, that was so easy.
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Brother bought a set hes going to retrofit on his Spark mod.
Spimothy Leary
Well-Known Member
ok, duh, that took 3 minutes. I like it !
Probably a smart move.. You may have saved an eye injury....
DavesNotHereMan
Active Member
I was able to install my new grips today on my 2011 GTI LTD 155. I will show some additional photos below.
I also tried them on my 2001 GTX RFI. This ski has a thumb throttle and, while the grips fit fine, the throttle is way out of position for the thumb flange. So these new grips look like a no go for those looking to install these with a thumb throttle ski. More description and photos below.
1. Pop out the rubber cover with a flat bladed screwdriver
2. This will expose a 10mm bolt and a washer:
Undo that bolt with a standard 10mm socket:
3. Pull the grip straight off. Mine had a little adhesive, which @Coastijoe thinks may be used during assembly. I had to pull pretty hard, a couple of times, and it comes right off. You cannot twist these grips as there is an indexing boss cast inside the grip so that it only goes on one way and will align, or index to the correct angle. The slot in the handlebar is where the indexing boss inside the grip fits.
4. Slide the new grip directly onto the handlebar. Rotate slightly until the indexing boss aligns with the slot in the handlebar. As Coastiejoe said in his write up, just smack it home with your hand. Don't worry if it does not seat perfectly. When you reinstall the 10mm bolt and washer, it will seat the grip completely.
5. Pop your rubber protective cap back on and you are done:
Sitting on the ski, it is hard to describe how much more comfortable these grips are on your hands. Can't wait to ride. We won't be out til late April, so a couple of months, yet.
Both sides took me about 10 minutes total.
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Ok, now for the thumb throttle. This is on a 2001 GTX RFI.
The grip disassembly is exactly the same as earlier described. Mine had a plastic insert and not a washer. The grip installs fine.
BUT... Look at the angle of the flange compared to the location of the thumb throttle. No way!
-Dave
I also tried them on my 2001 GTX RFI. This ski has a thumb throttle and, while the grips fit fine, the throttle is way out of position for the thumb flange. So these new grips look like a no go for those looking to install these with a thumb throttle ski. More description and photos below.
1. Pop out the rubber cover with a flat bladed screwdriver
2. This will expose a 10mm bolt and a washer:
Undo that bolt with a standard 10mm socket:
3. Pull the grip straight off. Mine had a little adhesive, which @Coastijoe thinks may be used during assembly. I had to pull pretty hard, a couple of times, and it comes right off. You cannot twist these grips as there is an indexing boss cast inside the grip so that it only goes on one way and will align, or index to the correct angle. The slot in the handlebar is where the indexing boss inside the grip fits.
4. Slide the new grip directly onto the handlebar. Rotate slightly until the indexing boss aligns with the slot in the handlebar. As Coastiejoe said in his write up, just smack it home with your hand. Don't worry if it does not seat perfectly. When you reinstall the 10mm bolt and washer, it will seat the grip completely.
5. Pop your rubber protective cap back on and you are done:
Sitting on the ski, it is hard to describe how much more comfortable these grips are on your hands. Can't wait to ride. We won't be out til late April, so a couple of months, yet.
Both sides took me about 10 minutes total.
-------
Ok, now for the thumb throttle. This is on a 2001 GTX RFI.
The grip disassembly is exactly the same as earlier described. Mine had a plastic insert and not a washer. The grip installs fine.
BUT... Look at the angle of the flange compared to the location of the thumb throttle. No way!
-Dave
Planekiller1
Member
Shoot I was hoping that they would work, was at the Miami boat show and talked to the guys there and they really like the look and feel of them on the water... Although both my skis have thumb throttles, I would love to change it to finger throttle though as it gets tiring having to hold your thumb against it all day long, although I should get the RXT running as its KIA from a bad exhaust valve. Thankfully I was only at idle when it went could have been a lot worse
-Kurt
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jhjesse
Well-Known Member
Ok so l am sitting here in an office trailer in Milford Ct. With nothing to do while our commissioning team tunes this big gas turbine I just spent 18 days rebuilding after it tried to liberate itself from its foundation (ugly) and just happened to think about these new style grips. Hmmmm...think I will order a set for my 09 RXTIS. Thanks hfgreg for posting the part numbers. My new set is on the way and will be there just about the time I get home.
Field engineer with time on his hands is a dangerous thing for the bank account.
Field engineer with time on his hands is a dangerous thing for the bank account.
jhjesse
Well-Known Member
ok, duh, that took 3 minutes. I like it !
Hopefully my grips arrive this week. Really digging how they looked on your ski Spim.
P.S. Seat cover is totally out of bounds as well.
DavesNotHereMan
Active Member
Terrific! Go for it. It's easy
Charlie155
New Member
Will these grips work on models with the thumb throttle?
Scroll to post #87. First half is a finger throttle, second half is thumb throttle..
DavesNotHereMan
Active Member
^ What [MENTION=43374]Coastiejoe[/MENTION] said.
The throttle is out of position with the new grip.
The throttle is out of position with the new grip.
Super easy install!!
Ok,, had the opportunity to ride with the new grips. All I can say is WOW,,,
I ride pretty aggressive on my RXT-X (255 engine). I often stand while I am jumping and what not. These grips are great. You have so much more surface area that your palms simply rest on the grips. Unlike with regular round grips, your hands don't get fatigued.
We did so regular cruising as well and again, VERY nice improvement.
If I HAD to come up with a negative, it would only be that due to the design your hand rest back slightly further than the stock round grips. This puts the throttle that much further from your fingers. That said, just a learning curve as you are used to where the throttle normally rests on our finger(s).
Your thumb wraps around the inner part of the grip where it is not flanged. Seadoo did a good job with designing these..
I ride pretty aggressive on my RXT-X (255 engine). I often stand while I am jumping and what not. These grips are great. You have so much more surface area that your palms simply rest on the grips. Unlike with regular round grips, your hands don't get fatigued.
We did so regular cruising as well and again, VERY nice improvement.
If I HAD to come up with a negative, it would only be that due to the design your hand rest back slightly further than the stock round grips. This puts the throttle that much further from your fingers. That said, just a learning curve as you are used to where the throttle normally rests on our finger(s).
Your thumb wraps around the inner part of the grip where it is not flanged. Seadoo did a good job with designing these..
DavesNotHereMan
Active Member
That is great to hear!
We are still a good six weeks before we can go out, and my machine has been sitting for some three weeks with the new grips just looking pretty.
Can't wait, thanks for the feedback.
Spimothy Leary
Well-Known Member
I forgot to post up a ride report, I've been out twice with the new grips.
they are perfect for me on the left side, very comfortable
Right side I feel like it would be perfect if the flange was just a tad lower, when i'm sitting and cruising it tends to force my wrist to bend a bit and after about 10 minutes its slightly uncomfortable. I don't think I can adjust it, but buy if I could spin it about 10 degrees down it would be awesome.
Biggest improvement was when standing up and either bouncing waves or just cruising, it was really nice to be able to rest the heel of my hand on the flange vs usually putting weight on the palm.
Overall i'll give it a 9 since i'm not sure if i'm doing a 40 minute cruise down the river sitting down if I want that angle on my wrist.
they are perfect for me on the left side, very comfortable
Right side I feel like it would be perfect if the flange was just a tad lower, when i'm sitting and cruising it tends to force my wrist to bend a bit and after about 10 minutes its slightly uncomfortable. I don't think I can adjust it, but buy if I could spin it about 10 degrees down it would be awesome.
Biggest improvement was when standing up and either bouncing waves or just cruising, it was really nice to be able to rest the heel of my hand on the flange vs usually putting weight on the palm.
Overall i'll give it a 9 since i'm not sure if i'm doing a 40 minute cruise down the river sitting down if I want that angle on my wrist.
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