Kaoko throttle control

[belezar]

Has anyone used one? I have heard some good (albeit second hand) reviews from the GS crowd.

[David]

I have one and like it.

[H C Edwards]

I put one on my GS a week ago. Very nice. Installation took 60 seconds. The only issue I have is that I have large hands, and (especially with gloves on) my hand is touching the Kaoko enough that it wants to keep gradually engaging it, so I find myself having to spin the knob to "off" periodically. No big deal.

[Ben Peeples]

I have used one for 30k miles. Love it. I also have Bob's BMW version that I don't like as much. Ben.

[rdsmith3]

I use one, and I really like it. It works well. It is well made -- looks like it is OEM. It has the same weight as the other bar end. All things considered, it is a quality product and I am happy with the purchase.

[Marty Hill]

What Ben said/almost exactly.

[JonathanE]

What Marty said, sorta, but not quite exactly, but close enough.

[Greg Poole]

I've got one on my GS too. It's much easier to operate than the ThrottleMeister. Installation is a snap. Mine was a little tight and hard to operate until I used it a few times. Now it works great, smooth. If you've got a GS, look no further for the best throttle control out there.

[sgendler]

Has anyone here who likes theirs used it in winter? I bought a very early one, and maybe this has been remedied, but no matter what I do, I cannot prevent the Kaoko from locking the throttle as soon as I turn on my heated grips. Everything expands and that's it. I can't back it off far enough to prevent the behaviour. I find it very annoying.

 

--sam

[Marty Hill]

Sam,

 

Seems odd, hasn't happened to me or others that I know of. I got mine the week it came to the states.

[steve.foote]

What Ben, Marty and Jonathan said but with some slight variances though closer to the same, mostly.

[sgendler]

Seems odd, hasn't happened to me or others that I know of. I got mine the week it came to the states.

 

I got mine when they were still being shipped over by a GS rider in South Africa for folks that asked for one at advrider. There was no official distributor. I believe it was 14-16 months ago. I suspect mine is more of a prototype, although it looks exactly like the production model Mine also has an obnoxious tendency to get locked up if I make the mistake of backing it all the way off. The two metal surfaces bind together and the only fix is a vice and a strap wrench. So not only does mine tend to activate with heat expansion, but I can't back it all the way off, either.

 

--sam

[Marty Hill]

Sam,

 

Mine locked up the first time and andrew offered to replace it. I declined as I thought all the new scratch marks went with the GS. Hasn't happened since. It was a problem with the first few.

[RonStewart]

For those who don't know what this thread is about, here is a link. The Kaoko unit looks like this:

 

The Kaoko would look fine on a GS, where form follows function. But if aesthetics were the only criterium, I'd reject the Kaoko for my R1150RT. Throttlemeisters look much better.

 

Kaoko are a bit less expensive, too, it would seem. Is that because you only get one piece?

[ClearwaterBMW]

but,

throttlemeisters go OUTSIDE of the hand guard

and KAOKO's can go INSIDE and THAT is the big deal on a GS

 

the kaoko is MUCH easier to us on the GS

 

greg

[JonathanE]

Has anyone here who likes theirs used it in winter? I bought a very early one, and maybe this has been remedied, but no matter what I do, I cannot prevent the Kaoko from locking the throttle as soon as I turn on my heated grips. Everything expands and that's it. I can't back it off far enough to prevent the behaviour. I find it very annoying.

 

--sam

 

Well, it wasn't winter, exactly, but I used my heated grips at least 25 percent of the time I was in Alaska and The Yukon last month, with no ill effects from the Kaoko. I even occasionally used the Kaoko. It did tend to lock a little easier when the grips were hot.

[rdsmith3]

Has anyone here who likes theirs used it in winter? I bought a very early one, and maybe this has been remedied, but no matter what I do, I cannot prevent the Kaoko from locking the throttle as soon as I turn on my heated grips. Everything expands and that's it. I can't back it off far enough to prevent the behaviour. I find it very annoying.

 

--sam

 

Sam,

 

I had this problem before I installed the throttle control. The grip expanded due to the heat, and rubbed against the bar end.To cure it, I put a washer inside the bar end.

 

When I installed the Kaoko throttle control, I continued to use a washer inside the bar end. I have used this throttle control with the heated grips on, and I have not had a problem.

 

Try this simple fix.