Video: Yamaha throttle slipping from 2nd detent using No Wake Mode

[gmtech16450yz]

Ok so I took one of the throttles apart. As far as I see, there are 3 major issues with the stock throttles- First is the throttle not holding where you put it. Second is there is WAY too little range of movement to properly be able to control throttle and power application. Lastly is the way the buckets operate, they are still opening even when the throttle is being applied. It's funny but there's way more range of control over the buckets than there is the throttles themselves.

Here are a couple pics of the assembly. The T or Y shaped cast piece is what moves the throttle lever. As the handle is moved, the pin rotates and moves the cast piece up and down, up is opening the throttle and down is closing it. If you look at the grease covered slot that's underneath the cast piece, you can see where the pin travels in the slot. The problem is the way the slot is made, the pin only moves the cast piece up when it's at the very ends of the slots. That's why the throttle doesn't start opening until the very ends of the handle travel.

As far as modding the stock assembly, I can make a new billet aluminum piece to replace the cast piece, and cut a straight slot instead of a flattened "M" shaped slot. That would make the movement of the pin immediately move the block and in turn move the throttle arm where the cable attaches. Doing that would make the travel of the throttle arm or cable much wider so I'd also have to change the pivot point on the arm to get the cable movement back within range. The end result of all that would be roughly doubling the handle angle where the throttle is being applied. It would in turn double the resolution of the throttle control, which is the whole point of all this.

That only fixes one problem though. The problem with the throttle/rpm's not holding where you move the handle is simply because the assembly is just really REALLY sloppy. There's just a whole bunch of free play in everything that moves inside these things. I see what you guys have been wrapping tape around, I can see it helping, but it's not going to fix it 100% and tape itself is a really bad solution to that problem. Fixing the sloppy handle/throttle movement and the fact it drops when you take your hand off would be a matter of eliminating all the cr@ppy clearances in all of the pivots/levers/bushings.

And then you're still left with the bucket travel. The throttle "fix" would make the problem of the bucket not being fully open when applying throttle even worse. Again, I could fix that by changing the ratio of the arm/pivot for the bucket cable. It's possible, just like the other ideas, but now I'm looking at a lot of work to fix what's really just a cr@ppy design.

So I'm not going to bother. For me, it all goes back to the premise of the throttles and bucket controls NEEDING to be separate. It fixes all of the issues. Total full range of control over the throttle. No more "idle to too much throttle in what seems like 1 degree of handle movement" problem. I'm actually thinking the forward/reverse control might be easier if you put the throttles at 1/8 or so and simply use the buckets to control situations like coming up to a dock. With separate bucket control, you can move those levers only from full reverse to full forward without changing the engine speed. I like that idea.

Anyway, I'm going to put a 4 lever control in my boat. I may or may not move the throttle sensors from the engine compartment to the throttle levers themselves. We'll see. I'll keep you guys posted!

 

[Beachbummer]

Docking with the 4 lever set up is exactly as you described. Only use forward/reverse levers and leave throttle alone at desired rpm.. Might be bc 2500 might be more or less... Season to taste... And don't touch the throttle. You can open the buckets as much or as little as desired. No sweat. Still 2 lever operation until you need some real speed.

 

[gmtech16450yz]

Docking with the 4 lever set up is exactly as you described. Only use forward/reverse levers and leave throttle alone at desired rpm.. Might be bc 2500 might be more or less... Season to taste... And don't touch the throttle. You can open the buckets as much or as little as desired. No sweat. Still 2 lever operation until you need some real speed.

Nice! I think I'm gonna like it. There is a lot of control you can have with just the bucket movement. It would be nice to be able to have total control over them for docking and doing things like trolling. And once you're ready to move, I like the idea of having the buckets wide open and controlling speed at that point with throttle. The stock setups having the bucket not fully open and hitting the top of the jet stream at 1/4 throttle is just inefficient. Like doing no-wake mode, if the buckets were wide open, you could use less throttle. No wake speeds with the stock setup have the buckets restricting flow. Dumb. lol.

 

[Beachbummer]

I thought bucket travel was all happening before the throttle engaged. That's how my old one worked...

(Tried to upload video, but no dice.... Let me see what i can do)

 

[Beachbummer]

Link

Mine does behave differently. All bucket travel is before the detent. I'm sure this is how mine is supposed to work, as it also lines up with the outboard needs to control the gear position at idle speed.

Something may be wrong with the one you have on hand, in addition to the issues you have already identified that relate to is design.

 

[swatski]

I’ll sacrifice the increased reliability of a mechanical link for the smoothness of operation of an electronic control. I’d gladly hand over a grand for that.

Wow - how did I miss this thread???
Of course, start with adjusting the cables and the resistance screws the best you can.

After that - two words:

1. RideSteady
2. MaptunerX

The factory throttle response and handling of the power curve is pretty atrocious, and I just can not stand it.

With the RideSteady - I use it whenever I cruise, all the time - I just throw the throttles up and then adjust RPM (or speed) with the knob, activate the system, done - continue making adjustments with the knob (in my case the additional benefit is twin engine synch). Total smooth control - that knob beats anything else.
Not cheap, but @Ridesteady Justin may have better prices for the single units.

After that, you still need smooth ramping up to the speed. That is where the RIVA Maptuner X does it's charm. They have various tunes for your engine and they can remap and adjust throttle response to your liking.
Not cheap, but it becomes a different experience.
https://jetboaters.net/threads/riva-maptuner-x-ecu-reflash-throttle-response-and-speed-control.15799/
(And in your case you can get more power AND speed with a reflash - even with just the rev limiter - without doing anything else, which is much harder to achieve in N/A engines)


OKAY - I still need to read this thread now, LOL - maybe you guys have already figured it all out!

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[swatski]

Just for kicks, how likely would any of you guys be in wanting to spend somewhere between $1000 and $1500 on something like this?

Just reading this now - me: very likely.
I've been kicking myself for not getting into the E-series in the first place, but those have their own issues. This could be fantastic!
(especially when coupled with the amazing RIVA reflash!!)

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[swatski]

It's funny but there's way more range of control over the buckets than there is the throttles themselves.

My thoughts exactly!

Like doing no-wake mode, if the buckets were wide open, you could use less throttle. No wake speeds with the stock setup have the buckets restricting flow.

I believe that is what they call "Thrust Directional Enhancement" (TDE) - and I think it can actually be kind of useful in keeping the boat more stable while moving very slowly. However, doing it with the bucket control levers, while at constant throttle, would be so much better. I think.


I am watching how this develops. John - I'm hoping you can make the kit (Livorsi?) happen!

That said, I can not tell you how much we like the RIVA remapping of the throttle curves - it is fantastic. With additional range - afforded by the split lever system - this boat would start being more of a Cadillac, actually.


EDIT - As an aside, I would also try @Cobra Jet Steering LLC FANGS or whatever else Jeff comes up with - mounted as in the Ultimates kit - with the separate lateral stabilizers mounted two fangs per nozzle giving a lot more control in reverse.

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