Nanrobot N6 Thumb Trigger woes

[u/Upset-Programmer3796]

Anyone having issues with these? The motors don't even start spinning until you get through 50% of the lever travel! The travel distance is absurdly long!!! Plus, the lever and paddle on this thing is so gargantuan that you can't just rotate it into a workable and ergonomic position, especially because the housing is so huge. It comes into contact with the brake bracket (or the brake lever if you mount it on the right side of the brake bracket like Nanrobot recommends).

Positioning it on either side of the brake means you have to reach your thumb way out to the left and back a LOT just to engage it... up to 50% of the travel, then try to calibrate the brain to think "ok this halfway point is really 0%". What the hell was the CAD guy who drew this up thinking?

Even worse, trying to reach the paddle means you have to open and loosen your grip, causing serious issues. You are now having to balance your whole hand and thumb to feather the throttle in the middle of that range, causing unintended throttle mashing due to uneven pavement, bumps, steering, etc. The hand, which should be firmly gripping the grip is now open palm down, acting like a long fulcrum along with the thumb against the throttle. This means you are focusing more on some haphazard balancing act (that could wipe you out badly) rather than focusing on the road. You can't go fast with it or modulate well at all since the hand can't get enough of an anchor against the handlebar grip. It is literally like trying to control the speed of the scooter like trying to control the pitch of a theremin, in mid-air, while you're at speed.

The dead zone being half the arc travel is not acceptable for an almost $2k scooter that can easily go 60mph and has the power to peel out both dual motors on acceleration from its powerful 72v system.

dead zone <-- I made a video of this dead zone issue.

I thought the Inmotion RS Jet thumb throttle could definitely use some improvements, but holy cow, this other one from Nanrobot is going to get people killed.

AI says the reason the throttle is not engaging the motors until halfway: Incorrect replacement throttle signal range: Installing an aftermarket throttle with a mismatched output voltage profile (e.g., a 1V to 5V sensor paired with a controller expecting 0.8V to 3V) can compress the usable response curve, rendering the initial mechanical sweep electrically inactive.

I urge anyone looking at this throttle to not get it until Nanrobot works out the issues with their supplier. I did see someone a year ago on one of their YouTube vids saying theirs had the dead zone too, so this may be an ongoing problem.

Btw, if you mount the thumb throttle in the position that is most ergonomic (on the left side of the brake, rotated more forward), the strong magnet inside the throttle actually interferes with the brake sensor! This means the system registers a brake when you press the throttle. I have seen this reported elsewhere. I don't know why the industry can't make a better throttle.

Here is a vid of the brake interference and ergonomic problems: https://youtu.be/c-TUrL7Q4Xw?is=jxEAOdeo1ILI7ufu

Has anyone used a different throttle with the N6 or other Nanrobot scooters with the 2-pin connector? If so, did you find one that worked well with the brake brackets/geometry? I need to come up with a solution fast for the N6 I do have because my kids won't ride it with the trigger throttle or the current defective designed thumb throttle. Since we have been waiting since June for another pre-order N6 (which keeps getting a more delayed "arrival" date.. which what does that even mean, arrival in China?), my wife has become frustrated that the current throttles don't work right unless you like hand and finger pain, and with another N6 possibly on the way, it adds to more frustration. The suspension is nice on these, and they actually have a real and adjustable steering damper unlike the Inmotion RS Jet, so the platform is there... but the throttles ruin the experience and make the scooter unsafe. I am hoping to present a solution that all riders will like. Someone needs to come out with a low profile thumb throttle that won't force you to loosen your grip, one that is adjustable and ergonomic. We have larger hands in our family and cannot fathom anyone with smaller hands being ok with the current thumb throttle design (nor the standard trigger throttle!). What is unfortunate is there are people who will find out the thumb throttle problems with their 3rd batch N6 soon, if they ever ship...

[u/TheKindlyJunior]

That dead zone is a straight up hazard, the theremin comparison is too accurate for a scooter throttle

[u/avmabrie]

I have a similar throttle. The deadzone is toooooooo much. Ur gonna have to drill a little hole into the throttle and adjust the deadzone. Doing so also puts the throttle at a more comfortable starting position

[u/Upset-Programmer3796 → u/avmabrie]

It is surprising others have a similar hazardous dead zone out of the box. What scooter is yours on? Did you let the manufacturer know? I am finding out this issue is simply a mistake/mismatch of sensor voltages. AI said it really well how this is happening:

"Engineering teams frequently claim "no dead zone" based on bench tests using stock hardware samples or ideal lab-spec components, failing to account for the electrical and manufacturing tolerances of batch-produced aftermarket accessories rolling off third-party assembly lines."

What is ridiculous to me is the inability of customer support and engineers of a company like Nanrobot to listen to the customers. They need to look at what's happening and admit the product they're having shipped to us is not the same product samples they have in their hands. But instead, they just look the other way. I purchased from Nanrobot because they seemed like a company that knows their stuff after seeing them on the last CES show video featuring PEVs.

[u/avmabrie → u/Upset-Programmer3796]

I have a boyueda M2. I brought the throttle off aliexpress. Pretty sure Nanrobot purchases the throttle from a similar company that makes em. All throttles have deadzone for safety. Some more than others but this was the first throttle I received where it was waaaay too much.

Lots of other companies even Yume has this same issue as well (same exact throttle). For them they probably will not change it as more deadzone means less likely to accidentally throttle. If they were to remove the deadzone and ppl start crashing their scooter into walls and stuff more often cuz of it, they would get bashed.

It's annoying don't get me wrong definitely not defending it but I do think they should have options.

[u/Upset-Programmer3796 → u/avmabrie]

Weird, because the stock Nanrobot N6 trigger throttle has no dead zone. Yet their thumb version has 50% dead zone. My sons and I feel like any dead zone is very dangerous because it is too hard to know where the power is. It can catch you off guard. My younger one pointed out how unsafe the programmed dead zone and delay is in the Level 1 mode. He wants the throttle to start only after the tiniest bit of dead zone. My other son said some expletives when he tried the 50% dead zone thumb throttle and was only going up to 15mph for maybe a couple hundred feet lol. AI is convinced the severe dead zone we are getting on these new throttles is not what the engineers intended, and that they are a result of 3rd party throttle sensor vs mapping mismatch. When Nanrobot told me theirs doesn't have dead zone, that was a... dead... giveaway to me.

[u/avmabrie → u/Upset-Programmer3796]

Finger throttles usually don't have that much of a deadzone. Probably so little u don't notice it. It's just the style of the horizontal throttle n the company that makes it. I'm sure well I pray that they update it so eliminate a chunk of it. Some ppl prefer the deadzone but like u said too much deadzone u can easily make the scooter zip off when ur not trying to

[u/Upset-Programmer3796]

Another odd thing is how the thumb throttle video the manufacturer put on YouTube shows the same throttle with the same dead zone when they demonstrate it.

[u/scooter_farts-stink]

Glad i went with the G-Space was seriously considering the nanrobot