In my previous life as a control system engineer on a fighter program, I can tell you that we agonized over just these sorts of thing: spring rates, camshape/gearing, dead bands, etc. The pilots are after great "handling qualities" and it is pretty much all perception with these folks. There are some fairly good guide lines about what works and won't work, but in the end it's alot of trial and error in the sim, then in the aircraft during flight test.
Consider an "all-electric" stick for a moment where we can program up just about anything we want. Up & away, the stick is used to command roll and pitch. Its "gearing" is how many roll or pitch thingys (usu. rad/sec of rotational rate at low Mach) get commanded per degree of stick deflection (or pounds of force applied like in an F-16). The gradients (shape of the response per deflection/force) are usually non-linear with dead zones in the center so the pilot doesn't always have to be in the loop. The force per unit deflection of the stick (think spring constant) is one of the biggest items in "perceived" handling qualities. Make it too loose and the pilots really complain that it's hard to control. Overshoots happen a lot and it's hard to track evasive targets well. Fighter pilots like their sticks stiff.
Motorcycle riders tend to live at the other end of the spectrum, especially those who have to hold the throttle for long periods.
Bottom line in all this is you are directly experiencing a "perceived" system response to your throttle inputs. Reducing the spring rate on the throttle
should give you more sensitivity (as in better ability to control the machine) and a sense of relief over long rides.
Cheers,
W2
