This paper addresses the control of an electronic throttle body (ETB) for ride-by-wire applications in sport motorcycles. The systems dynamics are identified in closed loop, providing a description of the system in terms of linear dynamics augmented with friction effects. This model enables the design of a controller made of a linear part and a hybrid feedforward–feedback friction compensator. The controller is computationally efficient and an adaptive version is proposed. Experimental tests validate the proposed architecture.