cruise controls(would or wouldn't you) and why or why not

I love my Throttlemeister! :thumbsup:

 

I put a cruise control from Motorcycle Cruise Controls in Australia on my 94 VFR last summer and have ridden several thousand miles around the West and Southwest. It was spendy, but I do a lot of long distance rides and I'll have to have cruise control on any bike from now on. I found it fairly simple to install since it's wired for specific bikes. You just plug it in. Other, cheaper, automotive cruise controls are not made specifically for bikes and may be harder to install, calibrate and use.

I've had the NEP type on previous bikes and they worked fine. But once you get a cruise control, you'll never go back!

I would say the choice depends solely on how much money you want to spend.

 

Needed Accessory

Used a vista cruz on two former cycles and feel it is something you have to have. How do you reach out and adjust your right hand mirror? Just getting ready to pull the trigger on a Throttlmeister, and decided to try something I saw on KLR.com.
A rubber o-ring that just fits on the bar end-weight. Roll it inboard to fill the gap between the grip and the end weight. The rubber provides enough friction to hold the throttle in place. Done using your right hand to pick your nose, roll o-ring outboard. Used a good diameter, but too thin to manipulate with gloves. Used another fatter one, but it didn't provide enough friction. Gonna try one more from a hydraulic shop. Probably no way to use it with winter gloves. If I get the hang of it, the total cost is about 3 bucks. Throttlemeister is still a nice little piece of bling, though.

 

Can a cruise control be programmed from a laptop? I plan on doing Lolo pass later this summer and not having to mess with shifting and all that darned throttle twisting would really be cool.

 

X2. I had one on my 500 & now have one on my 800 & use it all the time.

Bob

 

So will this one work on a 1999 VFR?

YAMAHA CRUISE CONTROL THROTTLE LOCK MOTORCYCLE 7/8 BAR on eBay.ca (item 120415771392 end time 03-Jun-09 11:37:30 EDT)

 

Do NOT buy this Ebay item. These can be purchased from many places for around $20 US.

This Ebay seller must be out of his mind trying to sell it for $45 plus $12 shipping. It should fit on your 5th Gen since I have the same model on both my 6th Gen and 3rd Gen.

Regards,
Rollin

 

With my 5th Gen, if I purchase one of these NEP locks, do I need the dual or the single cable?

 

Here is what you need. NEP Throttle Lock (CC-2 Single Cable)

It is $17.55 + shipping.

LINK

Regards,
Rollin

 

Thank you Rollin. Ordered!

 

You should be happy with your purchase. The throttle lock makes it so much easier to masterbate while riding. :laugh:

Regards,
Rollin

 

Only if you're right-handed. Otherwise, no need for it.

 

Lucky for me I'm ambidextrous.

 

Thats why i travel with a passenger :biggrin:

 

Dan,

NOLAVFR(Joe) uses the NEP throttle lock, but as you mentioned, a lot of the felluz in Sonny's group use the Throttlemeister. Now that I have this Power Commander purchase behind me, I am going to purchase a Throttlemeister next. Just seems like it's one hell of a product with a huge following.

 

I once tried a ThrottleMeister on my VFR, and I couldn't wait to get rid of it. So, last winter I had a MCCruise electronic CC installed on my VFR. Along with Race Tech, this is among the best modifications I've made to my motorcycle so far. They make electronic cruise controls specifically for the VFR, along with many other motorcycles. The cost is considerable, but worth every penny in my opinion.

Just as with the electronic cruise control in a car, the MCCruise control has 3 buttons: on/off; set/accelerate; coast/resume. (See my photo gallery for pics.) So, each time you push either the accelerate or coast buttons once, your speed will increase or decrease by ~1 mph, respectively. In addition, the CC automatically disengages whenever you either 'tap' or apply the brakes, as well as whenever you either pull in the clutch OR shift gears without using the clutch. To then resume your previous cruising speed, simply press Resume.

Also (just like your car) if you're cruising at 70 and you roll on some throttle in order to pass, but you haven't touched the brakes, clutch, etc., as you gently roll off the throttle and the bike slows back down to 70, you will soon feel the CC taking over again around that set point, but it will do so with a bit of a lag, so gently keep your hand on the throttle until you know that all is well.

Unlike the stock electronic CC on my previous BMW K1200GT, which was incredibly smooth (just like that in a car), the MC Cruise control's behavior requires a brief learning curve which you should be able to quickly figure out after just a brief ride on a local freeway.

That is, when you reach your desired cruising speed, and you then push the Set button, do not just let go of the throttle, because there's a brief lag while the MCCruise's microprocessor finds its set point, and then takes over and settles into the designated set point. In other words, when you push the Set button at say, 70 mph, the system doesn't immediately and decisively take over in a 'set-and-forget' manner. Instead, while it knows that it's been told to cruise at 70, there's a brief lag as it hunts up to the correct throttle setting and speed. So, the bike may slow down to let's say 65 mph before you feel the CC taking over and gently adding engine power to arrive at 70 mph, after which it will cruise and smoothly maintain your speed at 70. This is why you should not just let go of the throttle once you've pushed either Set or Resume. If you do so, the engine will either hesitate as if you've chopped the throttle, or possibly begin surging if you've pushed Resume.

Comfortably operating and using the MCCruise is rather simple once you learn that you should not relinquish total control of the throttle with your right hand until you feel the CC kicking in and reliably taking over. Once you feel and know that it's doing so, only then should you gently release your hand from the throttle, after which you'll be cruising in great comfort.

Another key point to keep in mind with the aftermarket MCCruise control is to pay close attention to the gear you're in before you activate or reactivate the CC. The lags I've described are kept to a minimum if you avoid activating the CC from a gear that results either in engine lugging or over-revving in order to eventually arrive at and maintain your desired cruising speed. In other words, don't activate the CC until you've selected 4th, 5th, or 6th gear (depending on the terrain), with the RPM's appropriately matched to the gear you wish to cruise with. The closer you match engine RPM's with the most appropriate gear selection before you activate the CC, the less you will encounter lags or surges from the CC, and the smoother it will operate. This is pretty much common sense.

Spend some time riding with electronic CC, then go to a bike with a mere throttle lock, and then ask yourself which your prefer, especially if you spend lots of time riding on slabs, i.e., touring, in order to arrive at locations with twisty roads, where you can then simply turn off electronic CC.

In my opinion, throttle locks have several annoying drawbacks, including the following:

1) Unless you're riding over the flat plains of Kansas, throttle locks will have you going way below the speed limit when climbing a grade, and then way over the speed limit as you descend. In order to maintain anything like a comfortable and somewhat constant speed, you'll be forever dicking around with your 'locked' throttle, which isn't really 'locked', its just kinda stuck until you diddle with the throttle quite often. Wanna give your aching and tired right wrist a good rest while riding on slabs? A throttle lock will often give you little time to rest and relax until you're back on the throttle, trying to frequently readjust it according to the terrain. Sounds like fun, eh?

2) Unlike electronic CC, which smoothes out engine power and fuel delivery to optimize fuel consumption over the prevailing terrain, throttle locks invite excessive and inefficient use of fuel because one moment you're going too fast, and the next moment your lugging the engine and going too slow, so you find yourself diddling with the throttle, and so it goes.

3) Even if you're using a throttle lock over the flatlands of Kansas, your speed will still not remain anywhere near constant if your dealing with prevailing winds. I've used a throttle lock before, and wind will f#ck with your ability to maintain anywhere near a constant speed almost as much as hills and valleys.

4) If you're interested in touring with your VFR over most of the riding season, including very chilly weather, heated grips are a must. However, aftermarket heated grips are typically incompatible with 'screw-down' type throttle locks such as the ThrottleMeister because as heated grips heat up and expand, they may very well cause such throttle lock mechanisms to bind and possibly become stuck in an open-throttle position.

OK, now that I've stirred up a hornet's nest, let the flames begin.

 

Hard to find throttle locks in Canada for some reason...I've seen a cheap no name one at a place I take my bike to for service...

As far as Throttle Lock vs Cruise Control - I just want some temporary relief every now and then...

 

If you have ever used a throttle lock style cruse control, you'll know the speed will vary due to road, wind, and other conditions. What I really like with my ThrottleMeister, I don't have to fully engage it for it to hold the throttle in place. This allows me to finely adjust throttle position/speed on the fly. Yes it does take some time to learn how to effectively engage the ThrottleMeister, but the product is solid and blends nicely with the bike.

 

I installed the dual cable Honda one on mine.

 

I can do the same with my Vista Cruise.