Cruise control / throttle assist

[Guest]

I'm thinking about getting a cruise / throttle assist, anyone have any input on them?

[Steve]

There is a LOT of personal preference on this topic, but since you asked, I will offer mine.

The best is going to be the most expensive, and generally not practical on a GS. Aftermarket electronic cruise control units are available that work just like the one on your car. Get to speed, push the button, it holds that speed, up hill and down hill, modulating the throttle as necessary. Prices are in the $3-500 range, so you don't see them mentioned here very much.

The next best (in my opinion) is the Vista Universal Throttle Lock. It will take a little bit of fiddling for a nice install, and will take just a little bit of real estate from your right grip, but you won't notice it much after about the first half hour. The cost is about $35 from most vendors.
Although it is called a throttle 'lock', you can still move the throttle to make small adjustments to go up or down hills. You will have to put in a little more effort to make that adjustment, but then you can relax your hand until the next adjustment is needes. A simple flick of a finger or thumb is all it takes to engage or disengage, it's very easy to use.

There are some that really like a paddle-type attachment that grips your right handgrip and offers an advantage in leverage by giving you a place to rest your wrist. Personally, I can't stand them, as you still have to have your hand there and held in one position. You can not reach down to scratch your right leg unless you hold the throttle with your left hand (a fun thing to learn). If I ever take a bike for a ride that has one of these on it, I will remove it for the ride, then put it back on, letting the owner know that I removed it and why. They typically cost about $10.

Others have found success with a heavy-duty o-ring that rests between the grip and the housing, but I think they are too awkward to engage and disengage when desired.

.

[GS1150Pilot]

One of the members here put me onto this. I bought the more adjustable version. It may not be perfect, but it's a grand slam in my book.

http://www.webbikeworld.com/t2/go-cruise-throttle-control/

[mikerophone]

Hadn't seen that one before - very simple.

I have had several of the universal throttle locks over the years and they work great.

[GS1150Pilot]

I don't find that it stays perfectly set forever, but it does two things very well. One, it lets you rest your hand for a few minutes before speed drops off much, and two, if lets you just rest your hand very lightly, even a finger or two, on the throttle when it's in place without having to hold the throttle open.

[robertbarr]

Hmm, that's odd; I don't have any of those problems. I just select 'Cruise On' and set the speed. From there, just toggle accel/decel as desired.

[trevor]

I don't find that it stays perfectly set forever, but it does two things very well. One, it lets you rest your hand for a few minutes before speed drops off much, and two, if lets you just rest your hand very lightly, even a finger or two, on the throttle when it's in place without having to hold the throttle open.

I have them on all 4 of bikes. They are great until someone starts effing with them. BigD..lol

[Andrew Vanis]

I like the old lever ones. the 'new' design looks interesting but I wouldn't like that arm always raising/lowering each time I activated the throttle.

[GS1150Pilot]

The beauty of these is you can take them off the bike in 10 seconds.

[hillsy]

I have these grips on my cruiser:



As you can see they have a built in (albeit un-boltable) throttle rocker on the end. They are very comfortable on long rides.

I prefer them to the other style of cruise controls because I'm not comfortable of the idea of having the throttle "locked" or "restricted".

The good thing about the throttle rocker that you slip onto your existing grip is that it is cheap and if you don't like it you haven't wasted a lot of money trying it.