I'm Back... With a ?? on Adding Cruise Control

[Reaney in NH]

Hey Guys,

I just rejoined the Yamaha Royal star Family again after being away for a few years.

my latest purchase is a very clean 100% stock 96 Royal Star Tour Classic with 24,000 old man miles on it. There is not a single Extra or anything modded... its exactly how it was shipped.

OK.. now for my question. I need Cruise Control. I have wrist problem that gets very painfull holding a throttle more then about 40 mins at a time. For the last several years I have been riding Full dress Loaded touring bikes... Like a RSV , Goldwing, and my last bike a HD Ultra. Life changes made me get rid of the Payment on the HD.. so my choices were limited... it was either go without a bike... or buy something like the RSTC.

I have in the past been successful using the Audio Vox CCS 100 electronic Cruise to a Kawasaki Vulcan... others have installed it on Valkeries, Road stars ETC. Has anybody done it on the Royal Star? Any info that will save me hours of trial and error?

i know someone is going to say use a Throttle Lock... its a great option in the Midwest where roads are flat and straight... but in New England they are almost worthless.

Thank you for any help you can offer.

[KeithR]

I have been receiving e mails on this unit...they must be proud of it !

 

Keith

 

http://www.cruisercustomizing.com/motorcycle-cruise-control/part/BAW-MCC

[Reaney in NH]

That is a CRAZY OVER priced throttle lock. It wont work for me as I already said. I need electronic cruise control.

 

Thank you

 

I have been receiving e mails on this unit...they must be proud of it !

 

Keith

 

http://www.cruisercustomizing.com/motorcycle-cruise-control/part/BAW-MCC

[KeithR]

http://www.murphskits.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=369

[bongobobny]

Hmmm, wonder if you could morph a system from either a 1st gen or 2nd gen...

[Reaney in NH]

http://www.murphskits.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=369

 

That kit looks interesting. I would still like to find someone that has used it on our bikes.

Anybody?

[Reaney in NH]

Hmmm, wonder if you could morph a system from either a 1st gen or 2nd gen...

 

I supose its possible... Not even sure of a parts list. Those systems are intergrated into the Wire harness... and everything else.

[Trader]

It seems odd that a throttle lock isn't acceptable because of a lack of straight roads...but electronic cruise control will be.

 

Although I understand the desire for a better system, there are few roads where the type of cruise will make a difference.

 

IMHO the only deciding factor is that electronic is a hair faster to disengage.

[csdexter]

(speaking for the 2nd gen)

 

Assuming you rip all the needed parts off a RSV, which are:

 

• control box
  
• vacuum pump
  
• vacuum actuator (the thing with the vacuum hose on one end and a throttle cable on the other)
  
• cable joint (the thing where the five cables meet)
  

You will still have to think about at least two things (should be three but it's your lucky day: you don't need to worry about the speed sensor as it's the same on both bikes):

 

• safety: both brake switches and the clutch switch are double on the RSV (two switches moving at the same time) so that the signal that's meant to disengage the CC when you touch the brakes or pull the clutch doesn't depend on anything else but physically moving that lever/pedal. You will have to craft something similar on your bike or ... rip the switches from a RSV :-)
  
• control: you would need to think of a way to add the four CC switches (on/off, cancel, set/slow down, resume/speed up) and three lights (on/off, set and resume) to your bike
  

Finally, do note the connectors for the control box are relatively easy to find (i.e. they are made by a Japanese connector manufacturer that's still alive as a company, still manufactures them and does sell to retail), whereas the connector for the vacuum pump is not (it was made by the manufacturer of the pump which never sold such connectors to the public). Your best bet is probably, once again, to get a RSV wiring harness and rip everything you need from it.

 

 

Good luck!

[Squidley]

I have installed the audivox system as well and would use it again if the need arose.

[csdexter]

It seems odd that a throttle lock isn't acceptable because of a lack of straight roads...but electronic cruise control will be.

 

Although I understand the desire for a better system, there are few roads where the type of cruise will make a difference.

 

IMHO the only deciding factor is that electronic is a hair faster to disengage.

It's worth noting that electronic CCs can be configured for some amount of resilience -- I think the OEM unit on the RSV will allow you to manually override it (by turning the grip against the vacuum actuator's intent) by +/-8km/h before automatically disengaging. This comes very handy when overtaking, for example.

 

Also, electronic CCs will allow you to "tell" the unit to go up/down in small increments without having to go through a reset -> move grip -> set cycle.

 

Also, electronic CCs will allow you to "come back to speed" after you temporarily had to brake or even stop -- just bring the bike to the lower operational limit of the CC, then push "Resume" and it takes control.

 

Just sayin'

[Trader]

Yep....that's why I said I understand the desire for an electronic unit......but although they are called throttle locks you can still "blip" them or adjust them as required without unlocking and resetting.

 

So to "fine tune" it....just a minor twist instead of pushing a button.

 

You can twist the throttle....if it is set up correctly, it provides just enough resistance to hold it against the spring action...not so much that you can't turn it.

[Carbon_One]

I haven't added any cruise controls to any Royal Stars but have used the AudioVox systems on numerous other brands of bikes. The Rostra electronic cruise control looks good too thou it's twice the cost of an AudioVox unit. It does appear to be smaller in size so would be more readily hidden or tucked in on the bike.

Personally I prefer an electronic cruise control over any throttle lock when riding and I've used a bunch of different types over the years.

Larry

[Mike G in SC]

Electronic systems keep with the MPH (ok, KPH), locks keep with the RPM's.

If you go up a hill with Electronic, you will keep your speed.

If you go up a hill with Lock,,, you will loose speed,,,,,

If you go down a hill,,,, and so on.

 

Keeps you at an even pace, without adjustment.

Edited February 16, 2014 by Mike G in SC

[Reaney in NH]

Thank you for all the responses. Throtle locks suck in new England... we are constantly going up or down hill.. no such thing as flat ground.

 

I already own a Still in the BOX Audio Vox... Purchased for a friends Vulcan that got sold before installed. I think it will be an interesting project. I will try to document it as I go.

I was hoping someone had already done it. But I'm sure I can figure it out.

[dacheedah]

http://www.murphskits.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=422

[Pegasus1300]

Yep....that's why I said I understand the desire for an electronic unit......but although they are called throttle locks you can still "blip" them or adjust them as required without unlocking and resetting.

 

So to "fine tune" it....just a minor twist instead of pushing a button.

 

You can twist the throttle....if it is set up correctly, it provides just enough resistance to hold it against the spring action...not so much that you can't turn it.

 

What he said. While I don't have your wrist problems I do live and ride in the Western Wasatch mountains of Utah and have used a throttle drag system for many years. They used to come standard on British bikes and you just set the amount of drag you needed with a screwdriver. The BMW came with a large thumb wheel. You could still roll it off or adjust it as needed.

 

If your wrist is too tender to even hold any pressure then this wont work, but they are cheap enough that it may be worth try. As for electronic cruise, I think it will too complicated to adapt an RSV/RSTD unit and much cheaper to go with a universal aftermaket unit. Try these people http://www.mccruise.com/

[Reaney in NH]

Thank you to all that replied.

 

I will attempt to install and document the install of the Audio Vox CCS100 System. I have done it in the past of a Vulcan.

I will try hard to take pics and a description on how its done.

 

 

I have used Throttle locks for years and will install one on this bike. but its just not even in the same ball park is a nice electronic CC.

 

Thank you for your input. I got some good info.

[wrenchrob]

Good luck on your project

[ragtop69gs]

I bought an audiovox to install on my former Honda, I was going to use the crashbar tubes as a vacuum reserve when I did the install, makes for a cleaner install. I still have the audiovox setup around here somewhere.

[dave_wells]

Were you waiting until I removed you from my friends list

 

That was about 2 weeks ago

 

Ride Safe....