Link to all my Gen II mods
First of all, a throttle lock is not the same as a “cruise control” that you may be accustomed to in your cage. A lock will not maintain a set speed unless you are on an extremely flat stretch of straight road and you will have to adjust it every once and a while for varying road conditions. It is still far less fatiguing, however, than holding the throttle constantly against its return springs. I have them on my bikes because they are inexpensive and find them valuable for giving you a chance to rest your throttle hand occasionally or motion to other motorists (friendly waves, of course). I even use it in town for a second or two during quick equipment/gear adjustments - the rider behind you doesn’t have to slow down because you are maintaining a constant speed. The theory is simple, so enough said.
The Vista Cruise is adjustable for tension so as they wear, a small turn of the screw will get it back just where you like it. I have the tension set on mine so I can easily override it, without unlocking it. Besides safety, this allows me to make the minute adjustments without much effort on the highway to hold constant speed.
The Vista Cruise that went on the FJR was a hand-me-down from another bike. It started out as one like this from CST but I cut off the extension that goes under the throttle housing because it didn’t let me position the lock lever where I wanted it. On the last bike, I attached it directly to the throttle housing face adjacent to the grip for a “clean” look. To do this, I attached a small piece of black plastic with a screw as an extension from the trimmed- down mount tab. Then I installed a pop-rivet in the plastic extension. The body of this rivet (about ¼” long) snugly fits in a hole in the throttle housing, but still allows me to remove it if needed. This extension allowed me to drill the hole in the housing where it wouldn’t interfere with the cable inside and also allows enough flexibility so I can take the VC off without removing anything else. This made adaptation to the FJR simply a matter of drilling a hole in the throttle housing to insert the indexing “pin” being formed by the rivet body. Probably sounds complicated but it isn’t. I will take a picture or two the next time I have it off to explain it better.
IMHO, THE CORRECT POSITION OF THE LEVER IS IMPORTANT FOR CONVENIENCE AND SAFETY.
I positioned the lock lever, so if engaged, it basically blocks thumb access the starter button. This seems to be the perfect position to flick if off at a moment’s notice while riding. A side benefit is keeps some Joker from messing with me and locking my throttle wide open before I start her up. This picture shows the lever in the “locked” position and my thumb is barely touching the bottom of it.
A throttle lock used in conjunction with a Kuryakyn Universal Throttle Boss (p/n 6251) works fine for me and I did not bother unwinding the throttle spring as some have done. BTW, those are aftermarket heated grips shown in the pictures.
First of all, a throttle lock is not the same as a “cruise control” that you may be accustomed to in your cage. A lock will not maintain a set speed unless you are on an extremely flat stretch of straight road and you will have to adjust it every once and a while for varying road conditions. It is still far less fatiguing, however, than holding the throttle constantly against its return springs. I have them on my bikes because they are inexpensive and find them valuable for giving you a chance to rest your throttle hand occasionally or motion to other motorists (friendly waves, of course). I even use it in town for a second or two during quick equipment/gear adjustments - the rider behind you doesn’t have to slow down because you are maintaining a constant speed. The theory is simple, so enough said.
The Vista Cruise is adjustable for tension so as they wear, a small turn of the screw will get it back just where you like it. I have the tension set on mine so I can easily override it, without unlocking it. Besides safety, this allows me to make the minute adjustments without much effort on the highway to hold constant speed.
The Vista Cruise that went on the FJR was a hand-me-down from another bike. It started out as one like this from CST but I cut off the extension that goes under the throttle housing because it didn’t let me position the lock lever where I wanted it. On the last bike, I attached it directly to the throttle housing face adjacent to the grip for a “clean” look. To do this, I attached a small piece of black plastic with a screw as an extension from the trimmed- down mount tab. Then I installed a pop-rivet in the plastic extension. The body of this rivet (about ¼” long) snugly fits in a hole in the throttle housing, but still allows me to remove it if needed. This extension allowed me to drill the hole in the housing where it wouldn’t interfere with the cable inside and also allows enough flexibility so I can take the VC off without removing anything else. This made adaptation to the FJR simply a matter of drilling a hole in the throttle housing to insert the indexing “pin” being formed by the rivet body. Probably sounds complicated but it isn’t. I will take a picture or two the next time I have it off to explain it better.
IMHO, THE CORRECT POSITION OF THE LEVER IS IMPORTANT FOR CONVENIENCE AND SAFETY.
I positioned the lock lever, so if engaged, it basically blocks thumb access the starter button. This seems to be the perfect position to flick if off at a moment’s notice while riding. A side benefit is keeps some Joker from messing with me and locking my throttle wide open before I start her up. This picture shows the lever in the “locked” position and my thumb is barely touching the bottom of it.
A throttle lock used in conjunction with a Kuryakyn Universal Throttle Boss (p/n 6251) works fine for me and I did not bother unwinding the throttle spring as some have done. BTW, those are aftermarket heated grips shown in the pictures.
