jcolman
Well-known member
I'll try to keep this brief. Last June I bought a bike in San Diego just so I could fly out and ride it home to North Carolina. I sent the dealer some mods I wanted put on the bike before the trip, including risers, GPS mount, throttle tube and a Vista Universal throttle lock. I didn't want to get to San Diego and spend time installing these things myself so I paid the dealer to do it for me.
On the ride home, I noticed that the throttle was just a wee bit sticky at low speed and that the throttle lock wouldn't hold the throttle open...it wanted to creep back to the "off" position, even if I tightened the adjustment lock lever. It didn't bother me too much so I pretty much forgot about it. Since I bought the bike last June, I've put over 5k miles on it and put up with the slightly sticky throttle. I figured that this was the "hard throttle" I'd read about on this site. But, the more I rode my bike, the more it started to irritate me.
Last weekend I decided to see if I could make the throttle work a bit better. I was all set to do the "throttle cable adjustment" but before I did, I took another look at the Vista throttle lock. Now, I must explain that I've used this throttle lock on my last two bikes and loved it. On the FJR however, I just couldn't get it tight enough to hold the throttle open. I always thought that was because of the FJR's strong throttle spring.
It had been several years since I installed a Vista cruise throttle lock and I had forgotten that the rubber collar was suppose to be tight against the throttle. I looked at mine and noticed that the rubber collar wasn't turning with the throttle. The three little set screws were not tight. I felt like such a dumbass for not catching this sooner.
I tightened up the three set screws so that the collar would turn with the throttle and BINGO!! Not only was the throttle much more responsive and easier to turn but the throttle lock actually worked!!
To celebrate my accomplishment I rode my bike to work today and now it looks like it's going to rain. Oh well.....I'm still happy.
Lesson learned.
edit: pics of the Vista Cruise and the offending rubber collar. The collar just under the chrome ring is suppose to be tight against the throttle. You do this by tightening the three small allen head screws. I had mine too loose and the throttle would turn under the collar, causing it to stick just enough to bother me.
On the ride home, I noticed that the throttle was just a wee bit sticky at low speed and that the throttle lock wouldn't hold the throttle open...it wanted to creep back to the "off" position, even if I tightened the adjustment lock lever. It didn't bother me too much so I pretty much forgot about it. Since I bought the bike last June, I've put over 5k miles on it and put up with the slightly sticky throttle. I figured that this was the "hard throttle" I'd read about on this site. But, the more I rode my bike, the more it started to irritate me.
Last weekend I decided to see if I could make the throttle work a bit better. I was all set to do the "throttle cable adjustment" but before I did, I took another look at the Vista throttle lock. Now, I must explain that I've used this throttle lock on my last two bikes and loved it. On the FJR however, I just couldn't get it tight enough to hold the throttle open. I always thought that was because of the FJR's strong throttle spring.
It had been several years since I installed a Vista cruise throttle lock and I had forgotten that the rubber collar was suppose to be tight against the throttle. I looked at mine and noticed that the rubber collar wasn't turning with the throttle. The three little set screws were not tight. I felt like such a dumbass for not catching this sooner.
I tightened up the three set screws so that the collar would turn with the throttle and BINGO!! Not only was the throttle much more responsive and easier to turn but the throttle lock actually worked!!
To celebrate my accomplishment I rode my bike to work today and now it looks like it's going to rain. Oh well.....I'm still happy.
Lesson learned.
edit: pics of the Vista Cruise and the offending rubber collar. The collar just under the chrome ring is suppose to be tight against the throttle. You do this by tightening the three small allen head screws. I had mine too loose and the throttle would turn under the collar, causing it to stick just enough to bother me.
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