Throttle Lock safety from a noob! (motorcycle cruise control)

[savantelite]

Today was my first experence with a throttle lock known as the Go Cruise. A throttle lock holds the accelerator at a certain spot. There are varied ways but they mostly work the same. I had read the pros: releaf from wrist cramp as well as keeping yourself under the speed limit. But the Cons scared me: Imagine your bike spinning out of control after you took a dive, or if you tried to stop and couldn't because the motor was pushing forward?

So after reading other threads, apparently if you have the throttle lock on and something jumps out in front of you, You pull your clutch and both brakes at the same time all the while your motor revs up! The NT has a rev limiter at 8.5k. You can try this without being on the road, just leave the bike in neutral and rev as high as you want. 8.5k is a far as it goes.

Now the experence. On an open road with little traffic I ran my bike up to 65 set the throttle lock. I imagined something had jumped out in front of me and had to stop. Pulling my clutch, and brake I proceeded to SCARE THE CRAP OUT OF MYSELF! When the engine is roaring, even while I stopping is a complete experence!

Well the whole point of this thread is, if you plan to use a throttle lock, please practice with it. For me, that will take some getting use to high reving.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Saventelite, every throttle lock I've ever had let me roll off the throttle even when it was engaged. After riding with the Throttlemeister on the bike for about 38,000 of my 39,000 miles, my first reaction while pulling on brakes is to roll of the throttle. If I need to, I can then quickly disengage the Throttlemeister.

 

[MaggieMan]

Yeah, I think "throttle-lock" is a bad name, a misnomer. Anything that would truly "lock" the throttle would be dangerous and should be avoided. A "throttle-stay" or "holder" would be a better name.

Scott

 

[RedLdr1]

That's why I love my Brake-Away!

I still don't see the NT listed on their website as of this morning. If I remember right you are using the ST1300 kit correct?

 

[Chuck 500]

Rick,

How do you get your Go Cruise to "stick". I've tried two, large and small, and both start to lose speed as soon I let go of the throttle. Right now I have the small mounted with the neoprene? ring under it.

Any ideas?

Chuck

 

[Rich]

Having had several throttle-locks:
1. All the ones I've seen have adjustments on them. They need to be adjusted such that, even when engaged, it doesn't take much force to override the friction.
2. Conversely, if it's set too loose, it won't hold position, which is the whole point.
3. The brake-away is the only one I know with a provision to release upon proper brake application. Properly set up, pulling on the front brake lever triggers this release. This unit can be tedious to install properly, but I never seem to have to adjust it thereafter.

A cramp-buster is really the best day-to-day gizmo. Not really a lock, of course, but does help a lot with the discomfort of holding the throttle for a log period.

In practical use, I find the throttle-lock only occasionally useful. The slightest uphill and downhill causes your speed to wander substantially. Here where I live, it seems there is no stretch of road that has a constant grade for more than a quarter-mile. And even using a true cruise-control (in my car/truck) I have to constantly fiddle with it, because traffic simply will not allow you to maintain a constant speed.

So my brake-away is used for only very short periods, and those rarely. Sometime when I might actually get out onto a fairly constant super slab in wide-open areas (Easter Washington on I-90, e.g.) then I might actually get to use it for some extended periods.

 

[WVRider]

Agree with most of the responses you have received. I have used the Vista Cruise with every motorcycle I have ever owned and have rigged one on my NT as well, though they don't have it listed on their product. It works properly and as most have said, while engaged, you can still easily twist the throttle back. It should only be adjusted to "just" hold the throttle so you can release the presure from your wrist. I never use it in traffic, in town or while riding the twisties and curves. It's mainly for those straight line roads where it allows for the once in a while needed drop the arm to your side, work your hand in and out of a fist, and place back on the bars without having to hold the throttle. Also, note, on the NT, if you fall over, no matter what the throttle position, it will stop running, due to the angle sensor which has been on many bikes since back when I worked on them. If it does this, like your foot slipping out from under you in an intersection (rolling eyes) you will need to turn off the ignition switch and back on to clear this feature and continue. Don't ask how I know this, LOL...

DJ

 

[Phil Tarman]

I've probably dropped my NT six or seven times now and the bank angle sensor has only needed resetting twice. Maybe slow speed and stopped drops don't activate it.

BTW, I use my Throttlemiester for loooooong periods of time and sometimes even use it in the twisties. The ones where I use are ones I'm familiar with and when I'm using it I'm not pushing at all, just loafing along at a steady speed.

I've also been surprised and pleased that the Throttlemeister on the NT holds a steadier speed in rolling hills than the Vista-cruise did when I had it on my Concours. I still wish there were an electronic cruise that didn't cost $1000. Murph of Murphskits.com has one for under $300 that works really well on the Concours. It could probably be adapted to work on an the NT, but I'm not the guy with those kinds of skills.

Somebody (maybe you know who you are, but I don't) ought to buy one and spend next winter figuring out how to install it on the NT!

 

[charlie b]

Don't know about you guys, but, when the throttle is 'locked' I don't 'automatically' roll it off before grabbing a handful of brake in an emergency. My 'instincts' are from many years with heavy spring loaded throttles (carbs) that closed themselves rather abruptly.

Yes, if I think about it, I roll throttle off and apply the brakes. In two real emergencies I did not. I grabbed brake and clutch and my engine was screaming at me (no RPM limiter, no tipover sensor, etc). And that was on a bike equipped with carbs, very heavy return springs and no throttle lock. After stopping I let go the throttle, shifted into neutral and let everything 'calm down'. I was just thankful I had not locked up the front brake (no ABS either), or soiled my pants

And, yes, that is after many, many practice emergency stops. Unless you practice emergency stops with someone else holding the "start" cue, then you are just braking hard. Even then you are prepared for the event. In actual practice it comes at you when you least expect it. Middle of a down/up shift, turning head to look at other traffic, in the middle of turning onto a side/main street, etc, etc.

So, the OP is right, hearing an engine screaming at you in the middle of an emergency is 'normal' The good part is if you can still hear it at the 'end' of the emergency

 

[charlie b]

Yes, I understand what you are saying. We all roll throttle off when applying brake, just as I will blip the throttle on downshifting as I use the front brake. I could even say it is instinctive after many years of riding.

BUT, in two real emergencies my grab of the front brake did not result in rolling the throttle off. Even in the presence of a very heavy throttle return spring the action of grabbing the brake lever as fast as possible resulted in no change in the throttle.

We can all conjecture about what we will do in the real thing, even try to train for it as much as we can. But, things don't always happen the way we want or the way we train.

FWIW, having a throttle lock would not have changed the circumstances in either case. One bike did have a throttle lock installed, but, it was not engaged at the time. The other did not have one installed.

As for adjusting the levers, mine are set so I use two fingers (index and middle) on brake (and clutch) while the other two can manipulate the throttle. So, no, no reach at all.

 

[charlie b]

Rick, I didn't take offense, just wanted to explain it a bit more.

I should also mention that some people may not automatically pull in the clutch in an emergency stop. I did but it doesn't mean someone else will. In that case having the throttle locked on and not rolling it off would result in power applied to the rear wheel while trying to stop.

So, you are correct, anyone contemplating a throttle 'hold' device should be aware that most do not release when the brake or clutch are applied. The interesting aside to this is that two of my bikes, the Guzzi and my old Honda CB500-4, were fitted with throttle friction screws. You could put enough friction on the throttle so it is easier to hold the pressure against the return springs. You couldn't 'lock' the throttle, but, you could make it stiff enough so it would return very slowly. Fuel injection makes that not as big a problem so I guess that's why the NT doesn't have something like that.