Rest your Wrist- Get a Throttle Lock
from Gadget
There was a time, not so very long ago, if you wanted a throttle lock on your bike you had a choice. Vista Cruise or... Vista Cruise.
Today we have multiple options. On long trips (even on short trips in low traffic situations) a throttle lock can be a real wrist saver. They range from slipping a 1" O-ring over your throttle grip so it can be jammed into the space between grip and switch box while moving down the road (cost, about 25 cents) to the pricey but beautiful 'Breakaway' throttle lock. There is the very small unobtrusive Clever Lever which requires drilling a small hole in the switch box and finally there's the old tried and true grandaddy of the genre the "Universal Vista Cruise".
There's also the Omni-Cruise, which requires no installation whatsoever and works great. Either pulling the front brake or throttling down levers the lock back to its inactive position. This is also available from Amazon. There are some similar ones listed there, but I have the Omni-Cruise and can vouch for it.
The following are installation instructions for the Vista Cruise as added to my Nomad with aftermarket (Kuryakyn) grips.
Cheers,
Gadget
Universal Vista Cruise
Installation instructions for the Universal Vista Cruise for installation on Kuryakyn grips but the procedure is exactly the same for stock grips.
- Remove the throttle boss from the end of your grips. You can't slide the round locking ring over the throttle boss. (Kuryakyn only)
- Loosen the front brake master cylinder and move it away from the brake housing about an inch. Snug the two bolts enough to keep the cylinder from rolling around the handle bar but don't tighten it up because you'll move it back later.
- Install the 1" plastic mounting bracket on your handle bar between the brake cylinder and your brake housing. Just snug it down enough to keep it from rolling on your handle bar for now too. You can remove the bolt that is on the top of the mounting bracket before your attach the mounting bracket now if you want. [Gadget note, take a moment and paint that bolt black]
- The Vista cruise comes with two rubber gaskets that fit inside the round plastic locking device that will slide over your grips. Take out the one that is already inside the locking ring (the one with the spring attached to it) and put it aside. Slide the round locking ring over your grip!
[Gadget Note, for a really slick looking installation, hone out the inside of the ring, as shown at left, with a Dremel or other rotary tool sanding disk so it slips over the raised part of the grip. This will give you an extra half inch of so of grip real estate and will look a lot nicer.]
The other rubber gasket that comes in the package is what you'll use, but you will have to get a razor blade and cut it. The other gasket looks like an I-beam. Carefully cut the thinner part from the thicker part LENGTH WAYS being sure that ALL the excess rubber is removed from the thicker gasket. There is a picture in the Vista Cruise package that shows you how to do this. - You should now have two gaskets in your hand... one thinner than the other. Take the thicker gasket and slide this gasket inside the locking ring being sure that the FLANGED edge is facing out. A little spit or something may help you here! I used a screw driver to push the gasket in too. Tighten the 3 small allen head screws down to "lock" that rubber gasket in place.
- Now take the plastic "arm" that crosses over the kill switch and set it on top of the mounting bracket. You'll notice that there are four tabs that are supposed to keep the arm from twisting. I filed down the two tabs that face towards the grips so I could slide the mounting bracket up close against the brake housing. Just my way here... you may not want to do that! I don't think that taking off the two tabs will cause the arm to twist at all and I wanted the bracket up close against the brake housing.
- Bolt the cross over arm to the mounting bracket and tighten it up.
- Slide the mounting bracket up against the brake housing and look to see how far away that plastic arm is from the little spring thing on the top of the locking ring. You have two bolts to choose from depending on how far away you are from the end of the arm. If you filed the tabs off like I did you can use the shorter bolt. Otherwise you may have to trim the plastic spacer and use the longer bolt to make this all come together. You'll have to play with it to see which one fits best for you.
- Once you decide which bolt to use, grab the locking thumb knob and squeezing the spring, slide the bolt through it and screw it into the plastic arm. If you tighten this too tight your throttle will bind so be careful here. Play with it to be sure your throttle springs back OK.
- Reinstall your throttle boss. (Kuryakyn grips only)
- Before sliding the brake master cylinder and mirror assembly back into place take a look and notice there are small tabs on each side of the clamp side. If you want to go an extra step (and have a grinding wheel, Dremel or file) remove the clamp (careful, don't drop the master cylinder and mirror) and grind or file away the tab facing the grip. This will allow you to move the master cylinder/mirror assembly back very close to their original positions.
Well... you should be done now! Don't forget to put the master cylinder back to as close to it's original position as possible and tighten it down.