My Audiovox Cruise Control Install: 2001 ST1100
IMHO this is the ultimate farkle. I have never understood why a motorcycle manufacturer can design a long distance machine and not considered placing a cruise control on them. For my 01', I had to do a lot of maintenance this winter and that included a coolant system overhaul. The coolant system overhaul requires the removal of the carburetors, so I made it a mission to research the best choice for a cruise control. The choices were limited to the MCcruise out of Australia ($800) , an electronic unit by Rostra cruise control (~$300), and the Audiovox Universal Cruise ($100). I decided on the Audiovox unit because the documentation on the ST forums and other websites is numerous. I will spend the money I saved on a Garmin Zumo.
Each personal webpage and write-ups was studied until I had a firm grasp on what to do for the install and the possible issues that I might encounter. I ordered the Audiovox cruise control from http://www.murpskits.com/catalog/ for $107 which included a vacuum canister.
First on the installation is the choice of how and where to mount the servo unit, vacuum canister, and wiring the system. The one item that puts fear into some is the required servo actuator arm that has to fabricated and then attached to the throttle bellcrank. The arm on the throttle bellcrank can be leveraged from above via the side of the airbox or from below via the right side of engine. The actuator arm is mandatory no matter what design is decided. I looked at several personal web pages and decided on the design by John OoSTerhuis STOC 1058.
Thanks John for the information and pictures. I basically copied every part of his design except for the vacuum canister position and what vacuum lines he used.
Carburetors awaiting the servo arm.
I used a 6/32 tap with stainless steel cap head screws with washer and lockdown washer. The arm made out of stainless steel sheet was approx 2 ?†in length. Center tap to servo cable attachment was 1 ?â€.
Initial mounting position of servo actuator attached to tipover wing with bracket made out of scrap aluminum strip. Servo cable can be seen routed down between engine and exhaust. The cable is protected by 2' of 3/8†fuel hose for local Checker autoparts. So the actuator arm is leveraged from the right side therefore the servo cable must come from the right side in a smooth arc with no sharp bends. Routing the servo cable from left to right from underneath.
The attachment point for the servo cable is on the frame cross member between the tank and engine. I used part # and drilled a ?†hole and bolted it down with a 2 x ?†bolt.
Ten chain balls were used to attach the servo cable. I had to bend the fuel spill drain hose clamp out of the way of the throttle bellcrank arm.
Wiring the system:
Audiovox unit: Blue (tachometer pickup) wire to Blue/yellow stripe wire of coil.
Audiovox unit: Purple (12V when brake on, disengagement) and Red (+12V) wires routed through hollow frame crossmember and protected with a ?†piece of coolant hose.
Purple wire (pictured with yellow extension wire) is pigtailed into Green/yellow stripe wire of rear brake light connector on right side of tank. Red wire is pigtailed into white/green stripe wire for switched 12V.
Vacuum lines from carbs #1 and #3 are T'd and run to canister at right tipover wing. Vacuum supply line to servo actuator was routed between tank and engine. Vacuum canister is held in place with a 4†worm clamp.
The servo actuator cable can be seen running up in a gentle arch to the cable attachment point on the frame.
Post installation comments:
The system worked on the first try. There was alittle bit of slack in the chain and the servo cable abruptly took control at 35mph. I checked the brake frunctions and all was well. I was comfortable with higher speeds and took it up to 50 then on to 75. Set/Decel, Resume/Accel and on/off worked with no issues.
Overall, the unit will hold 1 to 2 mph from selected speed over hilly terrain. After 1000 miles the only issue is mounting the control unit in a spot that is functional.
IMHO this is the ultimate farkle. I have never understood why a motorcycle manufacturer can design a long distance machine and not considered placing a cruise control on them. For my 01', I had to do a lot of maintenance this winter and that included a coolant system overhaul. The coolant system overhaul requires the removal of the carburetors, so I made it a mission to research the best choice for a cruise control. The choices were limited to the MCcruise out of Australia ($800) , an electronic unit by Rostra cruise control (~$300), and the Audiovox Universal Cruise ($100). I decided on the Audiovox unit because the documentation on the ST forums and other websites is numerous. I will spend the money I saved on a Garmin Zumo.
Each personal webpage and write-ups was studied until I had a firm grasp on what to do for the install and the possible issues that I might encounter. I ordered the Audiovox cruise control from http://www.murpskits.com/catalog/ for $107 which included a vacuum canister.
First on the installation is the choice of how and where to mount the servo unit, vacuum canister, and wiring the system. The one item that puts fear into some is the required servo actuator arm that has to fabricated and then attached to the throttle bellcrank. The arm on the throttle bellcrank can be leveraged from above via the side of the airbox or from below via the right side of engine. The actuator arm is mandatory no matter what design is decided. I looked at several personal web pages and decided on the design by John OoSTerhuis STOC 1058.
Thanks John for the information and pictures. I basically copied every part of his design except for the vacuum canister position and what vacuum lines he used.
Carburetors awaiting the servo arm.
I used a 6/32 tap with stainless steel cap head screws with washer and lockdown washer. The arm made out of stainless steel sheet was approx 2 ?†in length. Center tap to servo cable attachment was 1 ?â€.
Initial mounting position of servo actuator attached to tipover wing with bracket made out of scrap aluminum strip. Servo cable can be seen routed down between engine and exhaust. The cable is protected by 2' of 3/8†fuel hose for local Checker autoparts. So the actuator arm is leveraged from the right side therefore the servo cable must come from the right side in a smooth arc with no sharp bends. Routing the servo cable from left to right from underneath.
The attachment point for the servo cable is on the frame cross member between the tank and engine. I used part # and drilled a ?†hole and bolted it down with a 2 x ?†bolt.
Ten chain balls were used to attach the servo cable. I had to bend the fuel spill drain hose clamp out of the way of the throttle bellcrank arm.
Wiring the system:
Audiovox unit: Blue (tachometer pickup) wire to Blue/yellow stripe wire of coil.
Audiovox unit: Purple (12V when brake on, disengagement) and Red (+12V) wires routed through hollow frame crossmember and protected with a ?†piece of coolant hose.
Purple wire (pictured with yellow extension wire) is pigtailed into Green/yellow stripe wire of rear brake light connector on right side of tank. Red wire is pigtailed into white/green stripe wire for switched 12V.
Vacuum lines from carbs #1 and #3 are T'd and run to canister at right tipover wing. Vacuum supply line to servo actuator was routed between tank and engine. Vacuum canister is held in place with a 4†worm clamp.
The servo actuator cable can be seen running up in a gentle arch to the cable attachment point on the frame.
Post installation comments:
The system worked on the first try. There was alittle bit of slack in the chain and the servo cable abruptly took control at 35mph. I checked the brake frunctions and all was well. I was comfortable with higher speeds and took it up to 50 then on to 75. Set/Decel, Resume/Accel and on/off worked with no issues.
Overall, the unit will hold 1 to 2 mph from selected speed over hilly terrain. After 1000 miles the only issue is mounting the control unit in a spot that is functional.
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