Thanks for everyone who has provided assistance.
I got it all together, and the cruise control works great. Once up to speed, I press the set button, then it accelerates 2mph, then settles to the speed without surging. I set the gain to the lowest setting, the PPM at 3200 (4 magnets on the rear wheel attached to the disc brake bolts), and the Engine Setup/Timer set to 8 cylinder/low setting. This is the slowest responding setting, which prevents surging. I also had to drill a hole and relocate the CC sleeve 1/4" to remove CC cable slack at the throttle connection.
This photo shows the CC Sleeve bracket and how it attaches to the throttle pulley segment. The CC Cable loop would not fit around the barrel at the end of the throttle cable, so I got the Dremel tool with a cutoff wheel out and removed a U-shaped wedge out of one side of the barrel, which provides the necessary space for the loop cable. I fumbled for a couple of hours trying to get the loop around the barrel, but there is no room for the loop without making space for it. Attaching the loop is the easiest way to connect the CC cable to the throttle. I didn't have to remove the carbs or the gas tank to do this. The bracket for connecting the sleeve I made out of some flat aluminum I had in the shop. I drilled a hole for the screw that connects the bracket to the throttle cable bracket. Disregard the slack and all of the beads crap discussed in the manual. Mount the CC sleeve such that the CC cable has maybe 1/4" slack. The manual discusses having to add slack, since the throttle pull is less than the 41mm it specifies. The difference is supposed to be accommodated by providing slack in the cable, which causes the CC to lag and surge when the CC is applied. Rostra Tech support advised that I had too much slack, so I had to redrill a hole a little farther away on the Cruise Cable bracket to remount the cable sleeve, which removed the slack in the CC cable. I used a screwdriver to hold the throttle open, and a set of large hemostats and a long flat screwdriver to manipulate the loop cable and the throttle cable. Instead of the covers for the bead, I used heat shrink tubing, about 2 inches, to cover the bead, which also helps keep the Cruise control cable from bending and binding, causing the throttle to stick open. I applied heat after taking this photo.
The Gold Wing GL1500 switch was pretty straight forward. I did take the switch apart and reversed the wires on the kill switch in order for it to work properly, as per previous posts. I did have to drill a hole an inch or so toward the middle of the handlebars, since the GW switch is an inch or so wider than the ST1100 Switch it replaces. The colors of the wires correspond to the post by Slasher (Thanks a bunch), and there are two wires that exit the switch that aren't used, along with the wires to the front brake switch. The GW switch also has the same red connector that the stock switch has, but the harness is a foot too long. For now, I doubled it over and zip tied it to shorten it up. I may do some wire cutting.
The magnetic speed pickup (250-4165) was intimidating at first, but I decided to use some sheet aluminum and cut out four 3/4" x 2" strips and drilled a hole on one end of the strip for the hex bolt that holds the brake disc to the wheel. I then trimmed the opposite end for the aluminum to fit in the grooves on the magnet, then made 2 folds in the strips to retain the magnet. Here is a photo of the fasteners. I secured the pickup coil with zip ties to the bracket that holds the disc brake caliper. I did attach a nylock nut on the end of the bolt that goes through the coil, leaving a small area of threads that the zip tie fits. You could probably go to a hardware store and find some brackets that would work as well and look better, but I decided to use what I had.
Because of the length of CC cable, I decided to locate the control box on the right side of the bike, up under the fairing. I positioned it so I can retrieve it by turning the handlebars full left, and it comes right out. It is nice to be able to access it easily for adjustment. I was able to connect most all of the wires by accessing the place in front of the carburetors where the red connector attaches. I did supply my own 12 Volt positive and ground wires, but the brake hot, the brake cold wires were tapped off of the GW harness. I did not connect the tach wire yet because it works ok without it. The next time I change windshields I will hook it up. The remaining harness wires, along with the fuses and relays I put adjacent to the right fairing pocket box and ziptied the wiring harness and stuffed it behind the right pocket box.
I was dealt a curveball while wiring the thing up. I have Admore LED lights in my Givi Maxia E50 top case, which causes the switched brake light wire to have some residual voltage when the brake is not applied, so I had to go to NAPA and purchase a 5 function relay ($15.00) and wire it in, using the directions on the Rostra Website troubleshooting section. Here is the link:
http://www.rostra.com/manuals/250-1223-faq.pdf. If you have stock brake lights, you will not have to do this.
The DIP switch setting that works best for me is:
1-OFF
2-OFF
3-OFF
4-OFF
5-OFF
6-ON
7-OFF
8-OFF
9-OFF
10-OFF
11-OFF
12-OFF
I thought I would be able to switch the throttlemeister throttle locks on the ST1100 for the bar ends on my NC700X, but they are different sized. If I can find some stock bar ends, I will sell the Throttlemeisters for cheap.
All in all, I fumbled around quite a bit, but dividing the job into parts made the job less intimidating. Connecting the Cruise control cable to the throttle, fitting the Gold Wing switch to the handlebars, connecting the VSS pickup coil and mounting the four magnets to the wheel, and wiring the Cruise Control to the bike. If you follow my directions, it might take as little as 2 or 3 hours start to finish. I started Sunday evening and had it running Tuesday, and spent the last day and a half fine tuning it, adjusting DIP switches and getting things finessed.
My total cost:
Rostra 250-1223 Cruise Unit $175.45
Rostra 250-4165 VSS Magnet Kit $ 43.95
5 function Relay $ 15.00
Gold Wing Switch GL1500 EBay $ 34.98
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Total $269.38
I used a few shop supplies, not enough to worry about, like crimp connectors, sheet aluminum.