For the last 3 or 4 months a shoulder injury has severely curtailed my riding and blogging. In addition to this I’ve had problems with numbness & tingling in my hands seemingly forever but simply wrote it off as the cost of working on a computer all day every day for a living. Using a Cramp Buster on the throttle helped, but once I hurt my shoulder it just wasn’t enough anymore.
Although sitting at a desk drawing pictures and filling out spreadsheets on a computer all day often leaves my hands & fingers sore whether I ride or not, some of the things about my main daily driver motorcycle greatly exacerbate the problem. To start with as part of the whole vintage/rat/survivor look it still had the original 35 year old factory rubber grips on it. While they really looked the part, these grips were rock hard and slick, to the point that I might as well have been gripping the steel handlebar directly. The bar itself was robbed from a 71 Honda CL450 and is one of the most rigid & indestructible off road handlebars ever made, this combined with the fact that it is clamped directly to the top of the triple tree with no insulation of any kind, sent the high frequency vibration of the engine straight up into my arms. In all honesty it was nothing that I couldn’t live with until becoming afflicted with bursitis in my right shoulder. Faced with the reality of not being able to ride more than a few minutes at the time, I decide that it was time to do something about it.

So I decided to replace the grips and install a Vista-Cruise Throttle Lock. This universal motorcycle “cruise control” is a product that I have used before on 2 other motorcycles not for pain relief but mainly for long distance riding and for riding no handed and other fun stupid stuff. This like most universal products may or may not work with your particular motorcycle, and it’s highly unlikely that it will fit any motorcycle without some modification. These throttle locks were designed around a typical late ’60s through mid ’80s universal Japanese motorcycle with dual throttle cables. Even then the instructions warn that some cutting or filing may be necessary to make it work. As you see in the picture below it would not fit up against the switch housing as delivered.

So I had to file it to fit.

Remove the least amount of material possible, & check the fit often. This is how I had to modify it to fit my 1980 Honda CB650, your bike may require something totally different. If you’re not comfortable with cutting & modifying a brand new part to make it work then you probably should not install a Vista-Cruise throttle lock. I recommend that you use a Brakeaway custom fit cruise control instead.

It is not really necessary to remove the grip to install the throttle lock but since I was replacing the grips anyway it is much easier. If you are not changing the grips you can just pry it back from the switch housing a little bit and fit it around the throttle tube as directed in the Vista-Cuise instructions.

Once you have it fitted properly here’s the adjustment key that is supplied. Use it or a flat screwdriver to adjust the tension screw so that it holds the throttle in place when locked but allows it to return to idle as soon as you flip the switch up to unlock it.

Don’t forget the clear washer shown below that goes between the grip and the throttle lock to prevent the grip flange from hanging up on the side of the Vista-Cruise.

I decided to use new Oury grips for the vintage look and proven vibration dampening abilities. Oury Grip has been in business for decades and have always provided a good product at a decent price. Just be sure to clean your handlebar and throttle tube well, then use a good handlebar grip glue to make sure everything stays in place.

The new grips are nice and soft so the handlebar buzz is greatly reduced, plus I don’t have to squeeze the throttle so tight to move it. Once up to speed in a place where I don’t need to accelerate or slow down too often just push down on the lever & lock the throttle. Even with the throttle locked you should still be able to move the throttle to adjust your speed as needed. One caveat that is worth mentioning is that you will not get true seamless “cruise control” action. This is a throttle lock if you start downhill the bike will speed up, going uphill it may slow down. On bikes like mine with four old mechanical carburetors and / or strong throttle return springs,  your adjustment to the lock may end up being a compromise. At low speed the leverage of the carb internals and return spring will gradually close the throttle. Once the throttle is opened far enough to negate this problem it will stay locked in place for miles of smiles.  It could be adjusted tight enough to hold at all speeds but then it would not return to idle immediately upon released. This is the single most important thing to remember, for the sake of safety it must always be adjusted so that when the lock is released the engine will return to idle just the same as if you simply let go of the throttle.

After a nice 100 mile test ride I am very pleased to say that my arms & hands felt great & I can’t wait for the next road trip!

It’s still the same old road running rat but with cruise control & nice new grips!

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