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Cruise Control (anyone know anything?)

8K views 22 replies 5 participants last post by  Busboy 
#1 · (Edited)
Has anyone with a 1500 up to a 2000, installed one of those cruise controls that doesn't operate off the vacume ? The Rostra units advertize for 3, 4, 6,8 cylinders so I don't want to waste money on something that isn't going to work. Also, I remember reading somewhere that the V2K doesn't operate properly with the VSS wire and you have to install a magnet in the front pulley so that the unit can tell proper revolutions. Has anyone had any hands on experience? How about the Audiovox CSS-100 on a V2K?

http://www.vulcanforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=273443&postcount=11
 
#2 ·
Cruise control on the V2K

I installed the Rostra electronic unit approx. two years ago. It works flawlessly and has been by far the best upgrade yet. I installed the control unit in the space between the front of the rear fender and the engine with the cable pointing upwards. The cable comes up from behind the battery and is the perfect length to reach the throttle control on the engine with some slack left in the cable. For control I just use a slick two button chrome setup that is right by my left thumb while riding the upper button is set/decel and the lower is resume/accel. This cruise engages at 35 - 100 plus and will hold the speed perfectly whether in the hills or straights. Disengagement is with all points of control. It will disengage if I pull the clutch without the brake because it will sense a 50 rpm increase if this is done and disengage. I will also disengage with the front or rear brake. I did use JB weld and glued a magnet to my front pulley and mounted the sensor just inside the cover. The cruise is completely hidden and you would not even know it is there except for the two chrome buttons on the left handlebar. If you do decide to install one I will post my dip switch settings on the control that you will need to set. It took about 1 day to rig all this up. On a long ride it is the best thing yet. It takes all of the constant looking down at the speedometer out of the ride. I hardly ever look down there now. Just set it and forget it.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Found the switch settings.

I found all my install notes for the Rostra electronic cruise control.
1. use 1 magnet JB welded to front pulley
2. Dip Switch settings: 1 = off, 2 = off, 3 = on (this is 4000 PPM), 4 = off, 5 = off, 6= off, 7 = off, 8 = off, 9 = off, 10 = off, 11 = on, 12 = off.

When you change the transmission control switch # 11 to on this will all the neutral safety switch signal to be recognized and the Rostra will ignore the tach signal which is grounded.

3. Connect the light green wire from the Rostra to the clutch ground (yellow wire with little green stripe) This will cause the Cruise to disengage with the clutch lever pulled in.

Go to www.customraider.net They have a great switch that can be used and with the switch comes a wiring diagram.
I disconnected the Dark blue tach wire from the Rostra harness and connected it to a ground location. This will keep trashy electrical signals from being introduced from the coil packs or spark plugs.

I used the Rostra Cruise 250-1223 and the magnet kit 250 - 4165.

Hope this helps.
 
#5 ·
G'Day Wild Bill. I myself was looking at putting a cruise control on my car, so I went in search of some aftermarket systems. I was eyeing off the Rostra model but didn't like the stalk setup but much prefer the small pad style. I was checking on fleabay n found the system I wanted WITH the pad controller for a better price than what it would've costed to buy the base system and then buy the pad.

Here is the fleabay link. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/26098706...WNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649#ht_500wt_689

I purchased 2 of these, 1 for my car n another for my 1600 Classic. Hopefully it arrives before the Xmas holidays so I can fit them during the break.
 
#15 ·
G'Day Wild Bill. I myself was looking at putting a cruise control on my car, so I went in search of some aftermarket systems. I was eyeing off the Rostra model but didn't like the stalk setup but much prefer the small pad style. I was checking on fleabay n found the system I wanted WITH the pad controller for a better price than what it would've costed to buy the base system and then buy the pad.

Here is the fleabay link. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/26098706...WNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649#ht_500wt_689

I purchased 2 of these, 1 for my car n another for my 1600 Classic. Hopefully it arrives before the Xmas holidays so I can fit them during the break.
Busboy, It is the correct unit and switch but there is no magnetic pickup shown in any of the pictures!
 
#6 · (Edited)
I have read till my eyes are popping out

It would appear that there are two cruise controls which can be adapted to the Vulcan cruisers ! The Rostra model and the Audiovox CSS-100 . Both of them have drawbacks which must be overcome to make them work properly on a motorcycle. At first glance , the Rostra would appear to be the one to go with because of it's size and construction. However, it would appear that it is only good for a speed of 35 mph up , whereas , the Aud. appears to be good for 20 mph and up. The Aud. works off of vacume but the Rostra is electrically operated . Both units have a VSS wire but everything I have read says not to use this on the Vulcan because the signal is not clear and it makes the unit's speed up and slow down erratically. So we are left mounting a magnet on our front belt drive pulley and a sensor that will see it going around. Also, both units have to be able to read a tachometer reading in case the clutch is pulled in just to keep the motor from overreving. Also both units need a wire to front and rear brakes to cut it off in case of braking . A vacume cannister must be considered for the Aud. but if you have crash bars you can tap a vac. hose in the bottom and it's almost invisible. Care must be taken where these units are mounted to keep them away from electrical interference such as coil noise. I think that is why we can't mount them under the tank on our Vulcans. Here are some more links to peruse.
http://public.fotki.com/Rbertalotto/motorcycle/v-strom/

http://home.comcast.net/~meano/site/?/page/Vn2000_Cruse/

http://www.rostra.com/universal-aftermarket-cruise-control-by-rostra.php

http://www.murphskits.com/catalog/docs/Rostra%20install.htm

If one of you decides to do this on the Vulcan, we are going to need a lot of pictures, comprende' ??
 
#7 ·
Wiring was not an issue. The brake connectors on a V2K are near the rear seat/frame, at the plug above the right side cover. I added a relay there to make sure I had a clean ground. The clutch connection is in the headlight bucket, and not difficult to connect. Power to the unit and pad are easy, parallel to the horn in my case; on when bike is on. Adding magnets was also easy, and mounting the sensor was almost a cakewalk. Add one hole, lined up with the edge of the pulley and done.

My complaint is the low speed operation, and that is probably a tuning issue. I have not sorted out where, yet. It may be the PPM setting, which tells the unit how fast I am going. Still seeking ideas on that.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Switches

Hawkwolf, on this site, the fellow only used one magnet and he posted his switch settings...


http://home.comcast.net/~meano/site/?/page/Vn2000_Cruse/

He set switch 1 and 2 both to off.
He set switch 3 to on for magnets.
Switch 4 and 5 determine sensitivity.
Switch 6 to off...for control pad.
Switch 7 determines whether or not you use VSS wire or tach wire to the coil.

Don't forget to pull and remove the jumper for manual transmission.
 
#14 · (Edited)
ok, i just finished installing my wife's on her 900 Classic LT, and it is dead smooth from 27 up... so i pulled mine down and set the pulse count to 8000. test ride shows it will hold 30 mostly smooth, above that it works great now!

To mountt the magnets, I cleaned the pulley with goof-off, then used contact cement backed up with silicone, positioned at the outer edge of the pulley. the lower right bolt hole for the chrome cover is almost aligned, and there is a casting boss just inside of that. I drilled out the boss on the drill press to keep the hole square to the surface, then ground down the support webs for clearance and tapped the hole. it aligns perfectly.

The 900 write-up was almost perfect for my wife's bike, i had to add the relay for the brake circuit. I will try to write up the 2K install, it is a bit more involved than the 900.

One more thing. On the 900, there is space between the swingarm box and the shock to mount the unit. Bend the bracket into a modified 'Z' (flatten the second bend from the unit mounting holes, then bend around the bottom of the unit. Finally, put a 90 degree bend which aligns with the 'front' cover where the switches are accessed) and the bracket will bolt to one of the right rear motor mount bolts. I cut off three small holes, and used the first large hole from the end. It sits at a pretty steep angle to clear, but it works. I used a grinder to thin the heads of the supplied bolts used to mount the bracket to the unit, but i am not sure it is needed.

On the V2K, there is an unused welded nut on the frame which takes a 6mm x 1.25 bolt. I got frustrated trying to bend the bracket and cut it then welded it into a 90 which wraps around the unit and puts the bracket pointing down the side. after that, slight bends then let it sit right in place.
 
#17 ·
Wild bill, I do believe its the same one as timsvulcan. It's just the basic setup then u would need to purchase the magnetic pickup kit separately. Because I've got a shaft drive 1600 Classic, I'm not sure how I'll fit up magnets or try to work off the VSS signal or tach signal.
 
#20 ·
Hawkwolf, That looks like a very nice fit, I'm just not exactly certain what I am looking at. On the right side of picture it looks to be the belt and drive sprocket so I'm thinking this is the 900???
thè photo is upside down. o took it with my phone to show location and mount point. here is the modified bracket...
 

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