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I recently installed the MCCruise cruise control on my Super Tenere and headed out for a 1,200 mile trip, including plenty of rain. Could a relatively normal person handle the installation? Would it work in torrential rain? Answers to that and more follow.
Why MCCruise?
On other bikes, I've used a Brakeaway throttle lock. Love that thing. But the Tenere setup doesn't seem able to accommodate a Brakeaway and my throttle hand can get sore and sometimes a bit numb. And I now live in the part of Colorado where all the interesting roads go up and down as much as they go left to right. So a typical throttle lock is only useful for about five seconds at a time.
I read up on the MCCruise. The guys who designed and sell it are obsessed with safety and reliability. The competing solutions didn't give me anywhere near the same level of comfort. In addition, the MCCruise comes in a customized, essentially plug-and-play, Tenere-specific package.
Installation
I have to admit that this sat in my stash of farkles for a few months. I thought "why not just install everything at one time.'" Having a second bike and plenty of distractions, I suddenly realized it was only two weekends until my big annual ride with some of my college buddies so time to get to work!
Along with the MCCruise, I was doing the fuel pump seal recall, installing SW Motech bars, the Euro left switch cluster (to add hazard and flash-to-pass), Clearwater Krista lights, a HDB top clamp for various buttons and switches including the A and B button mod, a Powerlet port, a Touratech Garmin GPS mount, Yammy heated grips with the Wasp bracket, the Wasp windshield adjuster, a Flash-to-Pass garage door opener, Jesse Safaris and of course and Eastern Beaver PC-8 with the Super Tenere wiring package to power the whole thing. I still have a few other things in the box that I couldn't squeeze into the two weekends.
Anyway, where was I? Oh, right, I was able to get all this done in essentially four often-interrupted and not overly-long days. So the MCCruise alone would be an easy weekend project and could certainly be installed in one focused day. It is quite plug-and-play and comes with everything needed (except for installation tools and electrical tape).
I didn't take photos of the install. I'm not a photographer and there are plenty of pictures out there. But the installation procedure in a nutshell requires removing the side panels, the seats and the big plastic piece under the rear seat (which also requires removal of the grab bars), along with the tank and the airbox under the tank. The key pieces of the MCCruise are the actuator (the piece that actually moves the throttle cable), a vacuum reserve to power the actuator, a very trick throttle cable interface box, a Tenere-specific computer control module and wiring harness, the speed sensor (mounts to the front brake caliper mount) and the three-button control panel that connects to the left mirror mount. The kit contains all necessary bolts, too many zip ties, heat shrink tubing and to my great pleasure extensive illustrated instructions of an actual Tenere installation. There are several ancillary booklets that came with the instructions, such as a troubleshooting guide, that I haven't needed but it is nice to know they are included.
During the installation, I was particularly focused on where heavy water exposure could cause problems. I was hard pressed to find any. The Tenere-specific installation kit includes connectors that match and plug into or replace those on the Tenere. If a stock bike can run in crazy wet conditions, which I think has been confirmed by others, I couldn't see how the MCCruise could fail. The computer control module appears to be fully water-sealed, its connector to the wiring harness has an industrial-strength water seal gasket, and the computer is mounted underneath the rear seat mounting bracket where it is unlikely to get seriously wet unless the bike is submerged beyond the point where the entire engine is under water. I was very careful to mount and zip tie everything to avoid wire chafing, and I added my own electrical tape wrap, perhaps a bit of overkill, on a couple of connectors. The only wire that gets near the right side electrical panel is the system ground wire (which I connected to an unused spot on the ground bar of my PC-8). The computer draws its minimal power needs from another circuit on the bike. Keep in mind that the work is done by vacuum power, so electricity is needed only to keep the computer running and the switch panel lights lit.
I had two questions during the installation. In both cases, I shot an email to Tony at MCCruise and he replied within an hour. On a weekend. At who-knows-what-time in Australia. All I can say is wow. (By the way, I don't know Tony and he doesn't know me, I am jujst an unknown guy from the US who bought his product.)
Anyway, I got the installation finished, buttoned the bike back together, and ran the MCCruise through its diagnostic routine. Everything came up green except the clutch test (this thing disconnects when you hit the brake or pull in the clutch, just like on a car). Given the plug-and-play installation, I was confident I hadn't screwed up the wiring. And the trip was tomorrow, so I crossed my fingers and popped a GoCruise on my newly-heated throttle grip.
Ride Report
So what happened? It was flawless. Wow, this thing is cool! My riding buddies were like "yeah, I've got a cruise control, too." Until they saw it. "Oh, not one like that. I have to use two hands to twist mine to lock it, and it doesn't really do much good on these mountain roads." Sorry friends, the Tenere is mine.
More detail, you say. Well, with all that installing, I didn't have time to read the operating manual. But it only has three buttons, so how hard can it be? I mentioned earlier that the computer control module is Tenere-specific. It turns out that all kinds of parameters can be adjusted (I think that means stuff like how much throttle is needed, how fast it has to pull the throttle and so on). I never got to figuring out those adjustments because it just works perfectly.
To turn the cruise power on, you hit the on-off button. It is off when the bike is started. Then, to activate the cruise, you tap the set-acc(elerate) button when riding at the desired speed.
To add a little speed, you tap the set-acc button. To take a little off, you tap the res-dec(elerate) button. The buttons, by the way, are backlit and set far enough apart that they work fine with even fat gloves. Each speed-adjusting tap moves the speed up or down by about 1.5 MPH.
The cruise worked fine down to about 30 mph (nice in town to avoid the coppers). I tried it at 25 mph and it wouldn't kick in. It held the speed within about plus or minus 1 mph on everything I threw at it, including fast and slow up and down hills with and without curves, at speeds up to, well never mind that. It cuts off by tapping the brake or pulling in the clutch. Tapping the res-dec button causes it to resume the last-set speed, just like on the typical car cruise control. The operation is smooth, never jerky, and you can still use the throttle when it is engaged (say, to pass a trundling motorhome going 30 in a 65 zone) and it will resume the set speed when you let off on the throttle.
Rain, you ask, what about rain? Well, all week I was praying for some nice rain, which came in the form of an all-day frog-choking storm which found me riding for about ten hours, including about 60 miles on a slippery-as-snot mud road high in the mountains. Thankfully, I finally found some pavement and lo-and-behold the MCCruise worked like a champ. Which was nice, since my gloves were soaked (but my newly-installed grip heaters came in real handy). I tried all the functions, and the backlit panel was a nice touch after dark, since I could barely see the road it was raining so hard. Yes, I should have stopped, but I wanted to this to be a complete report.
After a late night arrival at a cabin in the woods, the bike sat all night in the downpour while I slept like a log with my gear drying by the fire. Next day, overcast but only slightly drizzly, the MCCruise continued to work without missing a beat.
Final Thoughts
I love this thing. It is great for long, monotonous stretches of road and for a quick minute or two to relax the throttle hand. The design is impressive both the quality of components and the focus on safety. I may pick up another one for my big Thunderbird.
Why MCCruise?
On other bikes, I've used a Brakeaway throttle lock. Love that thing. But the Tenere setup doesn't seem able to accommodate a Brakeaway and my throttle hand can get sore and sometimes a bit numb. And I now live in the part of Colorado where all the interesting roads go up and down as much as they go left to right. So a typical throttle lock is only useful for about five seconds at a time.
I read up on the MCCruise. The guys who designed and sell it are obsessed with safety and reliability. The competing solutions didn't give me anywhere near the same level of comfort. In addition, the MCCruise comes in a customized, essentially plug-and-play, Tenere-specific package.
Installation
I have to admit that this sat in my stash of farkles for a few months. I thought "why not just install everything at one time.'" Having a second bike and plenty of distractions, I suddenly realized it was only two weekends until my big annual ride with some of my college buddies so time to get to work!
Along with the MCCruise, I was doing the fuel pump seal recall, installing SW Motech bars, the Euro left switch cluster (to add hazard and flash-to-pass), Clearwater Krista lights, a HDB top clamp for various buttons and switches including the A and B button mod, a Powerlet port, a Touratech Garmin GPS mount, Yammy heated grips with the Wasp bracket, the Wasp windshield adjuster, a Flash-to-Pass garage door opener, Jesse Safaris and of course and Eastern Beaver PC-8 with the Super Tenere wiring package to power the whole thing. I still have a few other things in the box that I couldn't squeeze into the two weekends.
Anyway, where was I? Oh, right, I was able to get all this done in essentially four often-interrupted and not overly-long days. So the MCCruise alone would be an easy weekend project and could certainly be installed in one focused day. It is quite plug-and-play and comes with everything needed (except for installation tools and electrical tape).
I didn't take photos of the install. I'm not a photographer and there are plenty of pictures out there. But the installation procedure in a nutshell requires removing the side panels, the seats and the big plastic piece under the rear seat (which also requires removal of the grab bars), along with the tank and the airbox under the tank. The key pieces of the MCCruise are the actuator (the piece that actually moves the throttle cable), a vacuum reserve to power the actuator, a very trick throttle cable interface box, a Tenere-specific computer control module and wiring harness, the speed sensor (mounts to the front brake caliper mount) and the three-button control panel that connects to the left mirror mount. The kit contains all necessary bolts, too many zip ties, heat shrink tubing and to my great pleasure extensive illustrated instructions of an actual Tenere installation. There are several ancillary booklets that came with the instructions, such as a troubleshooting guide, that I haven't needed but it is nice to know they are included.
During the installation, I was particularly focused on where heavy water exposure could cause problems. I was hard pressed to find any. The Tenere-specific installation kit includes connectors that match and plug into or replace those on the Tenere. If a stock bike can run in crazy wet conditions, which I think has been confirmed by others, I couldn't see how the MCCruise could fail. The computer control module appears to be fully water-sealed, its connector to the wiring harness has an industrial-strength water seal gasket, and the computer is mounted underneath the rear seat mounting bracket where it is unlikely to get seriously wet unless the bike is submerged beyond the point where the entire engine is under water. I was very careful to mount and zip tie everything to avoid wire chafing, and I added my own electrical tape wrap, perhaps a bit of overkill, on a couple of connectors. The only wire that gets near the right side electrical panel is the system ground wire (which I connected to an unused spot on the ground bar of my PC-8). The computer draws its minimal power needs from another circuit on the bike. Keep in mind that the work is done by vacuum power, so electricity is needed only to keep the computer running and the switch panel lights lit.
I had two questions during the installation. In both cases, I shot an email to Tony at MCCruise and he replied within an hour. On a weekend. At who-knows-what-time in Australia. All I can say is wow. (By the way, I don't know Tony and he doesn't know me, I am jujst an unknown guy from the US who bought his product.)
Anyway, I got the installation finished, buttoned the bike back together, and ran the MCCruise through its diagnostic routine. Everything came up green except the clutch test (this thing disconnects when you hit the brake or pull in the clutch, just like on a car). Given the plug-and-play installation, I was confident I hadn't screwed up the wiring. And the trip was tomorrow, so I crossed my fingers and popped a GoCruise on my newly-heated throttle grip.
Ride Report
So what happened? It was flawless. Wow, this thing is cool! My riding buddies were like "yeah, I've got a cruise control, too." Until they saw it. "Oh, not one like that. I have to use two hands to twist mine to lock it, and it doesn't really do much good on these mountain roads." Sorry friends, the Tenere is mine.
More detail, you say. Well, with all that installing, I didn't have time to read the operating manual. But it only has three buttons, so how hard can it be? I mentioned earlier that the computer control module is Tenere-specific. It turns out that all kinds of parameters can be adjusted (I think that means stuff like how much throttle is needed, how fast it has to pull the throttle and so on). I never got to figuring out those adjustments because it just works perfectly.
To turn the cruise power on, you hit the on-off button. It is off when the bike is started. Then, to activate the cruise, you tap the set-acc(elerate) button when riding at the desired speed.
To add a little speed, you tap the set-acc button. To take a little off, you tap the res-dec(elerate) button. The buttons, by the way, are backlit and set far enough apart that they work fine with even fat gloves. Each speed-adjusting tap moves the speed up or down by about 1.5 MPH.
The cruise worked fine down to about 30 mph (nice in town to avoid the coppers). I tried it at 25 mph and it wouldn't kick in. It held the speed within about plus or minus 1 mph on everything I threw at it, including fast and slow up and down hills with and without curves, at speeds up to, well never mind that. It cuts off by tapping the brake or pulling in the clutch. Tapping the res-dec button causes it to resume the last-set speed, just like on the typical car cruise control. The operation is smooth, never jerky, and you can still use the throttle when it is engaged (say, to pass a trundling motorhome going 30 in a 65 zone) and it will resume the set speed when you let off on the throttle.
Rain, you ask, what about rain? Well, all week I was praying for some nice rain, which came in the form of an all-day frog-choking storm which found me riding for about ten hours, including about 60 miles on a slippery-as-snot mud road high in the mountains. Thankfully, I finally found some pavement and lo-and-behold the MCCruise worked like a champ. Which was nice, since my gloves were soaked (but my newly-installed grip heaters came in real handy). I tried all the functions, and the backlit panel was a nice touch after dark, since I could barely see the road it was raining so hard. Yes, I should have stopped, but I wanted to this to be a complete report.
After a late night arrival at a cabin in the woods, the bike sat all night in the downpour while I slept like a log with my gear drying by the fire. Next day, overcast but only slightly drizzly, the MCCruise continued to work without missing a beat.
Final Thoughts
I love this thing. It is great for long, monotonous stretches of road and for a quick minute or two to relax the throttle hand. The design is impressive both the quality of components and the focus on safety. I may pick up another one for my big Thunderbird.
