One of the ongoing complaints that Louise has when riding with me, is that I can’t keep a steady speed, especially out on the highway. So, for combination Father’s Day and Anniversary gift, Louise ordered me a Throttlemeister.

The Throttlemeister offers two things.  First it offers much heavier bar-end weights than the stock bar-end weights. In the picture to the right, in my hand is the stock bar-end, next to the new ones mounted on the handlebars.

Second, it provides a simple cruise control. The bar-end weight on the right side, when twisted, will tighten up against the throttle tube and hold a set RPM and speed. So on the highway, I can get a speed set, twist the bar-end down and lock the throttle, then fine tune the speed.  It’s not so tight that the throttle can’t be rolled off if need be, but it should keep the speed more consistent.

Installation went pretty well, even though the instructions weren’t really clear. From beginning to end it took about 90 minutes, including trimming the ends of the hand-guards. I had to trim the ends of the hand-guards to get them to fit the Yamaha bars when I first got them because they’re actually for a Suzuki VStrom. Now with the larger diameter Throttlemeister bar-end, I had to trim even more off. But the way they look now, they fit much better.

I’ll go for a test ride tomorrow.