Moto Guzzi Norge 1200 Customer Feedback

Hi Guys,

You may remember that you fitted my Moto Guzzi Norge with one of your cruise controls about 12 months ago? I've finally had a chance to provide some feedback. In short, I love it!

When I picked up the bike from your workshop, it only took me a few minutes on the freeway to get the cruise control working. Very intuitive controls and, once set on a certain speed, it just stayed there. No noticeable variation from the set speed above about 80 kmh anyway. I found that below 80 kmh the speed control was more variable - a couple of kmh above and below the set speed - however I don't use the cruise control below that speed anyway.

I would recommend the cruise control for two separate circumstances: To cover the boring commute on the highway/freeway. Living in Melbourne, there is usually about an hour ride to get to the start of the interesting rides (such as the Great Ocean Road or the Black Spur). The cruise control means that I finish a day's ride (or multi-day rides) without a sore wrist. Once I get to the twisty bits or a built-up area, the cruise control comes off anyway. To save my licence! It is too easy on a big sports-tourer to have your speed creep up and you can pretty much guarantee that, when it does, there will be a speed camera around the next corner. The cruise control helps greatly for ease of mind and means that I can concentrate on the road not on the speedo.

It has been interesting when going on a few group rides to notice just how poor most people's speed control is. I was continually having to cut the cruise control in and out as the other riders' speeds varied all over the place. Once they found that I had a cruise control (along with a GPS so that I knew my actual speed rather than relying on the speedo) they were very happy to have me lead on the highway so that they didn't have to worry about watching their own speedos!

I particularly enjoyed the envious looks from a friend with a manual throttle lock who was continually adjusting and playing with his throttle in an attempt to get a few seconds of right hand-free riding.

One improvement that I recommend is the inclusion of a 'Pause' function (now under development) where the cruise control can be temporarily disengaged and then re-engaged at the same set speed. This would be useful, for example, when you come up behind a slower-moving vehicle and you need to slow down for a while until you get past them. The same applies when coming up to a small country town. Once past, you could then simply re-engage the cruise control back at the original speed. At the moment, I think that the only way to do this is to engage either the brake or the clutch, neither of which is preferred. Alternatively, I have to turn the cruise off completely and then re-set it to my desired speed.

Overall, a fantastic addition to a bike that I intend to keep for some time and put considerable miles on. Thanks for the care and effort you took in making the cruise control work so well for my bike.

Regards,

Chris, Australia (Sep 2011)