Audiovox Cruise Control Installation on the Concours 14

A note from Murph:

I would like to thank Blayde Kennedy for the great and detailed installation procedure that follows! It was all his effort, and as you will see it is very well thought out and complete. It is people like Blayde that make Concours ownership great!

I would also like to emphasize that if you choose to undertake this highly technical procedure, please heed all the warnings and cautions he has taken care to point out. As we all know, modification of a motorcycle in any way should only be undertaken by a person confident in their ability to safely perform the task, and all liability rests with them alone.

All the best,

Murph

2008 Concours 14

Audiovox CCS-100 Electronic Cruise Control Install

By Blayde Kennedy

This is a fairly difficult installation, please consider your abilities before proceeding. Allow several days for the installation, this is not a project to rush through. As you do the install remember that your life directly depends on the competence of your labor.

Ride the bike down to reserve before you start; you will have to lift the gas tank later.

Murph now offers a Cruise Control Mount for the C14. The mount attaches to one of the screws holding the throttle assembly together on the right side handlebar and includes a longer screw. Save yourself the time and trouble of fabricating a mount.

Caution only use a VOM (Volt/ Ohmmeter) for testing electrical circuits on the C14. The use of a test light could FRY your ECM.

Prep Work

Waterproof the control pad

Waterproof the control pad by taking it apart and applying RTV Silicone to the inside edges of control pad. Reassemble control pad and waterproof the bottom side of control pad with RTV Silicone. Follow the instructions at www.fjr1300.info/howto/audiovox.html

Edit 11/08 Build the Control Pad Mounting Bracket (If you did not buy one from Murph)

Decide how you want to mount the control pad and build / paint the bracket as needed. You can build a bracket similar to the FJR Mount at www.fjr1300.info/howto/audiovox.html or something like mine below.

Attach the control pad to your mounting bracket and water proof the backside of the bracket and the control pad wires with RTV Silicone. Use RTV Silicone around the wires on the back side of the control pad bracket to prevent the control pad wires from rubbing on the bracket which could cause a short.

Edit 11/08: Mount the control pad / mounting bracket to the bike.

You can mount the control pad on either the right or left handlebar. Murphs’ Cruise Control Mount is designed to attach only to the right handlebar throttle assembly.

Fabricated Bracket Mounted to Left Handlebar Clutch Clamp

Do not allow the edge of your control pad mounting bracket to touch the sides of either the plastic clutch or brake reservoir. Over time vibration could wear a hole in the side of the reservoir possibly killing you.

Bike Disassembly

Devise some way to keep track of where bolts and screws go as you are removing them. Zip Lock Baggies with the panel / part marked on them works for me. You’ll have lots of things to remove.

Remove the glovebox lid
Open the glove box door and remove 2 screws nearest the gas tank. The lid lifts off.

Remove Right and Left side rear fairing panels and battery cover panel on right side. Note that the screws on the painted surfaces have clear washers to protect the paint. Also note that the screws are snug, not overly tight.

Remove Left front side panel. There are two screws on the inside bottom of the panel, and two hidden screws on the inside by the radiator. The large screw in the black lower fairing does not need removed. Unplug the left turn signal and remove the panel.

Remove left side frame bracket
You need to remove this bracket (actually a frame brace) to gain access to the #1 Coil and to drill your throttle connection on the throttle tang. The three large bolts have Locktite Red on them. There are several hidden bolts, see the pictures below

Ignore the black line in the picture, didn’t notice it until after I saved the picture.

Carefully pry rubber vibration damper from frame brace with a screwdriver on the rubber damper only. This is an oil line for the gear case. Unplug the left fan connector, you will need to move this bracket later.

We still have to remove the bolts holding the electrical brackets on for better clearance to the #1 coil and our Audiovox CC throttle connection.

Install the Schnitz Motorsports Tach Signal Adapter

Press down on coil wire clip in the center to release. Attach the tach signal adapter to the original connector and plug the other end of the adapter to the #1 coil. This is a really tight space, buy the tach signal adapter! For those of you too cheap to buy the adapter or with child-like fingers the tach signal (#1 Coil ground wire) is the white wire with red stripe.

Start the bike to make sure it still runs correctly and you have no codes or warning lights.

Run Vacuum Lines

You will need vacuum from at least two of the throttle bodies. The vacuum port for #1 Cylinder is the black cap with the spring clip on the front side of the throttle body. You can just pull it off with the spring clip still attached. I also used the vacuum port for the #4 Cylinder. You may have to remove the Right Frame Brace to access it. The #4 vacuum port is located in the same location on the throttle body as the #1 Cylinder but is buried under some wires. Leave your vacuum lines long and run them to the general area where you plan to mount your vacuum canister. Replace the Right frame brace if you removed it.

Program the Servo

We need to use the 2,000 PPM setting because we have 4 individual coils. If you used a 4,000 PPM setting the cruise won’t activate until about 50 MPH.

Attach the Servo to Right Front of Bike

Remove the foam insulation, by taking out the 3 screws. You will need the clearance when you mount the servo. The bracket attached to the servo is pointing in the wrong direction. Remove the bracket and flip it over using only 2 of the screws. Mount the servo bracket to the open hole in fairing stay with a screw, nut and washers as needed. The bolt / nut in the Audiovox CC kit are too big, you need to supply your own.

From the servo, Blue, Green, Yellow, and Brown wires run to your Control Pad. The thick black wire with grey and black wires with connectors already installed is not used. You can cut it off if you want. Wait to zip-tie the wires to the bike until you have made all your connections.

Run the Red, Purple and Black wires to rear of bike through the middle slit in the foam insulation along with the servo cable and reinstall the insulation with the three screws.

Run the Servo throttle cable down the right side of the bike and under the throttle bodies to the left side of the bike.

Remove the battery cover and the battery.
Do not reinstall the battery electrical connections until all electrical connections made.

Run purple wire (brake light wire) into battery box and out the backside of battery compartment. into area under gas tank. The purple wire runs over the top of the battery. Lift the gas tank up and run the purple wire under gas tank following existing wiring harness into the area under the seat. Allow for slack in the purple wire under the gas tank and keep the wire away from any sharp edges. Zip-tie in several places to hold in place. See the pictures below for reference.

Brake Wire Connection

The purple wire from the servo shuts the servo off when the brakes are applied. This is a very critical step. Without this signal, the Audiovox CC will continue to operate until you shut it off at the control pad or you crash into something.

Because we have LED Brake lights we need to use a SPDT relay in the brake light circuit. Find a suitable location for the SPDT relay under the seat. Take the tools out of the tool Kit and remove the Tool Kit Box. Carefully move the ECM forward so you can access the taillight wires behind it. The tail light wires are in the black boot behind the ECM. The taillight brake wire you are looking for is Blue with a Red Stripe before the connector and solid Blue after the connector. Use a Scotch lock connector (Audiovox Kit part number 13) to make your brake light wire connection. Using Murphs’ accessory relay make the connections as shown below.

Electrical Connections

Make the rest of your electrical connections. Protect the wires with electrical tape or the tubing from the kit. From the servo, Blue, Green, Yellow, and Brown wires are connected to the Control Pad using the Color Coded connector. The Blue wire from the servo is connected to the Black wire from the Schnitz Motorsports Tach Signal Adapter or your Tach Signal Wire. The Gray wire from the Control Pad illuminates the Control pad at night. Connect this wire to the red / orange fused wire and attach to the positive accessory lead under the left black panel. Attach the Black wire from the Control Pad to the negative accessory lead under the black left panel.

Attach the Red Wire from the Servo to the Battery. Attach the Black wire from the Servo to Ground.

With the engine off and the ignition on, test for proper operation. When the ON button of the Control Pad is pressed, the LED in the center of the control pad should be lit. The Control Pad itself should be illuminated any time the ignition is on. Check Brake Light relay operation.

It is CRITICAL that you verify that you have a good connection with the brake light wire. This is the connection that shuts the cruise off when you press on either brake. After you have made all the connections verify proper operation by turning the ignition on with the engine off, press on the brake and you should hear Murphs’ accessory relay click. If you don’t hear a click, the relay is not working and the cruise will not shut off. Find the problem and fix it before you ride your bike. Also note that the C14 brake light must be working for the cruise to shut off. If you blow the fuse for the C14 brake light the cruise will not shut off by itself.

Throttle Connection

Drill a 5/32" hole in the throttle tang. The best location for the hole is centered on the tang and directly below the stop screw. Be very careful where you put the hole, note that as you turn the throttle the tang moves down to below the idle adjustment cable and the clearance between your screw and the idle adjustment cable gets very small. You have one chance to drill this hole, make sure you do it correctly. I used a 6-32 x ½" Pan head screw for my connection. A 6-32 x 3/8" Pan Head screw would be even better. Insert the Pan Head screw from the backside of the throttle tang, then a 6-32 nut with Blue Locktite on the outside of the throttle tang. You do not want the screw to move.

Turn the throttle full rotation several times to verify that the throttle is not sticking at any position. Also visually inspect throttle bellcrank during rotation for any clearance issues.

A stuck throttle can KILL you. Make 100% certain you don’t have any clearance issues.

Attach a washer over the screw, then attach the small Bead chain eyelet connector Part Number 25 from the Audiovox parts bag, another washer, and another nut with Locktite Blue. The Bead chain eyelet should firmly locked in place and parallel to the throttle tang. Wait to install the bead chain to the servo cable until your have made your Servo cable bracket.

Tip: Spread the slots in the small Bead chain eyelet connector Part Number 25 and bead chain coupling Part Number 24 before installing them. This will allow the servo cable and bead chain to be inserted easily. After assembly squeeze the slots shut with pliers.

Servo Cable Bracket

To work properly the servo throttle cable must be oriented vertically to the throttle tang. This is because most of the rotation of the throttle tang is in a downward direction. Routing the throttle servo cable parallel to the throttle cables as we did in other installations won’t work. There is also not room on the throttle bellcrank for the hangman’s noose we used on the C10.

We need to make a bracket from the Audiovox kit parts (Adjustable cable mounting bracket assembly. Part Number 16) to hold the Servo throttle cable. Please look at the pictures below. The bracket attaches to the left frame brace at the wiring loom support. You will need to cut off a lower portion of the Adjustable cable mounting bracket assembly Part Number 16 to fit in the available space. Ideally the servo cable should be positioned directly below the center of the throttle bellcrank when rotated.

Caution: See pictures below. Clearances are very tight. The Servo Cable Bracket must not hit the eyelet on the throttle bellcrank when the throttle is opened or the throttle could stick. The lower end of the Servo Cable Bracket should not be touching the oil line running through the same area. Over time vibration could wear a hole in the oil line if the Servo Cable Bracket is touching it.

Connect Bead Chain Eyelet to Servo Cable

After you have made your Servo Bracket, connect the Bead chain eyelet to the servo cable by using 6 beads of the bead chain Part number 20 and the bead chain coupling part number 24 attached to the servo cable. You need to adjust servo cable slack by trial fitting the left frame brace and the Servo Cable Bracket to the bike. You want just a little slack at idle (closed throttle position) but you must have enough slack that the throttle is fully closed. This is a trial and error process. Too much slack and the cruise will be slow to respond. Way too much slack and the cruise may not respond at all and the chance of the bead chain hanging on something increases.

Confirm again that the throttle is fully closed and is not sticking in any position when the throttle is turned.

Reinstall Left Frame Brace

Turn the throttle both full and partial rotation as often as need until you are 100% certain the throttle is not sticking at any position. Also visually inspect throttle bellcrank, Servo cable, and Bead chain during rotation for any clearance issues. A stuck throttle can KILL you.

Vacuum Canister

Make a bracket from leftover kit parts if needed. I mounted my Vacuum canister to the left frame brace. You’ll need vacuum from at least two of the Throttle Bodies. Run the vacuum lines from the throttle bodies to a vacuum tee and then to the port marked MAN on the Vacuum canister. The other port on the Vacuum canister is connected the vacuum port on the servo.

The Test Ride

You can put all the panels back on or Mad Max it and go for a short ride with the panels off.

Wear all your gear just in case. Should the throttle stick, pull in the clutch first then hit the kill switch. The C14 has a built-in rev limiter. A few seconds of banging off the rev limiter won’t hurt the bike and is preferable to crashing into something. Don’t expect the brakes to stop the bike with a stuck throttle; the C14 is just too powerful.

The cruise will operate in any gear above about 30 MPH. Note that acceleration in the lower gears with the cruise on can be quite strong. On a straight level road with no traffic and in at least fourth gear at about 40 MPH set the cruise. The cruise should hold speed. Test that the cruise shuts off with either brake. Also test that the cruise shuts off with the clutch pulled in (The engine will rev up 500-1000 RPM before the cruise shuts off). If you have any problems fix the bike before you ride in traffic.

Troubleshooting

The Audiovox manual is less than helpful if you have problems. Here are some tips.

You can verify proper operation of the Servo by removing the plate on the Servo housing where the wiring harness is installed.

With the engine off and the ignition on. Turn on the cruise. Look into the servo housing where the wiring harness is installed. The Red LED should blink once as the Set and Resume buttons are pressed.

Start the bike; Turn on the cruise and look into the servo housing where the wiring harness is installed. The Red LED should be blinking. Increase the engine RPM’s and the LED should flash faster. This confirms that you have a good tach signal.

The Purple Servo wire must be connected to chassis ground for the cruise to turn on. The Purple Servo wire must also have +12 VDC applied to it to shut the cruise off. That’s why you need the relay.

If you would like for me to carry other items, or offer a screw kit for another motorcycle email me! I'll be happy to work with you.
If you have trouble placing your order, please email Murph.
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