Article [11] ST1100 - Audiovox installation

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3351
My Audiovox Cruise Control Install: 2001 ST1100

IMHO this is the ultimate farkle. ;) I have never understood why a motorcycle manufacturer can design a long distance machine and not considered placing a cruise control on them. :confused: For my 01', I had to do a lot of maintenance this winter and that included a coolant system overhaul. The coolant system overhaul requires the removal of the carburetors, so I made it a mission to research the best choice for a cruise control. The choices were limited to the MCcruise out of Australia ($800):eek: , an electronic unit by Rostra cruise control (~$300), and the Audiovox Universal Cruise ($100). I decided on the Audiovox unit because the documentation on the ST forums and other websites is numerous. I will spend the money I saved on a Garmin Zumo.

Each personal webpage and write-ups was studied until I had a firm grasp on what to do for the install and the possible issues that I might encounter. I ordered the Audiovox cruise control from http://www.murpskits.com/catalog/ for $107 which included a vacuum canister.

First on the installation is the choice of how and where to mount the servo unit, vacuum canister, and wiring the system. The one item that puts fear into some is the required servo actuator arm that has to fabricated and then attached to the throttle bellcrank. The arm on the throttle bellcrank can be leveraged from above via the side of the airbox or from below via the right side of engine. The actuator arm is mandatory no matter what design is decided. I looked at several personal web pages and decided on the design by John OoSTerhuis STOC 1058.

Thanks John for the information and pictures. :yr1: I basically copied every part of his design except for the vacuum canister position and what vacuum lines he used.



Carburetors awaiting the servo arm.


I used a 6/32 tap with stainless steel cap head screws with washer and lockdown washer. The arm made out of stainless steel sheet was approx 2 ?†in length. Center tap to servo cable attachment was 1 ?â€.


Initial mounting position of servo actuator attached to tipover wing with bracket made out of scrap aluminum strip. Servo cable can be seen routed down between engine and exhaust. The cable is protected by 2' of 3/8†fuel hose for local Checker autoparts. So the actuator arm is leveraged from the right side therefore the servo cable must come from the right side in a smooth arc with no sharp bends. Routing the servo cable from left to right from underneath.


The attachment point for the servo cable is on the frame cross member between the tank and engine. I used part # and drilled a ?†hole and bolted it down with a 2 x ?†bolt.


Ten chain balls were used to attach the servo cable. I had to bend the fuel spill drain hose clamp out of the way of the throttle bellcrank arm.

Wiring the system:



Audiovox unit: Blue (tachometer pickup) wire to Blue/yellow stripe wire of coil.


Audiovox unit: Purple (12V when brake on, disengagement) and Red (+12V) wires routed through hollow frame crossmember and protected with a ?†piece of coolant hose.


Purple wire (pictured with yellow extension wire) is pigtailed into Green/yellow stripe wire of rear brake light connector on right side of tank. Red wire is pigtailed into white/green stripe wire for switched 12V.


Vacuum lines from carbs #1 and #3 are T'd and run to canister at right tipover wing. Vacuum supply line to servo actuator was routed between tank and engine. Vacuum canister is held in place with a 4†worm clamp.



The servo actuator cable can be seen running up in a gentle arch to the cable attachment point on the frame.

Post installation comments:

The system worked on the first try.:D There was alittle bit of slack in the chain and the servo cable abruptly took control at 35mph. I checked the brake frunctions and all was well. I was comfortable with higher speeds and took it up to 50 then on to 75. Set/Decel, Resume/Accel and on/off worked with no issues.
Overall, the unit will hold 1 to 2 mph from selected speed over hilly terrain. After 1000 miles the only issue is mounting the control unit in a spot that is functional.
 
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Tankereng

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Re: My 01' ST1100 Audiovox installation

Great photos! Although I don't see Cruise Control in my future, Thanks for taking the time to share your efforts with everyone!
 
Joined
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Perth Western Australia
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2001 ST1100P
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7808
Re: My 01' ST1100 Audiovox installation

I have just spent the weekend fitting a CCS100 to my 2001 ST1100P.

Before I go any further I would like to thank "John OoSTerhuis STOC 1058" and "Michael Schenck STOC #3351", whose forum posts and excellent photos were my inspiration to attempt this modification. :)

My install varies slightly because I chose to use the space under the rear equipment hump on the ST to store the actuator and vaccum reservoir.



Instead of removing the carbs I decided to remove the fuel tank and loosen the carb mounts just enough to lever them slightly out of position. This enabled me to work on the throttle linkage.

I used a strong broom handle and a rachet tie down strap to lever up the carbs and hold them in postion while I worked.



I made a paper template of the throttle cable mechanism and fashioned an actuator arm from 1mm alluminim plate.

The below photo shows the rough arm and the mounting space .



The arm was fitted with 4mm set screws and nylock nuts.

Photo below of completed arm ready to fit.



Next photo is of fitted arm



I did not use the CCS100 actuator switch gear but instead chose to follow Reg Siemens "MY_MC" article on using the Police switchgear to control his cruise control
http://www.my-mc.com/messages/1/23395.html

However, as I was installing the CCS100 using not only the police switchgear but also the police wiring harness, I needed to modify Reg's installation.



Switch 3 of the Police switchgear when used with the Police wiring harness switches to a common ground. I therefore shifted the switch to -ve side of relay 3 and supplied aux 12v to +ve side of relay.

Photo below shows the plastic jiffy box I mounted switching relays in (sorry a little out of focus).



I did all the static checks then fired the bike up. Vaccum was good and I could hear the relays switching when I operated the control switch. It was time for the first test ride.

The photo below is of the bike just after returning from the test ride.



I learned three things on my first test ride;

1) The cruise control works flawlessly
2) I needed to set dip switch 4 to "ON" as the acceleration when resume was set was a bit vicious.
3) A lot and I mean a lot of heat comes out of the bike direcly onto your legs when you ride without all the tupperware on a 35deg C day.

Happy riding
Douglas
 
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WannaST

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Papillion, NE
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7580
Re: My 01' ST1100 Audiovox installation

STay froSTy- I have the plastic off...it's snowing outside and President"s Day weekend; with all these detailed I should have no real issues installing the CC. Thanks for the details. Carey (wannaST)
 

JimSTer

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Re: My 01' ST1100 Audiovox installation

This is going to be invaluable to me as I start installing my Audiovox unit in the nest few days.
A very nice and complete description.
Thanks much
 

JimSTer

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Re: My 01' ST1100 Audiovox installation

After installing the cruise control arm on the carburetor
bell crank I was having an extremely difficult time getting the carbs mounted back in place.
I was trying to push the carbs back into their rubber addaptors. This wasn't working so I tried to push and pry with a big screw driver. And in this process I broke off a piece of the right number two ( I think) carburetor that holds the choke arm shaft.
I'm not willing to take the cards apart as it appears to me that I will need to replace the carb body in order to correct this problem.
I'm afraid that I'll need to take my bike to a dealer and have them replace the carb body for me.
Do you have any suggestions..
 

Reg_Siemens

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Re: My 01' ST1100 Audiovox installation

Entire carb sets come up periodically on Ebay and I'm guessing that would be a better choice than taking it to a dealer. If I'm not mistaken Uncle Phil had a couple of extra sets kicking around. Might also want to check with Don Cortez who wrecks a bunch of 1100s. Send a PM to me if you're interested in contacting either of them and I'll forward your email to them.
 

JimSTer

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Re: My 01' ST1100 Audiovox installation

I just returned from LockSTOC and the bike ran like a champ. Maybe I can get by at least until winter before I'll need to take it apart again.
If I can wait till then my options will be more numerous.
If I did choose to weld it back together, who does that type of thing?
 
Joined
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555
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Austin, TX
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1995 ST1100
STOC #
8274
Just wanted to say this is a great write up. I scored an Audiovox CCS100 new in box from a forum member that had a few. I stopped by the hardware store and got a few bits I'll need, and ordered a 6/32 tap since I couldn't find one. Need to consider mounting the control unit, but it shouldn't be very difficult. Maybe... just maybe... I'll have the gumption and time to get this installed before TexSTOC...
 
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Just did the majority of the install today, and it went... OK. No major issues, got everything in. The cap head screws I used on the throttle were too tall, so I had to pop the carbs off and get some smaller screws. Wired everything up, and just zip-tied the control unit to the center of the bars. Kinda ghetto, but it works for now.

The controller lights up when I turn on the ignition, and the ON LED comes on when I hit the ON switch... but no CC.

Some information and possibilities...

I set DIP switches 1, 4, and 7 to 'on'. (probably need to switch 4 off)
The jumper IS off of the pins.
No vacuum canister. I have a PVC canister I made, but the CCS box only had one T and not enough hose... so I tapped the line coming off of #4 to the vacuum fuel cut off.

I did accidentally cut off the noise filter from the blue wire, but I soldered it back together so I would have the filter. Followed the OP's wiring, and then wired the orange wire from the connector for the controller to the battery since it's a fused connection.

I'm guessing it's either:

- DIP #4 needs to be OFF
- Vacuum line pinched
- need vacuum canister
 
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I think I may have it... the purple wire was seeing about +7v or so with the brakes NOT applied... full 12v while applied. I'm going to run the purple wire to the back and wire it to the brake light there and see what I get.

later...

Darnit, I connected it to the brake +12v line to the LED brake light I have and it's still seeing about +7V when the brakes are NOT engaged! The brake lights function normally, though.

Either one of the brake switches is leaking a bit of voltage... or I'm going to have to wire in a relay. I bet the CCS won't set if it sees any voltage at the purple wire. I thought about just disconnecting the wire and going for a ride to test, but I don't really want to do that.

even later...

NO JOY. Both brake switches test fine, 0 ohms and infinite ohms when engaged.

I rigged up a relay using the brake light signal and made sure it wasn't firing until the brakes were hit... still no joy.

:(


I don't have a check valve on the vacuum to the unit... maybe that would help?

Later still....

Added check valve (verified I have it in the correct orientation by checking John O's pictures) and still no worky.


One possibility: I'm not going fast enough? I can get up to about 30-35mph in the neighborhood... maybe that's not enough? Since it's going off of the tach signal, I don't think that's related, since it's only monitoring engine speed, and 35-40mph in 2nd gear gets it above 3000RPM.

I'm calling it quits for today. Going to button it all back up later or tomorrow, and then work on it after TexSTOC I guess.


AND EVEN LATER...

Didn't work on the bike today at all... too wore out and tired... but I really think the issue may be lack of adequate vacuum pressure. I started out tapped off of the #4 cylinder, then switched to the #1 & #3 cylinder, but still get no engagement of the CC. Read a few threads about troubleshooting, and another rider had issues until he tapped the vacuum line going into the PAIR system. Perhaps there is more vacuum there?

Considering it's an 1100cc engine, and the unit was made for cars, our engines are pretty small relatively, and I'd expect the vacuum pressure on smaller engines is less, so perhaps I'm just below the threshold that will get the system to engage.

I'm going to get some air line and finish the vacuum chamber I built. I'm hoping that will help.
 

John OoSTerhuis

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I would like to see the pictures you have posted but it takes me to Webshots.com and I cant find them??
The old Webshots died. There's a LOT of dead links to Webshots pictures all over the ST forums. I'm working (very slowly) on recreating some of my old Webshots technical photo albums in my new gallery. Here's my AudioVox install, with captions (after opening the album, click on Title {ascending} to get them in the intended order):
http://www.st-riders.net/coppermine/index.php?cat=10125
I have long-term plans to create some AOW articles with inline/inserted pictures from the gallery albums...
Anyway, HTH

[I suspect that some of the missing pictures above were mine, but I can't edit another member's posts.]

John :STOC: Ten Fifty-Eight
 
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I cant look at any of your pictures! (Webshots.com dead?) Any way you can re post the pics somewhere? I'm getting ready to install a cruise system and sure could use some tips.

Thanks, Joel
 

John OoSTerhuis

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Joined
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Location
helena, MT
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'97 ST1100
I am in the middle of this install for my ST1100 and I have a question. When lifting the carb assembly, is it possible to lift it enough to do the drilling and tapping of the throttle bellcrank without totally disconnecting it from the carb adapters? If so, it seems it would be relatively easy to push the carb assembly back down and tighten the clamps? Without having ever done this, it seems that if the assembly was completely off the adapters, then it could be fairly difficult to get it back on??? Thanks, Dale
 
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