MC Cruise - Anyone tried it?

[Twisties]

Oh yeah, I have been riding an RT. Yes, it shows. Anyone tried the MC Cruise electronic cruise control? Looking for ease of installation, problems, results?

http://www.mccruise.com/product.php?productid=219&cat=471&page=1

 

[tumacmike]

I have installed 4 of them on the FJR, but not on the Tenere.
I can say from my FJR experience that the installation instructions, operation and support are excellent. It is a very well made product.
I would like one for my Tenere, but will have to wait.

 

[EricV]

The wife has one on her F650GS and while it's a nice, complete, kit, it's susceptible to rain and shuts down/fails to work if it gets wet at all. Hers would come on, but wouldn't take a 'set' for speed. It has a self diagnostic process, but that quickly degenerates to take shit apart more than you want to and start testing individual wires in the actuators. On a bike like the FJR, it's great. On a bike with less weather protection like the F650GS, you just couldn't keep it out of the weather enough for it to stay functional. You decide if you can tuck it away inside the nose enough to stay dry. I'm not thinking so with the S10. And for $1000, it ought to just work. The wife will be sending hers back if at all possible. She got it for the IBR and it worked for about one day of the 11. Needless to say, she's pretty pissed about it.

 

[Twisties]

The wife has one on her F650GS and while it's a nice, complete, kit, it's susceptible to rain and shuts down/fails to work if it gets wet at all. Hers would come on, but wouldn't take a 'set' for speed. It has a self diagnostic process, but that quickly degenerates to take shit apart more than you want to and start testing individual wires in the actuators. On a bike like the FJR, it's great. On a bike with less weather protection like the F650GS, you just couldn't keep it out of the weather enough for it to stay functional. You decide if you can tuck it away inside the nose enough to stay dry. I'm not thinking so with the S10. And for $1000, it ought to just work. The wife will be sending hers back if at all possible. She got it for the IBR and it worked for about one day of the 11. Needless to say, she's pretty pissed about it.

Well, considering that we were going to order one for the wife's F650 GS, that is good to know! Thanks. I did see an FAQ on their site about moisture, but it didn't give away the details. Both the folk I know with them had them on FJRs and were happy.

 

[Aggie85]

Oh yeah, I have been riding an RT. Yes, it shows. Anyone tried the MC Cruise electronic cruise control? Looking for ease of installation, problems, results?

http://www.mccruise.com/product.php?productid=219&cat=471&page=1

I had one on my FJR for about 3 months and it worked GREAT before I finally gave up on my FJR (I was one of the early ones who had severe electrical problems with my FJR and Yamaha always blamed it on accessories whether they were on the bike on not (and Yamaha was just forced to do a recall for the electrical issue)).

Any how, a friend is installing a McCruise on my Super Tenere now. He has been on contact with McCruise people about a couple of changes that have occurred to the North American version of the Super Tenere and they are sending new components (not sure what they are).

I am doing a 10 day ride with my daughter now on my GL1800 so I won't be able to report on how the McCruise works on Super Tenere until sometime next week!

To repeat, I really liked the McCruise I had briefly on the FJR!

Best Regards,

Aggie85

 

[justbob]

I plan on installing a Rostra Cruise Control unit next week

 

[EricV]

I plan on installing a Rostra Cruise Control unit next week

There is a pretty good Rostra thread on ADV for an Super Tenere install. Google Super Tenere cruise control and it comes right up.

 

[Twisties]

Found the Rostra threads. Thanks!

 

[colorider]

I have installed 4 of them on the FJR, but not on the Tenere.
I can say from my FJR experience that the installation instructions, operation and support are excellent. It is a very well made product.
I would like one for my Tenere, but will have to wait.

Welcome to the Forum!!! Wala Wala area and own a FJR eh? You must know Warchild!!

 

[mccruise]

Hi, We make the MC Cruise, so I just thought I would let you know what has changed on the 2011/12 model XT1200 Super Tenere. We just learned this from an installer in Texas last week. The cap screws which on the last model held the front disk brake on, have been replaced by T-40 torx bolts. Consequently the magnets used for speed sensing no longer fit and we had to supply smaller ones. Another apparent change has occurred in the throttle cable/adjuster setup and this forced a small change in the nipple locations in the cable interface unit for those familiar with our product. The ball nipple just had to move one hole. This type of problem is almost inevitable when new models are released overseas before we see them here in Australia. We adapt as quickly as we can. Fortunately many makes are very conservative in making changes - others seems to go through endless recalls. We just have to do the best we can with what they release and the changes they make. We deliver the best support we can, but in order to do that we need to know there is a problem. Best regards, Tony

 

[JHKolb]

Hi, We make the MC Cruise, so I just thought I would let you know what has changed on the 2011/12 model XT1200 Super Tenere. We just learned this from an installer in Texas last week. The cap screws which on the last model held the front disk brake on, have been replaced by T-40 torx bolts. Consequently the magnets used for speed sensing no longer fit and we had to supply smaller ones. Another apparent change has occurred in the throttle cable/adjuster setup and this forced a small change in the nipple locations in the cable interface unit for those familiar with our product. The ball nipple just had to move one hole. This type of problem is almost inevitable when new models are released overseas before we see them here in Australia. We adapt as quickly as we can. Fortunately many makes are very conservative in making changes - others seems to go through endless recalls. We just have to do the best we can with what they release and the changes they make. We deliver the best support we can, but in order to do that we need to know there is a problem. Best regards, Tony

Tony,

Thanks for posting. Any response to the moisture issues? It's obvious that our bikes will likely see a fair amount of moisture and dirt from both highway and off-highway use. Is/Has the MC Cruise system for our application been further weather proofed to resolve these moisture issues that some seem to have on more exposed applications?

I am very interested in a system like this but until I am sure from first hand reports that the system will survive the elements on our bike I am hesitant to pony up that kind of cash for a product that may or may not fully function or has a short life span.

Thanks!

 

[EricV]

Tony, perhaps you could update your web site with known installers in the US? Currently I see no installers listed in the western half of the US. It often seems to be the case that while well supported online and by phone, most installs of your product are done for the first time, either by the owner of the bike or a shop with zero experience with your product.

I will communicate more privately.

 

[Spider]

I plan on installing a Rostra Cruise Control unit next week

Justbob, what are the benefits of the Rostra over alternatives like MC Cruise? Looks like it's not as plug and play as MC Cruise. Is it waterproof or less expensive?

Thanks!

 

[justbob]

The Rostra is definitely not plug-n-play.
I have no experience with the McCruise unit, but I have heard thats its not really plug-n-play either.
I have installed 5 Audiovox vacuum type units on V-Stroms and an FJR and 1 Rostra electronic unit on a 2010 C-14 Concours.
The control pad has to be sealed around the perimeter to make it waterproof but thats easy to do with a tube of silicone sealer.
The install is usually a good weekend project, especially the first time on a different model, just figuring out where to mount the servo and how to connect the cable to the throttle body and routing the wiring. I work slow, I. dont want to have to go hunting for problems later on.
The Rostra unit works well and can be bought for under $250.

 

[Twisties]

Hi, We make the MC Cruise, so I just thought I would let you know what has changed on the 2011/12 model XT1200 Super Tenere. We just learned this from an installer in Texas last week. The cap screws which on the last model held the front disk brake on, have been replaced by T-40 torx bolts. Consequently the magnets used for speed sensing no longer fit and we had to supply smaller ones. Another apparent change has occurred in the throttle cable/adjuster setup and this forced a small change in the nipple locations in the cable interface unit for those familiar with our product. The ball nipple just had to move one hole. This type of problem is almost inevitable when new models are released overseas before we see them here in Australia. We adapt as quickly as we can. Fortunately many makes are very conservative in making changes - others seems to go through endless recalls. We just have to do the best we can with what they release and the changes they make. We deliver the best support we can, but in order to do that we need to know there is a problem. Best regards, Tony

Tony, thanks for your input! I too would like to know your response to the water/moisture issue.

Thanks,

Jan

 

[mccruise]

Tony,

Thanks for posting. Any response to the moisture issues? It's obvious that our bikes will likely see a fair amount of moisture and dirt from both highway and off-highway use. Is/Has the MC Cruise system for our application been further weather proofed to resolve these moisture issues that some seem to have on more exposed applications?

I am very interested in a system like this but until I am sure from first hand reports that the system will survive the elements on our bike I am hesitant to pony up that kind of cash for a product that may or may not fully function or has a short life span.

Thanks!

Hi,

My problem with this is I really don't know what to do to make it better! I rode from Durant Oklahoma to Pueblo via Wichita city KS in October 2008 if I recall correctly in the remnants of Hurricane Ike. It was the heaviest rain I have ever ridden in and I ran at up to 79mph on my Honda Pacific Coast for two days solid. And the cruise didn't miss a beat! You can see the photos here:

Pacific Coast Photos

Since we still have not determined what the problem is with the BMW F650GS that started this thread, I don't know what else I can do. If anyone wants to see the installation instructions fro the Super Tenere - simply write to me at tony@mccruise.com and I will send a PDF so you can check it out for yourselves. I can't post these on our web site or any other web site because people simply steal out intellectual properly - as happened with the FJR1300 instructions. But we will send them to individual email addresses.

Unless someone comes to me with a specific, demonstrable, repeatable problem which will cost less to fix than simply repairing the very few problems we have - then I don't think we have a case to answer in respect of 'moisture susceptibility' and cruise failures. We have literally thousands of these units out there on BMW R120GS bikes and the like, all over the world now and we hear of virtually no problems!

Regards,
Tony

 

[roadlizard]

Any recent updates on the MC Cruise cruise control? I installed MC Cruise on a 2007 Yamaha FJR and 2008 Honda ST1300. Worked great and am still using it on the ST1300. A little put off by the current pricing, but spoiled by the convenience of using on the ST1300.

 

[justbob]

Shortly after purchasing my Tenere I installed the Rostra Cruise Control, the total cost was about $240 and it works perfect. Speed is maintained + or - 1 MPH in most all situations. It took me about 12 hrs to do the install and I cut that time down to about 8 hrs when I helped a good friend do the Rostra cruise installation on his new Tenere.

 

[EricV]

We really need someone on the forum to report their personal experience with the McCruise unit, on a Super Tenere. While I have some misgivings about certain facets of the design, it's a proven unit that works very well on many bikes.

Telling me it went through torrential rain w/o problems while installed on a fully faired Pacific Coast is not any indication of how it performs on an Adventure Touring bike that lacks all that plastic. Even the big GS1200 has more weather protection than our S10s.

In regards to the BMW F650GS, there is insufficient weather protection of the main connector on the McCruise ECU, as installed per directions. That area of the bike is exposed and rain and wind driven water get into the connector and it ceases to function correctly. After it dries out, it works again. It took two months to dry out the last time, but now works just fine.

Understand something here. I'm not beating up on the McCruise unit, merely suggesting that it's not necessarily going to suit every type of bike. The unit needs to be sheltered from rain/water. On bikes that naturally keep the unit protected, it's excellent and there are no weather related issues. We just don't have that on the S10, IMHO.

Another thing to keep in mind is how you ride. We, (my wife & I), ride in all conditions. It's not uncommon to ride 20 hours a day for days on end, regardless of what the weather is. Under those conditions, in situations where it's simply not possible to stop and wait out weather and there is no time to do major diagnosis on the road, it either works or it's not useful to us.

It's difficult to take a good picture of the area w/o pulling panels off and the windscreen. Here are a few shots anyway. You can see the top of the McCruise ECU and part of the plug in these shots. I've tried to back off progressively to show the location better.

This shot is a better shot of the plug, which faces forward on the bike. A good rubber weather cover here would likely help a lot.