Cruse control

[agent86k9]

I recently bought an 88 1500. I repaired the alternator, the trunk lock, and the right side latch. I took my first trip of 300 miles away and back, and made a discovery. The cruise will not set at 90 MPH, nor at 85, or 80. 76 or 7 max. I rarely want to set it at those speeds but wanted it at one point of this trip and it wasn't there.
Question. Is there an adjustment or something I can tweek?
Do not bother with schooling about legal speeds, or what I should or shouldn't do. I am 63 years old, and have been riding motorcycles since I was 14 in Enduro's and on the road since I was 25.

[BRIANINMAINE]

I have the manual for my 86 1200 and it says the max for cruise is 80mph. Just FYI

[Hoosier Jack]

You go Mr. Brian, hell-bent-for leather, riding that murder cycle at Rossi speeds on our highways and bi-ways. I can see those eyes burning with flames ready to terrorize all women and children in your path; heaven help the fool that even dares to mention you slow down. Will never happen.

I can imagine you blasting across South Dakota at 90 plus, cursing the Honda gods for having the gall to limit your ability to set your cruise control at a paltry 80. It's always the man holding us down.

Screw em. Get yourself out there and get a thumb lock, turn that throttle back as far as it will go, then pull it some more.

[dingdong]

Yeah that is the max for the 1500. There is a way to override on later models but you are stuck with 75mph on the 88 and 89 models.

[Rob H]

You go Mr. Brian, hell-bent-for leather, riding that murder cycle at Rossi speeds on our highways and bi-ways. I can see those eyes burning with flames ready to terrorize all women and children in your path; heaven help the fool that even dares to mention you slow down. Will never happen.

I can imagine you blasting across South Dakota at 90 plus, cursing the Honda gods for having the gall to limit your ability to set your cruise control at a paltry 80. It's always the man holding us down.

Screw em. Get yourself out there and get a thumb lock, turn that throttle back as far as it will go, then pull it some more.

Brilliant!!!

[WingAdmin]

The later models of GL1500 have a cruise control computer that calculates the speed based on two inputs:

- Engine RPM
- Transmission gear position (specifically, 4th or 5th gear - won't engage unless in one of these two gears)

By switching the inputs for the gear position lines, you can make the cruise control computer think it is in 4th gear when it is actually in 5th, and it will therefore allow you to engage it at a higher engine speed - which means higher road speed.

As a result, you can engage the cruise while in 5th gear at up to about 100 mph. The other side effect is that you can engage cruise in 4th gear at only up to around 50 mph. You can get around this by using a couple of diodes (to isolate the incoming gear position lines) and tying both into the 4th gear cruise computer input:

Earlier models of GL1500 monitor the actual speedometer speed instead of the engine speed, so this modification does not work on them. I believe the change from speedometer monitoring to RPM monitoring was first made in the 1993 model year.

[agent86k9]

Thank you all for the responses, and very funny Rob H.
Thanks for the laugh.

[spiralout]

Thank you all for the responses, and very funny Rob H.
Thanks for the laugh.

That'd be Hoosier Jack to credit for the lols. That WAS pretty funny

[Rob H]

Thank you all for the responses, and very funny Rob H.
Thanks for the laugh.

Not my joke, belongs to Jack. I just thought it was a really funny post!

[BRIANINMAINE]

You go Mr. Brian,

Wait - not me I was just posting the value in the manual!