Are your wrists tired after leaning over the bars on a long or short trip?

Got GenMars? Got HeliBars? Got rice? ;-)

Did you spring for the plastic throttle lock or the big bucks Throttlemeister?

Still not satisfied? Neither was I.

I used an 8" length of 1.5" PVC pipe for the vacuum canister, two NAPA #05703B-102 brass nipples (3/16" hose x 1/8" Pipe thread), and a NAPA 2 port check valve #730-1348. This is a Balkamp part.

After removing the gas tank, side panels, seat, and tool kit, install the servo unit and vacuum canister into the cowl behind the seat. All references are facing toward the front of the bike.

1. Connect a length of vacuum hose to the servo and one end of the canister. Leave enough slack to avoid pinching the hose.
2. Remove the cross brace tying the grab rails together. It’s held in place with 4-10mm bolts.
3. Gently work in the servo unit; I put it on the left side, resting on the existing foam pad. The vacuum nipple and wiring should face towards the center of the cowl.
4. Locate the Purple wire from the servo, and the white factory connector on the right side of the cowl. The connector will have a Blue, Yellow & Black wire. Connect the Purple wire to the Yellow wire. This is the brake light and will shut off the cc when the front or rear brake is applied.
5. Gently work in the vacuum unit next to the servo; it will be a snug fit, but it works. I put a piece of mouse pad around it to quell any vibration.
6. Run the servo cable down the middle of the frame, using zip ties to secure the cable housing where appropriate. Run the servo wires down the left side of the frame, connect them with the control unit’s wires, then stop at the steering head.

This part requires some creativity, trial fitting and patience. The bracket must fit under the gas tank, yet be tall enough to take up the slack in the servo cable.

1. Locate the supplied large ‘L’ shaped, and the 6" straight, brackets. Enlarge the holes in the straight bracket with a drill bit, making them the same size as the ones in the ‘L’ bracket.
2. Lay the ‘L’ bracket on it’s long side, with the short side up; bolt the straight bracket to the small end of the ‘L’ bracket, using 2 short bolts (not supplied) and with the rounded top up.
3. Locate and remove the 2 rubber grommets on the left end of the large, silver metal insulator plate. This horizontal plate separates the carbs and the intakes.
4. Bolt the ‘L’ bracket to the carbs side of the insulator plate, with the 6" bracket end up and toward the center of the plate.
5. Pass the servo cable through the hole at the rounded top of the 6" bracket. Bolt the cable housing to the bracket using the 2 supplied nuts on the cable housing end. DON’T OVERTIGHTEN THE NUTS!

I installed the servo cable to the inside of the factory bellcrank, mimicking the pull-action of the stock throttle cable, and ran the cable & bracketry on the left side of the bellcrank to avoid interference with the stock throttle cable. THIS IS IMPORTANT.

1. Loosen the pull/open throttle cable at the hand grip, creating slack in the cable. Remove the stock throttle cable barrel from the bellcrank. Gently spread the bellcrank sides apart to make room for another cable.

1. Locate the wire from the kit, which has a loop on one end and a fitting on the other end; two are supplied in the kit – I used the longer one. Insert the loop into the bellcrank, fit the stock throttle cable barrel through the loop, and reinstall the barrel. The barrel will secure the loop and allow the new cable it to travel within the bellcrank, alongside the stock throttle cable.
2. Hook the beaded chain to each end of the cables. I only used 3-4 beads, but the directions said to use at least 7.
3. Adjust the pull/open throttle cable at the hand grip back to the factory recommended tension.
4. Work the throttle to ensure both cables ride smoothly in the bellcrank. Lightly lubricate the cables, if necessary.

This step is required because the servo cable is too long, creating excessive slack in the line.

1. Carefully bend the previously installed 6" bracket into a "W" shape; watch the servo cable as the slack lessens. Stop bending when a small amount of cable slack exists. SUPPORT THE BRACKET/SILVER METAL INSULATOR while bending the bracket, as the insulator will flex. The top of the bracket should be at or near the same height as the stock push/pull cables, which are attached by brackets to the tops of the carbs.
2. Reinstall the tank and check the fit between the servo bracket and the bottom of the tank. Adjust the servo cable bracket as necessary.

Wiring the servo and control unit:

Nothing fancy here, just make good connections and grounds, keep the wires away from the spark plug wires, and heat. References are from the servo or control unit to the FJ. Decide where you want to mount the control unit; mine is on the left clip-on, but the left fairing is an option.

1. Back at the servo, attach the Black wire to a frame ground. I used an existing Phillips screw on the right side of the frame at the cowl.
2. Attach the Red power wire to the battery or other "always hot" 12v source. Install an in-line fuse (not supplied) for protection.
3. Attach the Blue wire (has a red tag) to the negative side of one ignition coil. Choices are Gray or Orange; I chose Gray. Do not choose the Red/White wire, as it’s positive.
4. Attach the Black wire from the control unit to a frame ground. I used the bolt holding the coils to the frame.
5. Attach the Orange wire to a switched-only 12v source. I used the Blue wire from the ignition switch.
6. Attach the Gray wire to a switched-only 12v source. I attached it to the Orange wire in #5 above.

The servo manages speed by reading pulses from the coil, and activates the servo cable with the help of engine vacuum. According to the Clymer manual, the ’84 – ’87 U.S. and ’84 – ’90 U.K. FJ has an ignition system boost control vacuum hose attached to the #2 intake vacuum port. However, my ’89 also has this, which means Clymer must be wrong (big news). Since more vacuum is better, I originally connected all 4 ports together while retaining the boost control hose on #2, but low end performance suffered. I ended up using the remaining 3 ports without any problems.

1. Combine the 3 ports, using plastic ‘T’ fittings.
2. Attach a vacuum line to the other end of the vacuum canister. Route the line down the right side of the frame.
3. At the halfway point, cut the line and install the emissions control check valve with the dual outlets facing the canister and the single outlet facing the engine. Cap off one of the dual outlets.
4. Attach the remaining line to the single ‘T’ from the combined 3 vacuum ports (see #1 above). Ensure all lines are secure.

Reinstall the tank, side covers and seat, then go for a test ride.

Don’t try to test the unit on the centerstand; the servo detects this and shuts down the cc.

Apply the front or rear brake to ensure the cc deactivates.

Enjoy!

James Ho