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2019 R 1250 RT Cruise Control

B

bmwgtl1600e

New member
When I am in cruise control I am not able to accelerate unless if I cancel cruse control. If this is the way the system works then I see it as a safety hazard. I have never had a motorcycle that worked this way before. Is this normal or should I have it looked at?
 
It's not normal.

When cruise control is engaged, opening the throttle causes the bike to accelerate. When the throttle is released, the bike returns to its previously set speed. Accelerating temporarily overrides cruise control. On the other hand, touching the brake or clutch disengages cruise control.
 
You really have to roll the throttle to match the speed. Disengaging cruise control without matching the throttle will cause significant engine breaking. When my wife is pillion, I will roll the throttle to match engine speed, sometimes a little more, to disengage the cruise with a brake lever activation (or manually turn it off at the switch) which allows me to control the de-acceleration rate more smoothly.

Yeah, it took a while to get used to it.
 
Mechanical cruise control works like your hand holding the throttle. There's a big honkin' mechanical actuator that pulls the cables, just like twisting the grip does. If this is what you're expecting, then the RT cruise control won't work the way you're expecting it to.

Throttle by wire, like on the 1200/1250 wetheads, means the throttle position is controlled by a stepper motor that gets its input from either the grip or the ECU. There's no mechanical connection involved, so when the CC is on, the grip returns to the "idle" position Until you roll it to match your speed, nothing will happen.
 
wbrownell9 said:
Mechanical cruise control works like your hand holding the throttle. There's a big honkin' mechanical actuator that pulls the cables, just like twisting the grip does. If this is what you're expecting, then the RT cruise control won't work the way you're expecting it to.

Throttle by wire, like on the 1200/1250 wetheads, means the throttle position is controlled by a stepper motor that gets its input from either the grip or the ECU. There's no mechanical connection involved, so when the CC is on, the grip returns to the "idle" position Until you roll it to match your speed, nothing will happen.
Click to expand...

Nicely explained. :thumb
 
Here's another thing that a lot of BMW riders don't realize - or at least mention about the cruise control.

In addition to activating the clutch or brakes to cancel the cruise control, if you roll the throttle off beyond it's current set position it will also cancel the cruise control and it does so without any clutch jerk or unnecessary brake lights - just normal engine braking. That's my preferred method of cancelling it.
 
Rainman48 said:
Here's another thing that a lot of BMW riders don't realize - or at least mention about the cruise control.

In addition to activating the clutch or brakes to cancel the cruise control, if you roll the throttle off beyond it's current set position it will also cancel the cruise control and it does so without any clutch jerk or unnecessary brake lights - just normal engine braking. That's my preferred method of cancelling it.
Click to expand...
I personally don't care for canceling it by rolling off. Take today for example: I was cruising at 71 (in a 70) and coming up slowly on the traffic ahead, which was going maybe 68 and slowing. I know it was slowing because I had been maintaining my position for several miles. My rearview told me there was traffic behind. Engine braking from that speed was way more aggressive than I wanted, plus I didn't want to surprise the car behind me to my possible detriment. I just wanted to slow down a little bit. So I matched the throttle to the speed I was going, and flipped the clutch lever enough to deactivate the CC without actually disengaging it. Then I could ease down a couple of MPH and hold my position, no drama. I like no drama.
 
wbrownell9 said:
I personally don't care for canceling it by rolling off. Take today for example: I was cruising at 71 (in a 70) and coming up slowly on the traffic ahead, which was going maybe 68 and slowing. I know it was slowing because I had been maintaining my position for several miles. My rearview told me there was traffic behind. Engine braking from that speed was way more aggressive than I wanted, plus I didn't want to surprise the car behind me to my possible detriment. I just wanted to slow down a little bit. So I matched the throttle to the speed I was going, and flipped the clutch lever enough to deactivate the CC without actually disengaging it. Then I could ease down a couple of MPH and hold my position, no drama. I like no drama.
Click to expand...

Well isn't that just great for you today. Glad you were able to control your bike the way you like. I was just pointing out another way the CC works.
Guess I asked for a reply like this because I indicated I liked it. My mistake.

Oh, by the way,... I don't like your way either. If your slow down was that non-aggressive I would have just bumped the CC set switch down a notch or two at a time and avoided all the drama, or, rolled off the throttle to disengage it and then just rolled it back on again to match a slow down that didn't startle the poor car behind you. Why screw around with the clutch? I also love no drama, and by gosh, I wouldn't ever speed like you were. Oh my. :dunno
 
bmwgtl1600e said:
When I am in cruise control I am not able to accelerate unless if I cancel cruse control. If this is the way the system works then I see it as a safety hazard. I have never had a motorcycle that worked this way before. Is this normal or should I have it looked at?
Click to expand...


Are you saying when you are on cruise, if you roll the throttle wide open nothing happens? Like the other post mentioned you will need to roll the throttle open to match the position the cruise is running so you will roll the throttle 1/4 turn or so, depending on your speed and engine load before anything happens.

On the other hand, if while on cruise you roll the throttle wide open and nothing happens there is a problem.
 
I'm just learning how to operate the cruise control on my new R1200RS, and I had noticed the engine braking when you roll off the throttle. Otherwise, it's an elegant way to disengage; I prefer not to touch the clutch or brake
lever, in cruise mode.

So this is a timely thread.
 
Last edited:
I used to a heavy flywheel Harley. Kill the cruise and the motorcycle slows gently. As most know if you kill the cruise on a RT it is like hitting the brakes. I have different methods, either just pull in the clutch all the way, coast a bit, the release it slowly, or roll on the throttle to match the twist grip position with the cruise setting, then tap the brakes or clutch to disengage the cruise. Also a tap or two on the cruise button to slow the bike a MPH or two if I just need to match speed of slower traffic.
 
Rainman48 said:
Well isn't that just great for you today. Glad you were able to control your bike the way you like. I was just pointing out another way the CC works.
Guess I asked for a reply like this because I indicated I liked it. My mistake.

Oh, by the way,... I don't like your way either. If your slow down was that non-aggressive I would have just bumped the CC set switch down a notch or two at a time and avoided all the drama, or, rolled off the throttle to disengage it and then just rolled it back on again to match a slow down that didn't startle the poor car behind you. Why screw around with the clutch? I also love no drama, and by gosh, I wouldn't ever speed like you were. Oh my. :dunno
Click to expand...
Somebody got up on the wrong side of the bed today.
 
Sometimes I roll the grip forward to turn off cruise then roll back on quickly to maintain speed. Do this fast enough and there is not much if any engine braking. You really don't have to roll on/off that quickly to keep her smooth.
 
craigjv4 said:
Sometimes I roll the grip forward to turn off cruise then roll back on quickly to maintain speed. Do this fast enough and there is not much if any engine braking. You really don't have to roll on/off that quickly to keep her smooth.
Click to expand...

That's how I like to do it too. It can be pretty smooth actually.
 
...do you's guy's know that by "very lightly" moving in the clutch lever... that the cruise dis-engages? You can't even call the action required... pulling-in.

Because your not affecting the actual clutch operation.
It's a recognition method for cruise disengagement BMW has built in to avoid brake action (and light) and the "OFF" selection.

Try simply matching throttle to speed and taking this step, you'll be impressed.

"travel'n" John
2015 GS
 
bmwgtl1600e said:
When I am in cruise control I am not able to accelerate unless if I cancel cruse control. If this is the way the system works then I see it as a safety hazard. I have never had a motorcycle that worked this way before. Is this normal or should I have it looked at?
Click to expand...

Did you ever get this sorted?
 
flyhi2cfar said:
...do you's guy's know that by "very lightly" moving in the clutch lever... that the cruise dis-engages? You can't even call the action required... pulling-in.

Because your not affecting the actual clutch operation.
It's a recognition method for cruise disengagement BMW has built in to avoid brake action (and light) and the "OFF" selection.

Try simply matching throttle to speed and taking this step, you'll be impressed.

"travel'n" John
2015 GS
Click to expand...

Right on, John. You just need to barely move the lever: the clutch doesn’t disengage, and you don’t have to touch the throttle. Super smooth.
 
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