The smoothest way of disengaging the cruise control is to roll the throttle forward past the stop
That may be; with a little practice to get just right. It's probably very "slick". However, it is not the safest way to do it. If you get it slightly wrong, or even VERY wrong, it can get messy. The trouble is that you train your brain in muscle memory and if distance becomes an issue, then it can quickly get away from you. It only has to happen once. Closing the throttle past the stop IS the safest way and, for most, the gentlest method. Triumph do this better and before a friend chimes in, I have only just learned that you can do the same on the GS. Triumph have a definite "overrun", whereas with BMW you have to apply pressure.
I have to say that I treat CC with extreme caution and I have certain "rules" of use. I think it's great when you're limited to, say, 50mph on a average speed section, for example (M4?) where uncannily everyone sticks to the exactly the same speed. Above 50 I will only use it if it's dry, and there are no more than 5 cars widely spaced before me, a state of affairs hard to come by in the UK. This is because that millisecond where you spot the danger ahead and close the throttle translates exponentially into valuable meters in the end. Whatever your chosen method of releasing the CC, it's never as immediate as closing the throttle and can easily de-stabilise you at a critical moment. Equally, I NEVER, EVER use it where there are bends of almost any radius; that really IS asking for trouble!! Try it on a climbing (or descending, even) bend section on an empty dual carriageway one day if you want to scare yourself; it will apply power exactly where it's instinctive not to! Very disconcerting.
Personally I'm not a huge fan of CC. That feeling when you close the throttle (or take your foot off an accelerator in a car) and the thing just keeps on going...... as I say: valuable meters lost!
A story: (bear with).
Last year, Asturias (northern Spain). I went for a day-jolly to Luarca. I took the back roads there and stopped for a coffee in Luarca. Whilst there it began to drizzle. As we all know, the worst time to ride is THAT moment, but it wasn't going to improve, so I decided that the motorway would be the safest option. I toyed with the idea of using CC for the 20 minute ride and decided against it, not least because it broke 3 of my cardinal rules: wet, bendy and undulating. When it rains, the paint on the tarmac turns into a skating rink and they have long thick (5m long) arrows painted before every exit. This arrow happened to be on a long descending left hand bend and I was doing 70 mph. Without warning the bike just slipped away under me. I didn't come off but it was very close and it's only because the off-ramp was there and therefore had somewhere to go that I didn't end up cutting myself in half on the sharp barrier. I hasten to add that I wasn't intending to take that particular exit.
I'm pretty sure that if I'd been using CC, it would have de-stabilised me. You may argue that the TC would have disconnected it, but I'm not convinced because the wheel didn't slip fwd or rearward, just sideways. If it were to disengage, it would have been in a way I wasn't ready for (because my brain wouldn't have given the order, and therefore not prepared me). In any event, I'm quite sure that it would have de-stabilised me further.
Lastly, that same incident happend the year before to a chap and his wife riding a Goldwing, literally 1km away from my where I had my incident but going the other way. Sadly, he was not so lucky and he did hit the barrier. His wife survived. I can't say if he was using CC, but it was a Goldwing touring on a motorway.... what do you think?
Ride safe, people.
I disagree that the method you use to turn off you CC is the safest, it has it's place of use if you are needing to reduce your speed suddenly, shutting the throttle is a reflex not easily overcome, so that method would come automatically.That may be; with a little practice to get just right. It's probably very "slick". However, it is not the safest way to do it. If you get it slightly wrong, or even VERY wrong, it can get messy. The trouble is that you train your brain in muscle memory and if distance becomes an issue, then it can quickly get away from you. It only has to happen once. Closing the throttle past the stop IS the safest way and, for most, the gentlest method. Triumph do this better and before a friend chimes in, I have only just learned that you can do the same on the GS. Triumph have a definite "overrun", whereas with BMW you have to apply pressure.
I have to say that I treat CC with extreme caution and I have certain "rules" of use. I think it's great when you're limited to, say, 50mph on a average speed section, for example (M4?) where uncannily everyone sticks to the exactly the same speed. Above 50 I will only use it if it's dry, and there are no more than 5 cars widely spaced before me, a state of affairs hard to come by in the UK. This is because that millisecond where you spot the danger ahead and close the throttle translates exponentially into valuable meters in the end. Whatever your chosen method of releasing the CC, it's never as immediate as closing the throttle and can easily de-stabilise you at a critical moment. Equally, I NEVER, EVER use it where there are bends of almost any radius; that really IS asking for trouble!! Try it on a climbing (or descending, even) bend section on an empty dual carriageway one day if you want to scare yourself; it will apply power exactly where it's instinctive not to! Very disconcerting.
Personally I'm not a huge fan of CC. That feeling when you close the throttle (or take your foot off an accelerator in a car) and the thing just keeps on going...... as I say: valuable meters lost!
A story: (bear with).
Last year, Asturias (northern Spain). I went for a day-jolly to Luarca. I took the back roads there and stopped for a coffee in Luarca. Whilst there it began to drizzle. As we all know, the worst time to ride is THAT moment, but it wasn't going to improve, so I decided that the motorway would be the safest option. I toyed with the idea of using CC for the 20 minute ride and decided against it, not least because it broke 3 of my cardinal rules: wet, bendy and undulating. When it rains, the paint on the tarmac turns into a skating rink and they have long thick (5m long) arrows painted before every exit. This arrow happened to be on a long descending left hand bend and I was doing 70 mph. Without warning the bike just slipped away under me. I didn't come off but it was very close and it's only because the off-ramp was there and therefore had somewhere to go that I didn't end up cutting myself in half on the sharp barrier. I hasten to add that I wasn't intending to take that particular exit.
I'm pretty sure that if I'd been using CC, it would have de-stabilised me. You may argue that the TC would have disconnected it, but I'm not convinced because the wheel didn't slip fwd or rearward, just sideways. If it were to disengage, it would have been in a way I wasn't ready for (because my brain wouldn't have given the order, and therefore not prepared me). In any event, I'm quite sure that it would have de-stabilised me further.
Lastly, that same incident happend the year before to a chap and his wife riding a Goldwing, literally 1km away from my where I had my incident but going the other way. Sadly, he was not so lucky and he did hit the barrier. His wife survived. I can't say if he was using CC, but it was a Goldwing touring on a motorway.... what do you think?
Ride safe, people.
