Atlas Throttle Lock
It’s no secret, I have a huge amount of love for my plucky 2016 Honda CB500X (check out my review here), but it isn’t without it’s compromises and shortcomings. One of those for me is the lack of cruise control. Even the fancy new 2022 model lacks ride by wire, modes and indeed cruise, and so it should, the CB is all about dependable, affordable adventuring and arguably the CB does that better than most.
That’s where the Atlas Throttle lock comes in. Now of course throttle locks aren’t anything new, they’ve come in many shapes and styles over the years but rarely with any great degree of success (in my experience). The principle is simple, some kind of mechanical lock that holds the throttle in a set position, not so much fixing the road speed but holding the engine speed. After coming across the Atlas on various reviews, in particular this article by ABR (Adventure Bike Rider) and a full review by ultimatemotorcycling.com I was persuaded to give it a try.
Those reviews do a great job of outlining the details that make the Atlas so good. But safe to say this is a beautifully engineered and well put together product. From the outset I was massively impressed by the strength of the mechanism, versatility of the design and the robustness the the product as a whole.
After nearly 10,000 miles of riding here’s how I found the Atlas in action:
Fitting + Setup
I would describe fitting the Atlas as fiddly not difficult. The most time consuming part was deciding where to position it vertically so as to keep the buttons in easy reach at motorway (or highway) speeds. All in it probably took less than 15 minutes with a little fettling after my first few rides once I got a sense of exactly where I wanted it positioned.
Worth noting the Atlas is available in 2 kit variations, top and bottom. The top version has the bulk of the mechanism above the bars and conversely the bottom kit has the mechanism below. The Atlas website has a handy list of which version is suited to different bikes. The CB can utilise both but due to my heated grips I opted for the top kit.
The large buttons give an extremely satisfying click when engaging/disengaging the Atlas and once in place it does a good job of holding the throttle with only slight slippage in the rain or on bumpier road surfaces. The unit works by friction holding the throttle in place against the fixed control pods of the bike via a sticky pad attached to a locking tongue on the Atlas. The CB500X isn’t ideal as the control pods are relativly small and a very rounded meaning there’s only a small contact area for the grippy pad however this doesn’t prevent it from working extremely well. That being said a bike with larger or squarer control pods will probably perform even better. The kit comes supplied with various thicknesses of grip pad to ensure a good fit for your bike and in hindsight the hold might be better on my CB with a slightly thicker pad (something I intend to try soon).
On the Road
In practice the Atlas serves a couple of really useful functions. The first is the most obvious, allowing me to rest my throttle hand on longer journeys, in particular motorway slogs. It does this really well, get up to speed lock the Atlas and then adjust slightly to maintain the desired speed. The fact the Atlas works via friction means the throttle remains movable both in the event of an emergency and for fine tuning speed.
The second big benefit I’ve discovered is in those inevitable moments when you need to quickly adjust a mirror, reposition a glove or faf with something. Assuming the road is safe ahead you can lock the throttle, free up your right hand for whatever adjustment you needed to make clicking it off once done, super simple and extremely useful. In fact I’d dare say this is my favourite benefit to having the Atlas fitted to my bike.
Durability
After 10,000 miles in all weathers from a summer of heat waves to snowy commutes the Atlas has performed really well and looks as good as new. I had assumed the friction pad would thin over time but I can’t see any evidence of that yet and even if it does the kit came with several so I’m set for many miles to come.
Summary
Not long after fitting the Atlas I posted a picture of it on instagram with the caption “Probably the best motorcycle product I’ve bought” and I think 10k miles in I still agree with that. It’s a product that just works, does a job every day that makes riding that bit simpler and I’m not sure you can ask more than that.