Charles, I am in the same boat, I would love to find an easy to use simple system.  There used to be a company that made a simple spring loaded flip activation system that replaced the throttle tension screw in the handgrip but, they are long gone. 

Sorry I can't put you on to a unit.  St.   

The US DOT outlawed the factories from fitting friction devices to throttles about 1973, and after that sales of the 3rd party "cruise controls" soon diminished as well. I only know of 2 ways to go at this point:

• You can fit the factory friction device (thumb screw with spring) to any Airhead throttle. (BMW pn 32 72 1 230 874 "Locking Bolt" $13) The US DOT made them leave the screw assembly off, but they never filled the threaded hole in the RH handlebar switch assy and so any rider can add the screw at anytime. What the screw does is thread in from the underside of the throttle-side grip and add a variable amount of friction to ease the work of the rider's RH wrist, which may become tired of holding the throttle open on a long trip. Since the adjustment is fully variable, the results (if the rider is super-sensitive in its application) vary from adding a little throttle help to full throttle lock. It does not directly address the pressure from the throttle return springs, it merely slows the rotation (in both directions) of the twistgrip itself.

• The real culprit here is that the Bing throttle return springs are far too strong. If you are properly lubricating and routing your throttle cables, then it's the aggressive spring pressure that your RH wrist is growing tired of fighting. Back in the late 1970's there were sources through BMWOA for lighter springs, but now those may be gone. However the same effect can be achieved by simply adding a short (~6mm) length of stout, 14ga mechanic's wire between the fixed mounting end of the spring and the spring's loop end. This has the effect of reducing the stock throttle return spring's force. Of course, you can get carried away and add too much length, and then the throttle will never fully close. Additionally, the wire you use should be stainless so that over many years the wire doesn't rust, snap and leave you with zero throttle return. So some modest degree of common sense must be used if you decide to experiment with this method.

In the end, I used a combination of both methods to great satisfaction. Reduced throttle return spring pressure coupled with added friction at the twistgrip allowed me to not only rest my right wrist, but make use of my right hand for various adjustments to the contents of my tank bag (like cell phone and associated wiring) without pulling over. 

Hope these ideas help.

I had a friend who was riding from Florida back to Newfoundland using a throttle lock. He fell asleep on the road and ended up in the ditch. He got away with a blown knee. It could have been much worse for him. I've never forgotten that and it's a lot of why I have never gone that route. 

I rarely ever use the screw adjust.  Sometimes it would be nice to take the hand off the grip for a short bit.   Just long enough to stretch.  St.

Ted Porter's Beemershop has EZ Pull Carb Return Springs for 40mm Bings. I've installed them on both my '84 R100's this winter but won't be able to assess their effectiveness until Spring. Others on Advrider have offered favorable observations which convinced me to give them a try.

https://www.beemershop.com/product/ezpull-carb-return-springs-low-effort-throttle-return-springs-40mm-carbs-see-below-for-fitment.html

Posted by: @16813

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I had a friend who was riding from Florida back to Newfoundland using a throttle lock. He fell asleep on the road and ended up in the ditch. He got away with a blown knee. It could have been much worse for him. I've never forgotten that and it's a lot of why I have never gone that route. 

Not exactly sure how you fall asleep on a motorcycle and NOT sustain serious personal injury. 

Don't want to downgrade the seriousness of your pal's accident, but how does the presence of a throttle lock makes leaving the pavement at speed any more dangerous ? At best it's a mitigating circumstance and not a primary contributing factor. 

I had times riding across the country when I dozed off on my old 750 Interceptor. What would happen is my hand would roll off the throttle and that would wake me up. Time to pull over. In his case the throttle was locked so nothing to wake him up. He's damned lucky he didn't die!

I've had Ted Porter's reduced tension throttle return springs on my 95 R100RT's 32mm carbs for about 3 years and 50,000 miles now. They work great, and I will never go back to stock springs. I also have the throttle friction screw, but seldom use it, because of Ted's springs. The springs also drastically reduce stress and wear on the throttle cables. Needless to say, I highly recommend Ted's springs.    

I bought the EZ return springs. Had them on for a while, then went back to standard springs. Maybe I didn’t give myself enough time to adjust, but, with the EZ springs it seemed too easy to move the throttle, and under bumpy,etc. conditions I kept giving myself a herky-jerky ride. Again, maybe I needed to adapt more - been a lot of years with those old springs.

I do use the throttle screw on long days, with just enough drag that I can take my hand off once in a while and shake it back to life. 

I have a 1970s era throttle control set up, if you are interested I can send you some pictures 

I spent this past summer touring half the country without a throttle screw and my wrist just about exploded at the end of every day from the wear. I would reach over with my left hand on straightaways to hold the throttle sometimes or was forced to re grip on longer days. I'm only 33 and a rock climber so I know it's not  my grip strength! The strain was real, even on shorter days when I needed to make mileage later in the tour.

The second half of the country I toured I picked up a throttle screw and the difference was astronomical. I tightened it pretty hard and did not find it problematic with overall throttle action in either direction. My wrist thanked me for that work. Bought it from EME in Denver while I was there and fitted it in their parking lot. I don't recall having any wrist issues on the second half of the tour.

I'd imagine that the throttle screw with the softer springs could be the best of both worlds in terms of an almost locked throttle without the dangers of a truly locked throttle as mentioned above.