Add a Kickstand Interlock or Warning Light
The bike is a little too easy to push off the kickstand when it is in the down position. In the case of the XCT that does not use a starter interlock switch on the kickstand, this has its advantages if you forget to put the kickstand up, because it folds up the first time it bumps the ground while moving, and keeps the rider’s mistake from potentially upsetting the bike. However, a slight drag along the ground while parking the bike may also cause the kickstand to unintentionally fold up, possibly causing the bike to fall over. I would like to see the kickstand lock slightly more forward and more securely when it is in the down position, with the addition of a kickstand interlock switch commonly used on most bikes to interrupt the starting circuit. If not a starter interlock, at least add a flashing light on the warning light panel to alert the rider when the kickstand is down.
Cruise Control
The Cruise Control switches could be more intuitive. Operating the cruise control system was the only time where I found myself looking at the controls to find a button location. ‘On’ and ‘off’ being the far left control in the group (intuitively first) is good, but the second switch (in the center position) has the ‘resume’ control in the upper position with ‘accelerate’ below, while the third switch (positioned on the right) has ‘set’ in the upper position, and ‘decelerate’ below. This seems counter intuitive, as functions that should be paired vertically on one switch are paired horizontally on two different ones. A suggested change here would be to pair the button functions vertically as On/Off, Acc/Dec, and Set/Res, for a more logical and standard configuration.
When the Cruise Control system is engaged, the indicator lights up when the ‘On’ button is pressed and the ‘Set’ button is pushed, even though cruise control is not actually en-gaged until the set button is held for five seconds. While this is a good safety feature, having the cruise control indicator on the dashboard flash while the set button is pressed but before the cruise control function actually engages would leave no doubt as to when cruise control is actually operating. Also, reducing the required hold time for the ‘Set’ button press-and-hold period to 3 seconds would be long enough to assure that it wasn’t pressed by mistake, but short enough not to distract (counting “one thousand, two thou-sand...”) when riding.
Also, using the Accelerate and Decelerate buttons caused the throttle to react very quickly, often causing a bit of driveline lash when changing speed. This is especially true of the ‘decelerate’ button which, when pressed while riding on the interstate, made the bike react like the throttle had been snapped closed, dropping speed from 70 mph to 60 mph very abruptly, and in what seemed like a few seconds. A more gradual algorithm in the system here would make these buttons much less jarring in their use.
Tire Filling
A relatively minor issue is that the air valve on the back tire is difficult to reach without removing a saddlebag. While the saddlebag is very easy to remove and reattach, it’s not something a rider may want to do every time they want to check the air in the tires. Changing to a right-angle valve stem on the back tire would allow easier pressure check and air fill.