New Mexico couple invents motorcycle cruise control
Kathryn Holzka for the Journal - Nov 20, 2009

It’s an aftermarket device that attaches to a motorcycle’s throttle control or “daisywheel,” allowing the rider to position the throttle in place to relieve pressure on his or her throttle hand. Throttle Mate comes in two styles, one for a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and another for other manufacturers’ bikes that don’t come equipped with a daisywheel in the handlebar assembly.  

Lemoine said he started thinking about how to ease stress on his throttle hand one day about six years ago, when he and his wife were returning home on their motorcycle from a trip to Red River.

 “It was real cold and my right hand was really hurting,” he recalled in his Cajun lilt during a recent interview in Ruidoso, where they were attending the Golden Aspen motorcycle rally before heading off on a four-week trip to Quebec to visit the homeland of their parents.

 “I figured there had to be a way of holding the throttle in place so you could relax your hand and get the blood flowing again,” he said with a laugh.

 “He went straight to his workshop when we got home, and six weeks later he had the prototype ready to go,” Dianna Lemoine said.

Of course, that’s the short version of what turned out to be a lot of poring over the drawing board, testing, and selecting fabricators to put it all together. The die was made in El Paso and the mold for the daisywheel came from Denver. A machine shop in Roswell — New Mexico Machinery — was chosen to produce the aluminum thumb lever that attaches to the daisywheel with a stainless steel set screw to hold it in place. And another Roswell company, Alpha Omega, makes and prints the labels for the packaging.

Lemoine said his device has gone over big with bikers, who want the same throttle stress relief that he was looking for. High-end motorcycles offer an electronic cruise control system, he said, but it can cost upwards of $900-plus. 

“Throttle Mate is an aftermarket device that fits all Harleys and most metrics, is easy to install and costs a heck of a lot less,” he said.

It is easily adjusted and simple to over-ride, even when wearing heavy gloves, so the rider can quickly disengage the device and resume hand control, he added.

The Harley version costs $12.95, while the metric kits, which include the daisywheel attachment along with the thumb lever and setscrew, cost $17.95.

“We haven’t raised the price since we started selling them six years ago,” he said.

“And we’re proud to say they’re made in the USA, and to a lot of bikers that means a lot,” Dianna Lemoine added.

Not the sort to sit around the house, after moving to Roswell in 1997, Lemoine taught himself carpentry and started making antique furniture reproductions and did furniture refinishing and repair.

“People still come to the house asking me to make this or that, but I gave that up once we got serious about making and marketing Throttle Mate,” he said.

Today, the product is represented by 19 dealers around the country and the Lemoines spend half-the year traveling to motorcycle rallies and shows across the South and Southwest. Their Web site draws customers from across the country and from Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand as well.

When hitting the rally circuits each year, the Lemoines travel in style … in a 40-foot diesel motor coach, which serves as home and office while on the road.

Lemoine doesn’t hesitate to give his wife credit for the business getting off the ground and said they are “100 percent partners all the way.”

“I had the idea for Throttle Mate, but Dianna had the courage to make it happen,” he recalled. “Having an idea is one thing, but you have to have the nerve to follow through with it and I was scared to death.”

The couple finally decided to invest in the dream and tapped retirement savings to the tune of $25,000 before everything was in place and patents obtained.

“It was always Tony’s dream to have an invention of his own and he comes from a family of tinkers and dabblers, so I thought it was worth taking the risk,” Dianna Lemoine said.

The Lemoines celebrated their 48th wedding anniversary this year and have five grown children who live in Colorado. They also have a 2-year-old, a toy Yorkie named Rascal, who goes everywhere with them and thinks he’s the CEO of the operation.

“This has been a wonderful experience all around because we both love to travel and the business not only provides income but gives us the opportunity to travel around the country,” Lemoine said.

“It sure beats sitting around watching television,” he quipped.