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[ut-zero]

A general question for the engineers out there.  Is there a technical reason why it would not be possible to remove the rear hydraulic disc brake and tie variable regen to the foot brake?  Would it be possible to link variable regen to the front brake lever and remove the foot brake entirely?

http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=3744.0

[frodus]

There's no reason you couldn't get a pressure transducer and tie that into the regenerative braking input on the Sevcon, but there's a bigger issue.....

If the controller faults, you blow a fuse, have an emergency where either the kill switch triggers or contactor opens, you now have no rear brakes. That's not very safe.

I bet if you look in actual state and federal laws regarding motorcycle manufacturers, you'll probably find that they require mechanically actuated brakes. They can be assisted, or be ABS, but they still need to work when someone pushes on them.

Even as reliable as my motorcycle has been, I would NOT forgo having rear brakes, ever.

[ut-zero]

Even if there was an issue with regen while riding, the front brake is still independently providing 70-80% of your stopping power.  Could a controller not be built to make regen braking as reliable as mechanical braking?  I'm not concerned with antiquated safety laws.  Just curious if regen braking force could be made consistent regardless of speed, temps, state of charge, etc.

[bigd]

"70-80% of your stopping power." This is true but you still have the 20 - 30%  . I have used my back brake to get out of bad situations (rather have the back slide when hard braking on a corner). Also, in a short gravel I use back brake only. I know it is rare but I agree with Frodus "no rear brakes. That's not very safe.
"

[frodus]

It is possible to build a reliable controller, but what about the rest of the system (BMS, batteries, DC-DC, fuses, contactor, relays) that could disable regen? I've had one fault that have left me powerless while I was out riding one day over rough road, and I've had to restart. Same thing with people and the Zero controller glitch. What if we were depending on that regenerative braking when the fault occurred?

I'll stick with motor-braking and fully functioning front/rear mechanical brakes. I trust the reliability of the controller, but I don't know if something is going to happen and leave me without brakes, causing me to use the front brakes only and potentially cause an unsafe situation.

[kensiko]

Also you need a mechanical brake to keep the bike from moving at a stop.

[ut-zero]

is exactly what I was looking for.

[kingcharles]

is exactly what I was looking for.

That's awesome! Zero should hire this guy immediately!