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[officialhopsof]

anyone have any experience installing a left hand rear brake on my MY15 FX? I have a kit but I have no idea where to plug all this stuff up at, specifically since I would like to keep the ABS and the foot brake lever if I can.

[Killroy]

Did you search around?  I would love a left hand brake.  I hate the foot brake.  I would rather put the balls of my feet on the pegs and if I do that I can't reach the foot brake.  I think it is easier to control 2 levers rather than one lever and one pedal.  I would even consider putting the front brake on the left since I come from bike riding.

You would need redundant brake light switches possibly.  Depending on your routing ABS may not be a problem.  The only problem to solve is stacking the brake lines on the rear brake master cylinder and getting the pressure sensor to function and fit.  This probably makes no since without a diagram and a picture. 

Why do you have redundant brakes? 

[firepower]

Some have used left lever to trigger varisble max regen which acts same as rear brake, no need to mess with rear brake hydraulics. But you do need to program motor controller to do this and use a transducer to tell motor controller how much brake pressure you are applying by lever. Added advantage is adding charge to battery.
http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=4357.0

[grmarks]

Some have used left lever to trigger varisble max regen which acts same as rear brake, no need to mess with rear brake hydraulics. But you do need to program motor controller to do this and use a transducer to tell motor controller how much brake pressure you are applying by lever. Added advantage is adding charge to battery.
http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=4357.0

I can't understand why Zero don't offer this as an accessory (fitted by the dealer).

[firepower]

Harlem at Hollywood electrics may be open to developing a kit. These seem to push the tech and often Zero will add it to there bike later. As they did with the 660amp controller upgrade becoming the SR model.

[odedmaz]

Is it legal as far as insurane liability and so on?
Changing the manufacter's braking system may be legally problematic, in case of an accident for example.

Sent from my LG-D802 using Tapatalk

[grmarks]

I would think you could argue it's not a brake, thats by your right foot and has no need to be altered. It's an energy recovery system!  An exhaust brake on a truck is in addition to the normal brakes as this would be.

[Cortezdtv]

Get a hose shop make a 3 way hose then leave the abs alone
H
Just tell them it's 2 in 1 out (2 master) 1 slave

Should be basic for the shop to make..... Bleeding them together to function properly would be somewhat tricky.... Probably hardest part about the whole thkng

[Killroy]

In another thread, the Vectrix two way "throttle" / regen brake was mentioned.  That seems like the way to go. 

My ideal control set up would be:
1. Vectrix two way "throttle"
2. Left front brake
3. Right rear brake

[Manzanita]

Since custom-ordered stainless steel brake line is done by many shops, and fitting two lines into one with a double banjo bolt is not unusual ( http://www.amazon.com/dp/B015E82CEE ), and left-handed brake master cylinders are readily available ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/281778851797 ), I see nothing stopping me from just putting it together and having it work... right?    The one open question is whether the master cylinder/brake lever assembly will easily fit onto the left bar given the headlight switch. A cheap experiment, I will try it out, I mean, they're only brakes, right? 

As I have posted elsewhere, I have had my front brakes complete fail (overheat), and I really haven't gotten much better at using the rear brake, very hard to get a good feel to prevent locking the rear, so this sounds like a reasonable alternative. I am used to having two brakes on a mountain bike, however the positions are swapped (rear brake is right side lever on a bicycle). However, since you primarily use the rear brake on a bicycle, both bicycles and motorcycles have the primary braking on the right side.

[togo]

"In another thread, the Vectrix two way "throttle" / regen brake was mentioned.  That seems like the way to go.  "

I have a Vectrix, and using the throttle for regen braking is cool but a user-interface problem.

You get in the habit of twisting backwards to slow, but it only goes so far, and you need to mentally switch gears to apply the friction brakes, not a good thing to expect of a rider in emergency-stop situations. 

I tell people that to be safe on a Vectrix, you need to repeat to yourself that the throttle is for controlling speed, but do not not not think of it as braking.  The levers are for braking.

All that said, I have added left-hand-braking to my 2014 Zero SR, and I love it.
(1) I can keep the bike from rolling downhill with either hand.
(2) I can position my feet wherever.

Tony

[kingcharles]

"In another thread, the Vectrix two way "throttle" / regen brake was mentioned.  That seems like the way to go.  "

I have a Vectrix, and using the throttle for regen braking is cool but a user-interface problem.

You get in the habit of twisting backwards to slow, but it only goes so far, and you need to mentally switch gears to apply the friction brakes, not a good thing to expect of a rider in emergency-stop situations. 

I tell people that to be safe on a Vectrix, you need to repeat to yourself that the throttle is for controlling speed, but do not not not think of it as braking.  The levers are for braking.

All that said, I have added left-hand-braking to my 2014 Zero SR, and I love it.
(1) I can keep the bike from rolling downhill with either hand.
(2) I can position my feet wherever.

Tony

I did over 50.000 kilometres on my Vectrix and loved the front brake and regeneration throttle combo! After a short period I could do max regeneration brake and full front brake at the same time (all right hand). Just do some practice brake tests for perfect technique.
Rear brake wasn't necessary because regeneration brake on the rear wheel was very strong. Applying rear friction brake combined with full regeneration could easily lock the rear wheel.
I only used the rear friction brake when stopped on a slope.

[Kocho]

Same here (although I only put a few thousand miles on my Vectixes). I got used to the regen/brakes combination. I keep grabbing for the left hand rear brake on the SR - and it is not there (just like folks used to gears tend to look for the clutch lever). I am gradually adapting and I am sure I will forget about that soon enough.

My only concern with dual hand brakes has been if I will be able to differentiate between the front and the rear in a panic situation and modulate them accordingly. On the Vectrix there is no ABS, and I have locked-up the rear quite a few times, but no accidents. With the SR the ABS should take care of that, so I see no downside for street riding - I have thought myself to almost always place both feet on the ground equally when at a stop and having to use a foot brake now feel unnatural to me from that perspective - I still want to put both my legs down, but because I've been using the foot brake to almost a complete stop, now I have to let it go and focus on the front brake exclusively to keep me in place...

[Manzanita]

All that said, I have added left-hand-braking to my 2014 Zero SR, and I love it.

Tony, so can you share the details on how you implemented this? You installed a dual banjo bolt on the rear caliper and have two brake lines running from it?

I measure about 66 inches for a brake line from the rear caliper banjo bolt to the (hypothetical) left lever master cylinder banjo bolt.

Thanks,

-Alan

[Manzanita]

Since custom-ordered stainless steel brake line is done by many shops, and fitting two lines into one with a double banjo bolt is not unusual ( http://www.amazon.com/dp/B015E82CEE ), and left-handed brake master cylinders are readily available ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/281778851797 ), I see nothing stopping me from just putting it together and having it work... right?    The one open question is whether the master cylinder/brake lever assembly will easily fit onto the left bar given the headlight switch. A cheap experiment, I will try it out, I mean, they're only brakes, right? 

As I have posted elsewhere, I have had my front brakes complete fail (overheat), and I really haven't gotten much better at using the rear brake, very hard to get a good feel to prevent locking the rear, so this sounds like a reasonable alternative. I am used to having two brakes on a mountain bike, however the positions are swapped (rear brake is right side lever on a bicycle). However, since you primarily use the rear brake on a bicycle, both bicycles and motorcycles have the primary braking on the right side.

So I just put it all together and it works fine. So simple to do. The hardest part was bleeding out the new line--I made a mess but I just needed some clear line to drain off the nipple into a container. Important note: the J-Juan banjo bolt is 10mm x 1.00 threading (not 1.25).... I actually have it hooked up direct from the left lever/master cylinder without the rear brake pedal connected to the line, but I will hook up both when I get the correct double banjo bolt. I guess a totally complete install would need the brake light switch connected, which should be simple.

What's it like? Well, the lever does not have great feel, but just having it a hand versus foot control is a huge improvement in control and modulation. I definitely feel like I have more total  stopping power and can lock up the rear without using the front brake. Most importantly for me, I can easily use the rear brake to scrub off speed and won't have to worry about the front brakes overheating. Yes, all things you can do with the rear brake pedal, I know... but just easier and less to think about, especially if you're an old bicyclist.
 
The custom stainless steel brake line was 66" long with flat connectors in a 90 degree orientation (relative to each other), I routed it up the right side of the battery inside the body, no problem. I got it from G&J aircraft (Los Angeles area) (909)986-6534. It was $34 plus shipping. The master cylinder was straight from my link above, although it is not a good visual match for the OEM right master cylinder (it's bigger), I'm sure there is a left lever/MC that is a better match. A smaller MC piston (10-13mm) would give better feel as well. So basically with a bottle of brake fluid it was about $60 and 1-2 hours labor.