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[Josh_Phillips]

Had anyone moved their rear brake to the handlebar like the Pike's Peak SR/F?  Trying to figure out what that would cost me.  It always made sense to me to put the break there since there's no clutch.

[JaimeC]

To play the Devil's Advocate here:

When you've been riding ICE bikes for DECADES you have a certain muscle memory that is not easy to recondition.  I learned that when I rode my first Maxi-Scooter.  As I approached a red traffic light my left hand automatically went for the "clutch" (in reality the BRAKE... please note the proper spelling... lever) and nearly bounced my face off the scooter's windshield.  Remember how one applies the clutch; you squeeze it in QUICKLY and slowly let it back out.  That is NOT the way you want to use a brake!

It took about a week of daily riding for me to finally GENTLY apply the rear brake instead of grabbing a fistful of it.  This is especially dangerous if you're used to squeezing in the clutch to downshift for a turn, by the way.

I think Zero had the right idea by putting the rear brake where the majority of riders EXPECT it to be, and leave the left handlebar empty to keep us out of trouble.  I see professional road racers are starting to experiment with a thumb-operated rear brake on the left lever.  That idea I like, because we don't have a counter-muscle memory for that action.  Then again, professional road racers never have to do panic stops, they just want to settle the suspension in preparation for a change of direction.

[Josh_Phillips]

Expectations are a poor justification.  Your hands offer better control than your feet.  If you need to use your rear brake (really? You spell checked me?  I bet you're super fun at parties...) while leaning into a right turn, a foot brake is clearly not ideal (same justification the Pike's Peak rider had).

If they are creating an entirely new type of vehicle, why limit yourself to the restrictions imposed by a dying technology that doesn't apply?  Why not just optimize your layout for this style of vehicle.  I have no problem going between a motorcycle, bicycle, and a scooter...  Just like I have no trouble going between an automatic and manual car.  I've never once slammed the brakes in a car with my left foot because I thought their should be a clutch.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

[alko]

I agree with most of what Jaimec said. Zero did it right. But I see no reason why you can't add a brake lever if that makes you feel safer.

[MrBlc]

Same here, i agree with JaimeC, Zero did it correct.

[nnelson65]

http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=4357.0   This thread kind of contains what you want... variable regen via hand lever control.  But it's executed on an SR, which has  a different controller, so the process of integrating the lever into the system is likely to be a different process. 

[TacoChrist]

Expectations are a poor justification.  Your hands offer better control than your feet.  If you need to use your rear brake (really? You spell checked me?  I bet you're super fun at parties...) while leaning into a right turn, a foot brake is clearly not ideal (same justification the Pike's Peak rider had).

If they are creating an entirely new type of vehicle, why limit yourself to the restrictions imposed by a dying technology that doesn't apply?  Why not just optimize your layout for this style of vehicle.  I have no problem going between a motorcycle, bicycle, and a scooter...  Just like I have no trouble going between an automatic and manual car.  I've never once slammed the brakes in a car with my left foot because I thought their should be a clutch.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

To each their own I guess.

I added the rear brake mod to my Alta and kept the rear brake pedal. It's easily doable and has been done on stunt bike setups forever.

It takes no time at all to adjust to what I'm riding when switching between my bicycles, ICE bikes, and electric with a rear handbrake mod.
Just hopping on the electric motorcycle alone is such a different experience from riding a normal moto that my muscle memory automatically readjusts.

As far as accidentally mashing the rear brake being dangerous? I don't think it's that dangerous. There's no situation I can think of where grabbing a fist full of rear brake expecting a clutch to be there would cause a situation that would not immediately be rectified by releasing the same lever.