Cheers for that.. Pardon my ignorance but is the regen braking in effect when I use the GM supplied brake levers with the switch? I was planning on not using those as they look a bit ugly on my bike, but if braking performance is improved then maybe it's the way to go...
Wayne,
On the magic controller, regen should work when the brake lever switch is activated.
(But it does not work with all batteries)If you are not using brake levers with switches, you have no power cutoff.
Braking must cut the power to the motor for motor protection, safety and legal reasons!
Imagine the following scenario:
You're using full throttle to get to the top of a steep hill. As you go over the top and start to descend the other side of the hill you release the throttle. The bike continues to accelerate down the steep hill until you suddenly realise the throttle is stuck on full. So you apply the brakes, but because the motor is still giving full power, you have to pull really hard on the levers to try and slow down. Unfortunately you have to apply so much braking pressure that the front brake cable
(the frayed one you've been meaning to look at for a while, but never found the time to replace) finally snaps!
So now we have a
heavy bike going
very fast down a
steep hill with the motor on
full power and only a rear brake to try and stop with. Are you really going to be able to stop the bike with only the rear brake trying to overcome all those other forces?
If you then add poor visibility, wet/uneven road surface, a tight bend and oncoming traffic into this scenario, then the outcome does not look good.
The power breaking levers are supplied for a reason, so fit them and make sure they work correctly to ensure your bike is both safe and legal! (And make sure you always replace worn or faulty brake components immediately.) Unless your ambition is to become another accident statistic!
Alan