bikeypikey wrote:OK, I'll concede that it was my error but in so much as I should have taken time to learn the braking characteristics of the PCX before I needed to use them in a situation such as that.
Exactly my point.
bikeypikey wrote: I was really surprised by going down as I was only doing 8-10mph and it was completely unexpected.
Because you hadn't yet adequately familiarised yourself with your vehicle's braking system.
bikeypikey wrote:Traffic here is nuts with hoards of scooters and cars/trucks vying for the same space and many a time on my commute I have had to brake sharply (not "panic" brake).
Anytime you have to brake hard it's because you have not read the road ahead well enough.
bikeypikey wrote:With Honda's combi system, it would seem that instead of me thinking I was braking 50/50 or even 60/40, the system adds another 20 or so % to the front which was enough to overload the front tyre on the dusty surface and down ol' Pikey went. Guaranteed that is the only time that will happen!
Learning from a mistake. I like it.
bikeypikey wrote:I'll agree to disagree as was suggested and will even offer my apologies for my rant at you but when someone criticizes my riding, particularly from the safety of behind a keyboard, yes, it does get my back up......
Looks like we actually agree.
No apologies required, I fully understand why you would have been p'd off at me.
And for the record if we were down the pub chatting face to face over a beer I would tell you the exact same thing.
bikeypikey wrote:Moving on, initially looking at the front brake, there's 2 hydraulic lines but without taking the plastics off, it's hard to work out exactly what is going on. It's got to be a mechanical/hydraulic setup and I imagine removing the relevant hose and blanking it off at the caliper would do the trick.
Cheers,
Pikey.
There are two separate hydraulic circuits actuating three pistons.
The middle piston is controlled by the left lever and the outer two are controlled by the right lever.
If you look to the right of the ignition lock you will see a window for checking the combi-brake hydraulic fluid level.
When the left lever is pulled it actuates both the cable rear and the front hydraulic, rear first then the front.
You are correct, it does have a mechanical linkage.
When I started riding my PCX scooters and left hand brakes and the combi system were all new to me so I only used the left lever for a while to get familiar with what braking effort it had and how the lever "felt".
I then started adding some right lever front and found that when using both brakes together the required lever force on the two levers is somewhat uneven.
I suspect what has happened in your case is that you have pulled the right lever too hard.
Also for someone coming from regular bikes, the left hand lever force feels competely different to using a clutch so muscle memory comes into play, a bit like if you use your left foot on the brake in an auto car if you have learned and are used to manual cars.
As for total braking effort available from the PCX, there's more than enough, I would say far too much, so I don't think going without one piston would be a problem.
Apart from with UK insurance companies who would deem it to have invalidated your insurance if they found out.
Four decades on two wheels has taught me nothing, all advice given is guaranteed to be wrong