I wouldn't hesitate to have the lever extended by a competent (certified) welder.
Does the '16 model-year have linked brakes? Since the C-ABS puts a 3rd piston up front activated by the rear pedal, you do not achieve full front braking performance without using the rear brake.Unless you're offroad, use your front brake most of the time and don't even worry about rear brake. Only use it when you need to, like starting off going uphill, encountering debris in the road, riding across gravels in a parking lot, etc. Otherwise, while on the road, front brake is where 70% of your braking power comes from anyways, that's why the front rotor is twice as big as the rear rotor. It's meant to be used, don't be afraid to use it!
The only USA models that definitely had linked brakes (with 3 piston front caliper) were the 2012 and 2013. I/we have tried to understand what the current C-ABS term means, and my conclusion is that it simply means the ABS is a single channel dumb system that can’t independently activate the antilock pulsing on each wheel. To me it sounds like Marketing tried to put a positive spin on a negative feature. The 2021 NC750X now claims to have 2 channel ABS.
There are only a couple of the older year models that have the 3 pot front caliper, like my 2013 model. It has it. My 2016 model, however, does not have a 3 pot caliper.
R, front only is likely enough for most situations, but that doesn't mean it's a smart or safe idea to avoid using the rear, let alone have it difficult/impossible to apply rear brakes, C-ABS or no.I feel the 70% rule still stands because it's a measure proportional to rear brake application, not a measure of the full force a single caliper is capable of exerting. No matter what, there's still 2 pistons compressing the pads as hard as you want to depress the lever. No?I was in on that previous thread about C-ABS. My understanding is that there is a proportional/delay valve inline with the rear pedal to progressively apply the middle pot of the front brake, possibly with a lower cut-off limit so a certain amount of rear brake can be applied with no front activation. This is just an accumulation of available media/marketing/etc. releases and no special inside technical information, so take from that what you will.
The only point I was trying to make is that your 70% power comes from the front brake is: a) an average brake bias figure under "normal" braking conditions, and b) not necessarily reflective when C-ABS gets thrown into the mix. It's possible that "full front-only braking" on a C-ABS model is giving perhaps only 50% of available brake capacity.
Not saying that 50% power is not enough, just saying the 70% figure is an "average" based on the distribution of brake forces when both are applied under "typical" conditions. Keep in mind it is possible to have 100% of your braking come from the front wheel if traction is good enough, even when applying both brakes (the "stoppie" is an extreme example). In situations with less traction, the brake bias tends to reduce because the tires will break traction with less load shift.
TL
Good to know, thanks! I will mostly likely go this route.
