Front brake stopping power

[OldguyGlen]

I'm an old guy with many hours in the saddle on many bikes. So I'm familiar with braking under various normal/abnormal conditions. But I now ride super cautious and have not had to panic stop on my '80 GL1100 in the 4 yrs I've had it. I just upgraded front brake lines to braided ss, and was trying to evaluate the expected improved performance. I aggressively stopped from 30 mph on straight line good pavement, multiple times. I found I never could actually lock up the front wheel. I expected, and was alert to react, to at least a brief "chirp" from the front wheel. The bike stopped quickly, with a significant dip of the forks, but never locked up. So my question is... is this a Honda design feature, or are my aging fingers just weak on grip?? In the old days of drum brakes, some guys would adjust the cables to limit front brake forces to avoid lockup. But I always chose to have full capacity and control the force by hand grip. Disc brakes have no adjustment, so I assume this is the official designed system now.
Looking for comments about panic braking techniques, so I can mentally rehearse proper responses.

[WingAdmin]

I was never able to lock up my front wheel on my 1100 either, even after I installed braided brake lines. Close, but not quite. I was able to do it on my 1500, but it had much larger brakes on it.

[FM-USA]

Exact same for me on Admins post.
IF you grabbed the far outer lever you might be able to lock up the front, more fulcrum out there.

.

[newday777]

You 1980 has single piston calipers. You are correct, there isn't any adjustment.
My 83 1100 had 2 piston calipers and the only time I was able to get the front tire to chirp was after sliding on a painted lane marker and the tire hitting the pavement after it slid on the paint.
They are made to effectively stop the bike under control. It's not a sport bike that will do stoppies.

[FM-USA]

You 1980 has single piston calipers. You are correct, there isn't any adjustment.
My 83 1100 had 2 piston calipers and the only time ...

Might be able to upgrade with 'good' used parts.
Just curious, will the duel piston slave fit the single or will the slave cyl., mount & master need changing as a set?

.

[newday777]

Different mounting spacing so you'd have to make brackets

[Bike...and Dennis]

Are you using OEM or aftermarket pads? I noticed a BIG difference between the two when I tried (for a very short time) aftermarket.

[OldguyGlen]

I can't be sure. This was a barn find 4 yrs ago, with 20k miles. I replaced/restored almost everything, including seized brake calipers. The pads were nearly new so I reused them. I'm sure they were not the originals, but didn't take note of any identifying marks. I have no complaints about brake performance, but I have not encountered a need for a panic stop.
What pads did you find to be superior? Brakes are important!!

[Bike...and Dennis]

I only use OEM pads now. Absolutely nothing I've ever tried comes close to the overall performance of Honda's formula.