[BrianG]

Yeah, you really have to know HOW the tranny works.

The FOC simply eliminates the ability to shift into reverse, and all the associated parts (gears, optidrive, shift servo, linkages, etc). Even if you decide to use motor reverse and brake, you could keep those reverse gears in there; you'll just need to find a way to lock the shift fork. The FOC is nice because it removes rotating mass, weight, and simplifies the tranny internals.

The act of locking the tranny in second gear is what makes motor reverse and brake work. So, the FOC and tranny locking really have nothing to do with each other. If you don't do the FOC, you can lock the shift fork into forward but will still need to mod the shift clutch to lock it into second.