The Honda PCX / Forza / ADV150 / SH Forums

It's a small Honda engine that is absolutely bulletproof. Generally the noises that people think they hear are just imagined, and yes a person of knowledge can listen to an engine and tell if the valves are out of spec enough that they need adjustment. I just turned 23,000 miles on my 2013 PCX150, have never inspected the valves, and still get 100+ mpg. To think EVERY technician at a dealership is as good at their job as a factory spec Honda tech is not realistic. If starting the engine becomes difficult, have it inspected. If mpg drop, check your tire pressure. Other than that, leave it alone and ride.

Having someone take all the tupperware off to inspect anything, reguardless if they find anything wrong or not, is where the labor costs come in. If you do your own taxes but take it to a CPA just for peace of mind and they come up with the same results, you still pay for their time.

scisor34 wrote:It's a small Honda engine that is absolutely bulletproof. Generally the noises that people think they hear are just imagined, and yes a person of knowledge can listen to an engine and tell if the valves are out of spec enough that they need adjustment. I just turned 23,000 miles on my 2013 PCX150, have never inspected the valves, and still get 100+ mpg. To think EVERY technician at a dealership is as good at their job as a factory spec Honda tech is not realistic. If starting the engine becomes difficult, have it inspected. If mpg drop, check your tire pressure. Other than that, leave it alone and ride.

Having someone take all the tupperware off to inspect anything, reguardless if they find anything wrong or not, is where the labor costs come in. If you do your own taxes but take it to a CPA just for peace of mind and they come up with the same results, you still pay for their time.

ex..bloody..actly

The problem is not that we heard some noises that we thought were strange and the dealer didn't . Even Dave could hear the strange noise, and when the dealer said that he listened to a new one and it sounded the same as my wife's I gave up trying to talk to him. I happen to be driving a new one and it is extremely quiet, while the one my wife has sounded like a bucket of bolts bouncing around even when we were just idling. We ended up taking off the belt, variator and clutch, I think. He cleaned everything, greased places that needed it, and swapped things from my bike to hers till we found out where the noise was coming from. Interestingly enough, the noise decreased but did not completely stop when we swapped parts. We did find that with my belt in her bike the noise went down considerably. After tightening the variator main bolt with my belt on her bike, it quieted down considerably. I can't recall if we kept the added spacers he had originally added or not, but in the end mine sounded quiet with her belt that had 8,000 miles on it, and hers sounded quiet with my new belt on it and everything tightened to spec.
Oh, and during all of this we all went for a short ride, trading bikes, and I got the great pleasure of riding his newly updated now 170 cc PCX! What a ride! I loved it. :-)

Mel46 wrote: I can't recall if we kept the added spacers he had originally added or not

I think we left one in. I'm not 100% sure though -- the drive faces were glazed and the clutch had a fair bit of wear, so disassembling and reassembling tightened things up, reducing the noise at least temporarily.

We concluded that the noise was either from the belt vibrating or the clutch. It's safe to say you can ride without worrying about any issues at this point, it's not anything that could cause you or Freddi or her bike any harm.

Greetings, I am fairly new here but I have a few thoughts to share and lots of questions.
First, Not long ago I did a valve adjustment on my now 1 year old PCX with 3900 miles on it. One valve was tight. The process of taking the thing apart had me crazy. I actually have two bolts in the storage box that are too short so I used longer ones somewhere else- ugh. The process had me looking at other scooters' maintenance requirements and considering a change. Yesterday I drove six hours to look at a used Forza. I had the money in hand BUT it would not fit in the truck with the tailgate closed so I did not buy it as I also need to take my scooter camping too- with a door that closes as I haul a travel trailer.

Has someone come up with an easier way to check the valves. What "sound" do you listen for when determining if you need a valve job. Obviously from the posts the 2500 mile interval is not critical. Finally, a secondary question, if MY usage cruising speed is 45-55 almost always, is the PCX the right fit for my usage or do I need a bigger engined scooter considering engine life and maintenance? I will be waiting for such responses by the second!

rodsterinfl wrote:it would not fit in the truck with the tailgate closed

So take the tailgate off.

rodsterinfl wrote: 45-55

Perfect speed for PCX

So take the tailgate off.

Nice idea but the problem is that for my camping supplies which accompany the "scoot" that poses a problem. The seller told me to leave it down and add a net or extension but that would not work with the travel trailer. The PCX fits perfect but oh, that Forza was nice (should be though for nearly twice as much). It was HARD to say no and drive home empty handed.

Ok, good to know about the cruising speed- uh, you live in Nottingham? Cool. You know I mean 55mph right? About 88kph. It would not want to push it too much- to an early grave per se. The PCX is nearly perfect for my commute and for camping. I am fighting with the seat as many are- bought an Airhawk DS using it for a week now.

Why not just ditch all the extraneous junk and go camping on the Forza?
I've been all round Europe on bikes with full camping gear loaded in a tankbag, a pair of throwovers and a rear rack.
In times when cash was low I've done it carrying everything I needed for two weeks camping on my back.

Why not just ditch all the extraneous junk and go camping on the Forza?
I've been all round Europe on bikes with full camping gear loaded in a tankbag, a pair of throwovers and a rear rack.
In times when cash was low I've done it carrying everything I needed for two weeks camping on my back.

Ha, love it. What an adventurer you are! This whole scooter thing for me started as a transportation at a campsite when I did not want to unhitch. That led to me commuting on the scooter and becoming a scooter nut. Good idea though.

Update on my PCX noise problem: We rode the bike to a different dealer yesterday and asked them to just listen to it. This is the dealer that I had purchased my particular PCX from, not my wife's. After listening to it and riding it, and then listening to mine, and riding mine ( knowing that I had the belt from her bike on mine ...which had 8k miles on it when we switched them), both mechanics...he called his fellow mechanic over to confirm his suspicions ...said they thought the clutch bearing was shot. We were prepared for a long ride when we stopped in, but they suggested strongly that we park it as soon as possible. We trust these mechanics. They have always been straight with us and have worked us in when they were booked up. In the end, we unloaded her bike and piled it all on mine. The we rode home 2 up, leaving the scooter with them and hoping our extended warranty would be valid at that dealership. They are checking into that also. If not, well we will just have to suck it up and get the bike fixed anyway.

Mel46 wrote:Update on my PCX noise problem: We rode the bike to a different dealer yesterday and asked them to just listen to it. This is the dealer that I had purchased my particular PCX from, not my wife's. After listening to it and riding it, and then listening to mine, and riding mine ( knowing that I had the belt from her bike on mine ...which had 8k miles on it when we switched them), both mechanics...he called his fellow mechanic over to confirm his suspicions ...said they thought the clutch bearing was shot. We were prepared for a long ride when we stopped in, but they suggested strongly that we park it as soon as possible. We trust these mechanics. They have always been straight with us and have worked us in when they were booked up. In the end, we unloaded her bike and piled it all on mine. The we rode home 2 up, leaving the scooter with them and hoping our extended warranty would be valid at that dealership. They are checking into that also. If not, well we will just have to suck it up and get the bike fixed anyway.

The cheque is in the post....

Mel46 wrote:Update on my PCX noise problem: We rode the bike to a different dealer yesterday and asked them to just listen to it. This is the dealer that I had purchased my particular PCX from, not my wife's. After listening to it and riding it, and then listening to mine, and riding mine ( knowing that I had the belt from her bike on mine ...which had 8k miles on it when we switched them), both mechanics...he called his fellow mechanic over to confirm his suspicions ...said they thought the clutch bearing was shot. We were prepared for a long ride when we stopped in, but they suggested strongly that we park it as soon as possible. We trust these mechanics. They have always been straight with us and have worked us in when they were booked up. In the end, we unloaded her bike and piled it all on mine. The we rode home 2 up, leaving the scooter with them and hoping our extended warranty would be valid at that dealership. They are checking into that also. If not, well we will just have to suck it up and get the bike fixed anyway.

Clutch bearing? Where is that exactly? The only bearing on there is on the end of the shaft and that should not fail for many many miles.
Most noise comes from noisy rollers, belt slap and also some valves ticking, it's impossible to have valves completely silent.

I can't tell you exactly where everything is in the mechanics of the bike, but I can say that we had swapped out every4hing we could between my new pcx and hers and the noise was still there. It got worse as time and miles went by too. We couldn't open the clutch casing to determine what was going on inside, but one thing that really bothered me was that if the you rolled the bike backwards while it was running the noise was really apparent. The sound was very much like a bearing that was bad. So now we will find out what is really going on inside when they take the bike apart.

Sounds like you've got dirt in the brake hub.

Really?? How would you get dirt in it? Honest question. The rear brake is drum. Do you mean inside the drum itself?

Mel46 wrote:I can't tell you exactly where everything is in the mechanics of the bike, but I can say that we had swapped out every4hing we could between my new pcx and hers and the noise was still there. It got worse as time and miles went by too. We couldn't open the clutch casing to determine what was going on inside, but one thing that really bothered me was that if the you rolled the bike backwards while it was running the noise was really apparent. The sound was very much like a bearing that was bad. So now we will find out what is really going on inside when they take the bike apart.

Hi Mel,

My 2013 pcx 125 makes the same noise, its like a whiring/grinding noise from the clutch casing as you say, it has been gradually getting worse, i have narrowed it down to the bearings inside the rear pulley(most likely) or rear wheel bearings. I have also spoke to a local mechanic over the phone regarding this and he said he has just replaced the bearings n the rear pulley for another pcx owner and this resolved the issue for him.

Mel46 wrote:Really?? How would you get dirt in it? Honest question. The rear brake is drum. Do you mean inside the drum itself?

There's always a small gap between the hub and the wheel which can allow dirt into the drum, also brake dust will build up inside.
In my experience with drum brakes on bikes, unpleasant noises aren't that unusual when the wheel is rotated backwards.

Just got off of the phone with the mechanic. I haven't been over there to look at the item itself but he said that it definitely was the bearing in the clutch assembly. Now I don't know where that is but he said that what he is seeing is not normal for the miles on the bike (10k miles). We have an extended warranty which should cover it, but if not then we will pick up the tab. Still, it is something to be concerned about, not just by me but by everyone who has a 2013 pcx. We are not rough on our scooters. In fact, we pamper them. Yes, we ride them on long day trips, but going 100 - 200 miles at a time should be nothing, and we don't do that every day, so they should be able to do that easily.

Thanks for the update Mel, according to the mechanic I've spoke to the new bearings he will be fitting are upgraded so this should not happen again. if this problem is happening to a lots of 2012-13 owners that tells me it's possibly a design fault? My warranty has gone now anyway so don't think honda can help me out but I will give em a try anyway.