The Honda PCX / Forza / ADV150 / SH Forums

Hi
Recently test rode a brand new PCX 125 and must say I was very impressed. Compared with my Burgman it seemed so light and decent power for a 125. Have got my eye on a 2016 model with 4k on the clock. I've read all the reviews and seems like a smart bike for the money. I tend to service my own bikes just wonder if there is anything to look for as buying second hand? Am hoping a second hand bike will be cheaper still and run in so possibly more power than the 100 mile one I tested. Sad to see the Burgman go but looking forward to a new ride. Thanks

Slowinitdown wrote:Am hoping a second hand bike will be cheaper still and run in so possibly more power than the 100 mile one I tested

It won't have any more power and if it has some mileage on it will not have as fast a top speed due to belt wear.
The effects of belt wear is really noticeable on 125s, much more so than on larger scooters.
When I had a PCX it would indicate 67mph when new and after a year wouldn't get up to 60.
If you ever venture outside a city onto faster roads a PCX is a very long way from ideal.
Stick to city traffic and its perfect.

gn2 wrote:

Slowinitdown wrote:Am hoping a second hand bike will be cheaper still and run in so possibly more power than the 100 mile one I tested

If you ever venture outside a city onto faster roads a PCX is a very long way from ideal.
Stick to city traffic and its perfect.

Agreed

I've got a 2013 PCX 150, but my experiences are a little different to gn2's in that my belt was finally changed at 33,000km and would have done many more kilometers than that, even though it was showing cracks in non-structural areas.

In terms of non-city riding, I agree that it's definitely not over-powered, but mine will sit at wide open throttle all day and not hold up traffic (mine is the 150 model though, so a touch more power). I think it depends on just what speed you need; our open road speed limit is 100km/hr (62MPH) and the other day I rode 315km - passed 7 vehicles and got passed by 4. There's certainly nothing in reserve, but if you're not needing to do that often then I wouldn't worry too much about it; it's a trivial matter to pull over and let someone by if need be.

The speedo may - or may not - be accurate. I've heard of some that are spot on whereas mine over-reads by exactly 10%.

I've had - and read about - enough head bearing issues to make the start to think it's a weak spot with the PCX. When you take it for a ride, listen for a "clunk" coming from the head under abrupt front brake application (especially going down hill). You don't need high speeds to hear it - it's just the abrupt change of speed. You shouldn't be able to hear anything.

Some earlier models have a noisy rear driven face "clutch" bearing - it's supposedly sorted on later models, but apparently some still aren't 100%. With the bike on the centre stand (and engine off) - spin the back wheel by hand. Some noise is normal, but it shouldn't sound extremely rough (fix is easy and cheap though, so no biggie - and mine did 33,333km like that).

Other than that they're an exceptionally solid and reliable bike. 33,504 km as I write this, and still going as good as the day I bought it.

Thanks all doesn't seem to be much horrors to look for then. Luckily or sadly my commute is down from 20 miles each way to 3miles so top end isn't something I'm worried about. Appreciate your reply will update when I've bought it. Thanks

Good luck. Look forward to hearing how you're getting on.

Slowinitdown wrote:.... Appreciate your reply will update when I've bought it. Thanks

You have to post pics once you get it or it didn't happen.

It would also be nice if you would put your location in your profile so that we can better understand your situation.
As an example, you are speaking of a 2016 pcx 125, so we are guessing from that, that you are in Europe or the UK. But you could be anywhere except the United States, because there are no pcx 125s in the United States newer than 2011.

Downsizing can be a good thing especially if old age is creeping up on your riding skills or ability to ride in comfort. I thought I'd someday have a big touring cruiser but since they weigh over 800 lbs I found that to be a less desirable characteristic at this stage of my life. I'm beginning to realize that "less is more" sometimes.

PCX150Rider wrote:Downsizing can be a good thing especially if old age is creeping up on your riding skills or ability to ride in comfort. I thought I'd someday have a big touring cruiser but since they weigh over 800 lbs I found that to be a less desirable characteristic at this stage of my life. I'm beginning to realize that "less is more" sometimes.

Yep, thats me.

And sadly me too! Based in UK and will update profile along with Pics of the new ride once the deal is done. It's a decision now between a 4k 2016 at £1800 or a 100 mile 2017 model at £2'300. Tough choice.

I don't know what the first service would cost you in the UK, but if the '16 has received all its maintenance, it may be the better "deal". To the best of my knowledge (is TBMK an acronym yet?), the scoots are mechanically the same.

I've always serviced my own bikes. I think the dealership charges £125 plus parts so I'll be doing it myself. Speaking to the dealership they said it's had its first service and said service intervals of 2500 miles?? My main thing over the years and bikes is to keep good oil in them had an old CB500 once at 80k and although tatty the motor was spot on. All I ever did was the oil @ filter once a year. Pretty sure I'll go for the 2016 one just waiting for the guy to return from a long weekend away.

I can certainly understand slowing it down once you reach a certain stage in your life. I went down from a Burgman 400... which I loved ... to my present PCX 150 because I spend more time riding in town now than on the freeways. The PCX is more agile and much easier to find a parking spot for.

It is also quite easy to change the oil. It takes a minute longer to change when I pull the screen as well, but I don't do that every time, more like every other time. I just changed the oil on both bikes yesterday, just because I thought the oil was looking a bit dark, not because it was time.

I just changed the oil on both bikes yesterday, just because I thought the oil was looking a bit dark, not because it was time.

Hey Mel, I hear ya. I know Honda's recommended interval is 5k miles, but I'm a bit old school and that seems like a lot of mileage for 1 quart of oil and no oil filter, just a screen. I'm going to be doing mine at more frequent intervals than that, its easy to do and like you said.

Mel46 wrote:I can certainly understand slowing it down once you reach a certain stage in your life. I went down from a Burgman 400... which I loved ... to my present PCX 150 because I spend more time riding in town now than on the freeways. The PCX is more agile and much easier to find a parking spot for.

It is also quite easy to change the oil. It takes a minute longer to change when I pull the screen as well, but I don't do that every time, more like every other time. I just changed the oil on both bikes yesterday, just because I thought the oil was looking a bit dark, not because it was time.

For me it's not the slowing down. Or it might be and people are too polite to mention it. Or the weight. It's the angles that my legs can stay bent for a long period of time. Not on the scooter but my boxer cup. Probably it's my leg length.

Anyhoo I've bought a pedal bike to work on it.

Whitehouse my 3rd new pedal bike in my whole life

springer1 wrote:

I just changed the oil on both bikes yesterday, just because I thought the oil was looking a bit dark, not because it was time.

Hey Mel, I hear ya. I know Honda's recommended interval is 5k miles, but I'm a bit old school and that seems like a lot of mileage for 1 quart of oil and no oil filter, just a screen. I'm going to be doing mine at more frequent intervals than that, its easy to do and like you said.

Same here - doing mine every 4,000KM since new. I'm also using it as an opportunity to track oil burn to give me a bit of a heads-up on engine wear. I put exactly 800ml in, and measure how much comes out 4,000KM later (as best I can) - so far burned 60ml and 70ml on the two occasions that I've measured it.

Dealer disagrees with the need, but to my eye, the oil looks ready to be changed by then.

Been looking at some of the how to videos on YouTube and bit taken back by the valve check/adjustment and how much plastic you have to remove to get to it. The 4k bike will soon be on 5k miles so that check is on the cards. Agonising over pros and cons to each bike. Apart from a CBR 600 when I was 21 years old this is the most cash I've ever spent on 2 wheels. Wife says get the black one!! No help whatsoever

Slowinitdown wrote:Been looking at some of the how to videos on YouTube and bit taken back by the valve check/adjustment and how much plastic you have to remove to get to it. The 4k bike will soon be on 5k miles so that check is on the cards. Agonising over pros and cons to each bike. Apart from a CBR 600 when I was 21 years old this is the most cash I've ever spent on 2 wheels. Wife says get the black one!! No help whatsoever

Mine has done 32,000km since it's last valve check. I actually asked the dealer to do it the other day whilst doing some other work that I didn't feel like tackling, but it's the one thing he didn't get around to doing. He said it can damage the engine if they close up, but in the next breath admitted that "you usually hear that, and my bike sounded just fine".

I'd asked a non-affiliated dealer about the frequent and expensive checks and the answer I was given was "it's not a particularly high-revving engine and the clearance is unlikely to change and that he wouldn't worry about them unless something changed" (like the bike losing power or getting hard to start).

So perhaps consider having them done by the dealer, but less frequently than the book says?

PS: I subscribed to an online service manual - on the face of it quite a few panels need to come off, but on the flip-side, most of them are pretty easy to get off. Dealer can get them off - check/adjust - and get them back on in 1 hour - so possibly a job that seems worse than it really is.

TheMaverick wrote:

Slowinitdown wrote:
Mine has done 32,000km since it's last valve check. I actually asked the dealer to do it the other day whilst doing some other work that I didn't feel like tackling, but it's the one thing he didn't get around to doing. He said it can damage the engine if they close up, but in the next breath admitted that "you usually hear that, and my bike sounded just fine".

I'd asked a non-affiliated dealer about the frequent and expensive checks and the answer I was given was "it's not a particularly high-revving engine and the clearance is unlikely to change and that he wouldn't worry about them unless something changed" (like the bike losing power or getting hard to start).

PS: I subscribed to an online service manual - on the face of it quite a few panels need to come off, but on the flip-side, most of them are pretty easy to get off. Dealer can get them off - check/adjust - and get them back on in 1 hour - so possibly a job that seems worse than it really is.

Thanks Maverick that's reassuring to know. Doesn't seem like the engine would ever be overly stressed being a 125 and the Honda name has reliability stamped all over it, my 80k cb500 proved that! Don't know why I'm being so fussy over which one to go for. I travelled NZ many years ago, spent most of it working in Wellington. you have some stunning places I'd love to come back one day and ride. Scotland is the place to go for nice scenery and good rides here in the UK. Don't think I'll be doing it on a PCX though! Thanks