across the US and back on the PCX125... my experiences

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pozo
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Re: across the US and back on the PCX125... my experiences

Post by pozo »

Thank you for the kind words. Below are a few more travel pics of this ride, which include some of the signage along the way. I tried to take a "welcome" picture of every state I crossed, but the signs along some of the back roads were not always there...

To anyone who thinks that long-distance touring is impractical on a 125cc scooter, I would suggest otherwise. Not only is it practical, but actually quite ENJOYABLE. With the right mods, the PCX can take on just about anything. And considering it is fuel-injected, water-cooled, and has no chain to maintain, it is in some ways the ideal lightweight touring bike. (With my 1.25 gallon jerry can underneath the seat, the effective range extended to over 250 miles.)

This little bike is a joy to ride. In fact, if I didn't have had to get back to work after the trip, I would have just kept on riding...
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dustin91
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Re: across the US and back on the PCX125... my experiences

Post by dustin91 »

Oh man, I'm starting to get some ideas the wife will not like... :lol:
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Darth Emma
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Re: across the US and back on the PCX125... my experiences

Post by Darth Emma »

Did you ride with a group? Did you camp or stay in hotels?

This thread is going to be epic! Thanks for sharing your adventure.
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Re: across the US and back on the PCX125... my experiences

Post by Scottish »

Yes curious to know if you used a tent and if so which one ?
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Re: across the US and back on the PCX125... my experiences

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Darth Emma wrote:Did you ride with a group? Did you camp or stay in hotels?

This thread is going to be epic! Thanks for sharing your adventure.

Thanks. All of the ride was solo, but I had tremendous support along the way from the other Cannonball Run riders. Even with such a big rally, one ends up riding alone most of the time. (This is expected, as scooters leaving at the same time eventually spread out due to different speeds and riding skills.) As I had one of the smaller cc bikes for the rally, I would leave a few hours before everyone else...

But here is the surprising part: for all those miles, during all those days, I was NEVER BORED. In fact, I had brought an iPod with music and books-on-tape for I what I thought would long, grueling days on roads that seemingly stretched out to infinity, but actually used it for about an hour one day, and never used it again. I felt it actually got in the way of enjoying the scenery!

For this trip, I stayed in hotels (credit-card camping). Due to the nature of the rally, it wasn't practical to camp each night. I didn't pack any camping gear, but most of the motels/hotels I stayed were outside big cities and were relatively cheap ($45-75 per night).
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Re: across the US and back on the PCX125... my experiences

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Scottish wrote:Yes curious to know if you used a tent and if so which one ?
I didn't use a tent on this trip, but have been motorcycle camping a few times (on a bigger BMW). I use one of the REI backpacking tents (something like the Kelty Salida Tent 2) which has a lot of ventilation, is lightweight, and packs up rather compactly. They are a little bit more than your average Walmart tent (the REI is about $160) but works really for lightweight traveling.
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Re: across the US and back on the PCX125... my experiences

Post by Leethal88 »

Man this thread is awesome, I'd love to go on those kind of adventures... Maybe next year when it gets warmer out again!
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Re: across the US and back on the PCX125... my experiences

Post by Driller »

What a great adventure. Thanks for the report and pics.
You were able to easily fit the bike out for a long ride. Nicely done!
I have been itching to take a long tour on a small bike. Have been trying to decide between my PCX or a Fly150 that recently came to me. All things considered, the PCX will most likely get the pick. ;)
Cheers!
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Re: across the US and back on the PCX125... my experiences

Post by Gossamer »

Hi Pozo, that is one amazing endurance trip.

I am across the other side of the world in NZ, just got my PCX for commuting and have wondered what it would be like for touring. I have another ride (Ducati 696) that I have used for trips around most of the country and my riding buddies have given me a heap of crap whenever I mention touring with the PCX. I should do a long trip on the PCX (when it has run in) just to prove them wrong. Great write-up and thanks for mentioning the mods on the bike, will bear them in mind when I plan my tour rides on the PCX.

Cheers.
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Re: across the US and back on the PCX125... my experiences

Post by gokidd »

Great adventure, BRAVO!
Did you need to pull to the shoulder of the road to let faster traffic pass?
Thanks for sharing this.
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Re: across the US and back on the PCX125... my experiences

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Here is a list of the states I visited on the 21-day trip, in order. (The states Georgia through California consisted of the Cannonball Run). I basically came back east through part of Route 66 and US 50.

Maryland
Virginia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Georgia
Alabama
Mississippi
Louisiana
Texas
New Mexico
Arizona
California
Nevada
Utah
Colorado
Kansas
Missouri
Illinois
Indiana
Ohio
West Virginia
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Re: across the US and back on the PCX125... my experiences

Post by pozo »

Crossing the Continental Divide in Colorado on the PCX... At just a little over 11K feet, the programmed fuel-injection worked great! (Other carburated bikes were choking at these altitudes.) Sure, the steep climb reduced the speed to the mid 30's and even 25mph at a couple of spots, but I was also carrying about 70lbs of cargo, and I am about 210 myself...
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Re: across the US and back on the PCX125... my experiences

Post by logepoge1 »

pozo wrote:Here is a list of the states I visited on the 21-day trip, in order. (The states Georgia through California consisted of the Cannonball Run). I basically came back east through part of Route 66 and US 50.

Maryland
Virginia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Georgia
Alabama
Mississippi
Louisiana
Texas
New Mexico
Arizona
California
Nevada
Utah
Colorado
Kansas
Missouri
Illinois
Indiana
Ohio
West Virginia
What part of louisiana you go through? Just I-20?
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Re: across the US and back on the PCX125... my experiences

Post by pozo »

logepoge1 wrote:
pozo wrote:Here is a list of the states I visited on the 21-day trip, in order. (The states Georgia through California consisted of the Cannonball Run). I basically came back east through part of Route 66 and US 50.

Maryland
Virginia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Georgia
Alabama
Mississippi
Louisiana
Texas
New Mexico
Arizona
California
Nevada
Utah
Colorado
Kansas
Missouri
Illinois
Indiana
Ohio
West Virginia
What part of louisiana you go through? Just I-20?
Basically 84 and 6 (passing through Winfield, Louisiana). I started to draw out an approximate route on Google Maps and will post it shortly.
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Re: across the US and back on the PCX125... my experiences

Post by pozo »

Gossamer wrote:Hi Pozo, that is one amazing endurance trip.

I am across the other side of the world in NZ, just got my PCX for commuting and have wondered what it would be like for touring. I have another ride (Ducati 696) that I have used for trips around most of the country and my riding buddies have given me a heap of crap whenever I mention touring with the PCX. I should do a long trip on the PCX (when it has run in) just to prove them wrong. Great write-up and thanks for mentioning the mods on the bike, will bear them in mind when I plan my tour rides on the PCX.

Cheers.
Thanks! I would love to tour NZ one of these days --it is a beautiful place.

You should definitely plan your tour on the PCX! It would be a lovely way to see your country. Don't worry about your riding buddies on the big bikes --when they see how much fun you are having, they will probably want one too.

Rest assured, parked in my garage, right next to the PCX125 is a Candy-Apple Red Honda ST1300... ;-)
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Re: across the US and back on the PCX125... my experiences

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gokidd wrote:Great adventure, BRAVO!
Did you need to pull to the shoulder of the road to let faster traffic pass?
Thanks for sharing this.
Thanks! To answer your question about pulling over: surprisingly, not really! Most of the trip was through back roads in rural areas, with often no sight of cars within miles. Even on US 50 the traffic was surprising light.

Generally speaking, if I ever see a row of cars behind me, I will pull over (when it is safe) and let them by. But after 20K+ miles of scooter riding, this happens very rarely. (It was more of an issue on my previous scoot, a Honda Metropolitan, which could only reach 35-40mph.) Typically what happens is that a car will follow you for a few minutes before realizing it has plenty of room to pass on by. In some cases, I temporarily ride on the right-hand side of the lane to make this clear. If that doesn't work and they're still following me, I gesture with my left hand a polite and gracious sweeping motion (so they know I'm not upset) and that always works. But again, I have only needed to this two or three times ever...
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Re: across the US and back on the PCX125... my experiences

Post by logepoge1 »

pozo wrote:
logepoge1 wrote:
pozo wrote:Here is a list of the states I visited on the 21-day trip, in order. (The states Georgia through California consisted of the Cannonball Run). I basically came back east through part of Route 66 and US 50.

Maryland
Virginia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Georgia
Alabama
Mississippi
Louisiana
Texas
New Mexico
Arizona
California
Nevada
Utah
Colorado
Kansas
Missouri
Illinois
Indiana
Ohio
West Virginia
What part of louisiana you go through? Just I-20?
Basically 84 and 6 (passing through Winfield, Louisiana). I started to draw out an approximate route on Google Maps and will post it shortly.
Going through Winfield now in way to car show
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Re: across the US and back on the PCX125... my experiences

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Thanks everyone, for your kind words. I hope my experiences are helpful to those planning long trips on the PCX, or just curious to see how it was done...

I wanted to share a close-up of my "cockpit" to illustrate the setup I used on the PCX for the endurance rally.

I had two 12V power ports installed so I could run a GPS (the Garmin Nuvi 550) and an optional iPhone or camera. (I used RAM mounts to support the GPS and ran a USB cable directly into the ports.) The Nuvi works well, but I never have cared for Garmin's software interface --find it rather clunky. Nevertheless, Garmin is the de-facto standard in motorcycle GPS's so, it is what it is...

Also pictured is the Bell Jumbo LCD clock. This is about $6 at your local K-mart and attaches perfectly in the center mount (Velcro) and looks like it was tailor-made for the PCX. I like the big numbers so the time is easy to see.

Next to the clock is another Bell product (originally intended for bicycles): the Clinch 300 cup-holder. Again, this is a cheapo accessory found in most K-marts, or Walmarts, but I can't stress enough how IMPORTANT this is. One needs to drink plenty of water while on the road, and after trying camel-backs and various hydration systems found that a simple cup-holder, holding a large, insulated water bottle, is the most effective solution. It actually encourages me to drink more often. And I do this without stopping: I flip my modular helmet up, take a few swigs, and continue on down the road. Out of sight in the photo, in between the space between the Givi windshield and dashboard is a good spot to store extra water bottles for the road.

Finally, the lettering across the windshield isn't Graffiti --it's an old trick from endurance rally riders of writing out each day's general route. Makes a good backup in case of equipment (GPS) failure, and also lets you see the overall plan for that day. Typically one uses a grease pencil to jot down the major roads and distances between directly on the windshield, but I came up with a slight mod and wrote the directions a strip of Scotch Tape. At the end of the day, I would just peel the tape off and start fresh, rather than try to clean and scrape off the pencil markings directly from the windshield. (Sometimes it's the little things that make a big difference...)
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Re: across the US and back on the PCX125... my experiences

Post by dustin91 »

That is brilliant. Was that your first long-haul trip?

Also, how did you find the Numi overall? I'm looking at Garmins myself, an they say the zumo is better built for motorcycle use, being made for the elements, better touch screens, etc. but man, are they way pricier than the Numi's!
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Re: across the US and back on the PCX125... my experiences

Post by cessna151 »

pozo wrote: I started to draw out an approximate route on Google Maps and will post it shortly.
I'd like to see that! Particularly where you crossed the Mississippi river on the return trip. Crossing around St. Louis seems fairly intimidating to me on such a bike.
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