Annoying little thing I can't put my finger on

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Brent
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Annoying little thing I can't put my finger on

Post by Brent »

For the last month or so when I start up my PCX (from a cold start) and twist the throttle to ride, the scooter chokes and sputters like its going to stall, but then takes off and runs just fine. MPG and top speed have not changed. What bugs me now is when I am riding at a constant speed down the street (50mph or below) it feels like someone has a rope tied to the back of the PCX and keeps pulling and then releasing on the rope, so that I can feel a slight tug, but the speedometer remains constant!

I am thinking it is the belt. 90% of my driving is 60mph+. Maybe the NCY variator and face plate are eating up the Honda belt faster than normal?

Any ideas?
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Re: Annoying little thing I can't put my finger on

Post by homie »

I don't think your belt has anything to do with your symptoms but you can look at that easy enough. I would go straight to the spark plug and then fuel issues giving any cold start missing and sputtering. Do you have any electrical history with your bike Brent (Add on's) or was your only mod the vario kit?
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Re: Annoying little thing I can't put my finger on

Post by chappy99 »

If it was my scooter,i would change the plug the first thing to always do with a gas engine,and if it still does the same thing,buy a can of (Sea Foam) and add some to the gas and run it tell you are sure the seafoam is in the carb 5 min ride and let it set overnight,this stuff is amazing no joke.
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Re: Annoying little thing I can't put my finger on

Post by homie »

And take a nice close up picture of that plug and post it. It should be a light tan to white electrode. Much can be eliminated from how the the plugs looks.

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Re: Annoying little thing I can't put my finger on

Post by lolofigo »

Brent wrote:For the last month or so when I start up my PCX (from a cold start) and twist the throttle to ride, the scooter chokes and sputters like its going to stall, but then takes off and runs just fine. MPG and top speed have not changed. What bugs me now is when I am riding at a constant speed down the street (50mph or below) it feels like someone has a rope tied to the back of the PCX and keeps pulling and then releasing on the rope, so that I can feel a slight tug, but the speedometer remains constant!

I am thinking it is the belt. 90% of my driving is 60mph+. Maybe the NCY variator and face plate are eating up the Honda belt faster than normal?

Any ideas?
I have exactly same symptoms. I was thinking it was because of my bbk kit and larger throttle body. Is your pcx stock except the variator? Maybe throttle position sensor? What is the mileage of your pcx? I see most faults are common on pcx from same year like clutch bearing or centre stand issues. If it happened to you there is a big chance it happened to someone else. My cold start spluttering started after I have replaced head for 150 one on my 125 v1 pcx.

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Re: Annoying little thing I can't put my finger on

Post by Brent »

homie wrote:I don't think your belt has anything to do with your symptoms but you can look at that easy enough. I would go straight to the spark plug and then fuel issues giving any cold start missing and sputtering. Do you have any electrical history with your bike Brent (Add on's) or was your only mod the vario kit?
Homie,

My PCX is stock except for the NCY variator and face plate. I changed the spark plug at 20,000 miles. I have 22,167 miles now. I will pull out the spark plug tonight and see if it has been soiled with oil or something else!

Thanks!
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Re: Annoying little thing I can't put my finger on

Post by Brent »

lolofigo wrote:
Brent wrote:For the last month or so when I start up my PCX (from a cold start) and twist the throttle to ride, the scooter chokes and sputters like its going to stall, but then takes off and runs just fine. MPG and top speed have not changed. What bugs me now is when I am riding at a constant speed down the street (50mph or below) it feels like someone has a rope tied to the back of the PCX and keeps pulling and then releasing on the rope, so that I can feel a slight tug, but the speedometer remains constant!

I am thinking it is the belt. 90% of my driving is 60mph+. Maybe the NCY variator and face plate are eating up the Honda belt faster than normal?

Any ideas?
I have exactly same symptoms. I was thinking it was because of my bbk kit and larger throttle body. Is your pcx stock except the variator? Maybe throttle position sensor? What is the mileage of your pcx? I see most faults are common on pcx from same year like clutch bearing or centre stand issues. If it happened to you there is a big chance it happened to someone else. My cold start spluttering started after I have replaced head for 150 one on my 125 v1 pcx.

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Lolofigo,

Everything is stock except for the NCY variator and face plate. My 2015 PCX has 22,167 miles on it now. It my workhorse!
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Re: Annoying little thing I can't put my finger on

Post by TheMaverick »

To be honest, one of my concerns about mods to get more speed is the possibility of significantly increased engine wear, leading to issues like this after quite a few KM. Our bikes are at about the same km - yours 35467, and mine 33,000 - mine is still on original plug, but still possible that it's gone faulty. Has the oil consumption increased? (mine burns on average 65ml per 4,000km). Valve clearances are the other thing that comes to mine.
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Re: Annoying little thing I can't put my finger on

Post by you you »

chappy99 wrote:If it was my scooter,i would change the plug the first thing to always do with a gas engine,and if it still does the same thing,buy a can of (Sea Foam) and add some to the gas and run it tell you are sure the seafoam is in the carb 5 min ride and let it set overnight,this stuff is amazing no joke.
And no carb
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Re: Annoying little thing I can't put my finger on

Post by easyrider »

Get rid of the gas in your tank.you got a bad case of water or contaminated fuel.If that don't work take a look at your plug,but I think you have bad fuel.
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Re: Annoying little thing I can't put my finger on

Post by Smaug »

Looking at that spark plug diagnosis photo that homie posted, it reminds me what a pain in the ass internal combustion engines are. Even good ones have SO many more failure points than an electric motor. With an induction motor, the only failure point is bearings and maybe a thermal protector if it is overloaded. Brushes if it's a cheap brushed motor.

We're going to remember these "bad old days" some day in the future. I'm going to tell my grandkids about fuel-powered engines.
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Re: Annoying little thing I can't put my finger on

Post by homie »

Smaug wrote:Looking at that spark plug diagnosis photo that homie posted, it reminds me what a pain in the ass internal combustion engines are. Even good ones have SO many more failure points than an electric motor. With an induction motor, the only failure point is bearings and maybe a thermal protector if it is overloaded. Brushes if it's a cheap brushed motor.

We're going to remember these "bad old days" some day in the future. I'm going to tell my grandkids about fuel-powered engines.
:lol: :lol: :lol: with the exception of 2000.00 battery failure like on a Segway? The electric stuff is awesome if you have the disposable cash. Fuel, air, spark, boom, boom, we ride for two bucks.
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Re: Annoying little thing I can't put my finger on

Post by TheMaverick »

Smaug wrote:Looking at that spark plug diagnosis photo that homie posted, it reminds me what a pain in the ass internal combustion engines are. Even good ones have SO many more failure points than an electric motor. With an induction motor, the only failure point is bearings and maybe a thermal protector if it is overloaded. Brushes if it's a cheap brushed motor.

We're going to remember these "bad old days" some day in the future. I'm going to tell my grandkids about fuel-powered engines.
I'm in 2 minds about electric. Would I LOVE a Tesla P100D? Absolutely. Would I LOVE a 2017 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP1? Absolutely!

Decision was still an easy one though (since I can't justify buying either!)
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Re: Annoying little thing I can't put my finger on

Post by springer1 »

We're going to remember these "bad old days" some day in the future. I'm going to tell my grandkids about fuel-powered engines.
I'm afraid this might be correct ..... because I'm not a fan of electric. There's nothing I like better than engines, including Summer evenings going to the dirt track Sprint Car or Modified races. Nothing silent about that !
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Re: Annoying little thing I can't put my finger on

Post by Mel46 »

Whenever either of our 2013 PCX 150s sit for any length of time they hesitate when starting and running at first, but after a few miles of straight running...not stop and go ..... and they straighten out. I attribute this t9 the gas. Sometimes I add some Seafoam to the gas before taking it out.
My wife's bike has the full NCY variator and 13 gram rollers changeover and it is running quite well. In fact, I looked down at the speedometer the other day when I was just cruising down the street and it read 68 mph. Oops, it was a 45 mph zone! Easy enough to do with that upgrade on it.
My bike, on the other hand, has just the 13 gram rollers. The NCY drive face sits on a shelf in the basement, waiting for me to purchase the variator. Money... I had planned on changing it out quite awhile back but the IRS tagged me for Obamacare (I was tagged the year before for NOT having Obamacare, and last year for having it!) In any case, I had to get a bank loan to pay the IRS, so money is tight until I can pay that off. That means that if I end up selling the bikes before I finish the conversion someone else will have to put out the $56 for the variator itself. Cheap price for an upgrade to a faster bike.
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NCY variator, drive face, and rollers
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Re: Annoying little thing I can't put my finger on

Post by Smaug »

homie wrote:
Smaug wrote:Looking at that spark plug diagnosis photo that homie posted, it reminds me what a pain in the ass internal combustion engines are. Even good ones have SO many more failure points than an electric motor. With an induction motor, the only failure point is bearings and maybe a thermal protector if it is overloaded. Brushes if it's a cheap brushed motor.

We're going to remember these "bad old days" some day in the future. I'm going to tell my grandkids about fuel-powered engines.
:lol: :lol: :lol: with the exception of 2000.00 battery failure like on a Segway? The electric stuff is awesome if you have the disposable cash. Fuel, air, spark, boom, boom, we ride for two bucks.
That's true.... for now.

RC cars, planes, and helis have pretty much made the change-over, since nitro fuel has gotten so expensive and batteries have gotten cheaper. It's only a matter of time before the same happens in scooters. It's starting already, and it's something the Chinese are leading the way on. There are TONS of "electric bikes" in the big cities over there. Some of the cities have banned motorcycles and scooters in the city centers, but electric is OK, because they're quiet, slow and clean. Sure enough, they're made to fit just under the regulations. They'll replace 50cc scooters first, and work their way up.

Have you seen Zero Motorcycles yet? They're starting to take a bite out of the dirtbike and supermotor markets. Instant torque and not a need for big range. Higher end models are getting to the point where they will go over 100 miles on a charge. But they're very expensive now, because there's not much competition.
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Re: Annoying little thing I can't put my finger on

Post by homie »

Smaug wrote:That's true.... for now.
Have you seen Zero Motorcycles yet? They're starting to take a bite out of the dirtbike and supermotor markets. Instant torque and not a need for big range. Higher end models are getting to the point where they will go over 100 miles on a charge. But they're very expensive now, because there's not much competition.
Nope but here's one someone rode for 127 miles and would like his 12k back :roll: would you pay much for a bike that looks like this?

https://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/mcy/ ... 52766.html
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