2017 pcx versus 2015 pcx valve adjustment

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Blackroot
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2017 pcx versus 2015 pcx valve adjustment

Post by Blackroot »

Hello
Are the valve adjustment procedures different on the 2017 model versus the 2015 ? I am hoping honda made it easier.
(I had a 2015 a couple years ago)
Thanks
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Re: 2017 pcx versus 2015 pcx valve adjustment

Post by Jge64 »

Same...it’s the same bike...... at Honda doesn’t want your checking anyway by yourself. So they’re not gonna make it easier.
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Re: 2017 pcx versus 2015 pcx valve adjustment

Post by PCX150Rider »

Depending upon which side of the pond you live on and which PCX owners manual you choose to read the valve checks can be either at 600 miles for the initial and then every 2500 miles after that or at 4000 miles and then every 4000 miles after that. I am going by the U.K. one for the 2017 (which mine is) and going to do it every 4000 miles. It's a personal choice. I've got just about 1900 miles on it now and have seen good consistent performance and no changes in valve noise. I changed my engine oil and cleaned the strainer screen at about 600 miles (using the recommended Honda oil) and changed my Final Drive oil early at about 1000 miles (also using the recommended Honda oil). I'm quite satisfied with the PCX overall and so far so good knock on wood! :D

Here's some pages from the U.K. owners manual depicting the maintenance schedule I read on this forum months ago. That being said my SM and OM both reference the 2500 mile intervals. . .go figure. ;)
IMG_3241ManualUK1.jpg
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IMG_3242ManualUK2.jpg
IMG_3242ManualUK2.jpg (1.15 MiB) Viewed 4948 times
IMG_3243ManualUK3.jpg
IMG_3243ManualUK3.jpg (1.29 MiB) Viewed 4948 times
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Re: 2017 pcx versus 2015 pcx valve adjustment

Post by Blackroot »

I am in the USA. I am wondering if the frequency is different in the UK because of the idle-stop feature, which is off on our USA model, thus increasing engine hours.
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Re: 2017 pcx versus 2015 pcx valve adjustment

Post by iceman »

Honda usually quote an inspection every service check, just to cover themselves methinks although I doubt you will find any dealer that would check them properly more than once in a 2 year period, if that.

Some dealers have been quoted as 'if the bike sounds good and runs good they are fine' and that's what many users chose to adopt irrespective of any dealer servicing. My bike is over 3 years old, used all year round five days/week, done 13,000 miles and starts and runs fine with very good mpg. If the valves were that far out and needing adjustment, I'd imagine the bike would not be so economical or have issues starting.
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Re: 2017 pcx versus 2015 pcx valve adjustment

Post by springer1 »

Just follow Homie's videos ...... not that bad of a job, turn on a radio, take your time and enjoy the project, get some baggies and save the removed fasteners for each body panel separately for organized reuse - and enjoy the afternoon as you do step at a time !! Not that bad at all, 2nd go around will be 1/3 the time of the 1st. An electric screw driver makes it faster.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ierh8gBeuLg

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... oyVAcpcIwl

The trim clips are easy - just push in the center pin and lift out the whole thing ...... get a set of super cheap body trim removal tools (about $8.00) and its easy

.
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Re: 2017 pcx versus 2015 pcx valve adjustment

Post by Blackroot »

Great stuff friends. Many thanks
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Re: 2017 pcx versus 2015 pcx valve adjustment

Post by gn2 »

The frequency was changed due to market pressure.
In order to compete with Piaggio they had to be lengthened.
Nothing to do with idle stop or which side of the Atlantic its sold on.
Its a global model, the engines are the same in all countries.
Four decades on two wheels has taught me nothing, all advice given is guaranteed to be wrong
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Re: 2017 pcx versus 2015 pcx valve adjustment

Post by TheMaverick »

Mine has just passed 32,000km since it's last valve check - and even the dealer admitted the other day that the valves still sound fine (and it continues to run as good as the day I bought it).

Per gn2's post - keep in mind that what's written in the manual is what's best all things considered for the manufacturer, not the owner. They want to make as much money for themselves and their affiliated dealers when things like reputation are taken into account.
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Re: 2017 pcx versus 2015 pcx valve adjustment

Post by springer1 »

I checked mine at 600 miles per spec, the intake needed adjustment. Will check them again at 2,500 miles per spec. Then I'm planning on going with their recommended interval in Europe of every 4,000 miles.
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Re: 2017 pcx versus 2015 pcx valve adjustment

Post by you you »

TheMaverick wrote:Mine has just passed 32,000km since it's last valve check - and even the dealer admitted the other day that the valves still sound fine (and it continues to run as good as the day I bought it).

Per gn2's post - keep in mind that what's written in the manual is what's best all things considered for the manufacturer, not the owner. They want to make as much money for themselves and their affiliated dealers when things like reputation are taken into account.

Maybe keep in mind too that this is an opinion and not everyone feels this way.
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Re: 2017 pcx versus 2015 pcx valve adjustment

Post by TheMaverick »

you you wrote:
Maybe keep in mind too that this is an opinion and not everyone feels this way.
How people "feel" doesn't change reality. And the reality is that all manufacturers are businesses. And businesses exist for the sole purpose of making a return on investment for their owners.

It would be pretty naive to think that any manufacturer would encourage a maintenance schedule that benefitted the customer to the manufacturer's disadvantage, all things considered.
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Re: 2017 pcx versus 2015 pcx valve adjustment

Post by TheMaverick »

springer1 wrote:I checked mine at 600 miles per spec, the intake needed adjustment. Will check them again at 2,500 miles per spec. Then I'm planning on going with their recommended interval in Europe of every 4,000 miles.
I think the big difference is in whether people are prepared to do it themselves. If they're using the scooter often (as I am) and getting the dealer to do it every 4000km (per my manual) - at around $100 labour just to do it - then I'd have already forked out $800 just to have them checked (and going by what they quoted, about the same again for other aspects of a service). Being the eternal pragmatist I contacted a non-affiliated dealer through a friend and put the question to him - the response that came back was "it's not a particularly high-revving engine - the clearances are unlikely to change - and I wouldn't bother doing them unless something changes like the bike gets hard to start or won't idle properly".

Bike was in getting two new tyres - brake pads changed - head bearings tightened - brake fluids changed - cooling fluids changed just the other day as part of it's 33,333km check - dealer was "very surprised" that the valves hadn't been checked for 32,000km, but conceded that the engine sounded fine when he took it for a test ride. Ironically I did actually ask him to check it during that service, but he said he didn't have time and wasn't working in that area of the bike - which I found somewhat surprising.

On the flip-side, I do my own oil changes every 4,000km - so engine wear may be less than on bikes where it's only changed every 8,000km per the book. I've just made a conscious decision to be somewhat pragmatic about servicing the bike - some things like engine oil I do at double the recommended rate - other things I stretch out if the evidence I'm seeing supports it (they say to change the spark plug every 8000km - mine is still going fine after 34,000km) (although I have a new one to fit now). Belt was showing signs of wear but still very strong at 33,333km - supposed to be changed at 24,000km (dealer charges $160 for the belt plus an hour fitting - so about a $250 exercise once tax is added) (although I did it myself for about $50 all up). I estimate that I've probably saved around $2000 by taking this approach so far.
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Re: 2017 pcx versus 2015 pcx valve adjustment

Post by iceman »

If I'd had the dealer service the bike over 2 yr's that would have been a minimum of £850 (their basic quotes for labour and non major parts) + extras (extra parts, tax, ext). With cost of public transport over the 2 yr's for the days I do not have the scooter, well over £1000 on top of the cost of the bike. Then you have the huge mark up parts cost here compared to importing them yourselves - that saved an extra few hundred pound over the 3 years I've owned the bike.

So, half the cost of the bike again - better to not bother, buy new if you want after say 4 years, which is £2700 OTR, therefore a new bike would cost me less than £1700 and I can still sell the old one for at least £1000 if not more.
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Re: 2017 pcx versus 2015 pcx valve adjustment

Post by Blackroot »

Homie-
Has the below procedure changed since written ? Any updates or gotchas ? How long to execute this procedure ? 2017 compatible ?
Thanks so much
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Re: 2017 pcx versus 2015 pcx valve adjustment

Post by TheMaverick »

iceman wrote:If I'd had the dealer service the bike over 2 yr's that would have been a minimum of £850 (their basic quotes for labour and non major parts) + extras (extra parts, tax, ext). With cost of public transport over the 2 yr's for the days I do not have the scooter, well over £1000 on top of the cost of the bike. Then you have the huge mark up parts cost here compared to importing them yourselves - that saved an extra few hundred pound over the 3 years I've owned the bike.

So, half the cost of the bike again - better to not bother, buy new if you want after say 4 years, which is £2700 OTR, therefore a new bike would cost me less than £1700 and I can still sell the old one for at least £1000 if not more.
EXACTLY!

My philosophy has been to look at things with an open mind. Change parts IF they need changing and WHEN they need changing. Import the parts in advance if possible. Change them myself if possible. I made a mistake not changing the tyres early enough, but not a single regret about anything else. 34,000km later bike still goes as good as it did new - and with a bunch of consumables recently changed I should be good to go until I do them again at 67,000km.
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Re: 2017 pcx versus 2015 pcx valve adjustment

Post by maddiedog »

I've done 4 valve adjustments on PCXes I've owned, a valve adjustment for Mel46, and three more for local scooterists on PCXes.

The ONLY time I've seen the valves out of spec was on the first adjustment. I plan on leaving mine alone until I hit 15k, which will probably be in ~5 years.

If the valves get too far out of whack on a PCX, they generally are too tight. We haven't heard of a valvetrain failure from that yet that I'm aware of, but I do remember reading once on someone who had starting troubles from valves being out. If it's not making ticking noises and is running fine, I say skip an interval or two.
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Re: 2017 pcx versus 2015 pcx valve adjustment

Post by homie »

Blackroot wrote:Homie-
Has the procedure changed since written ? Any updates or gotchas ? How long to execute this procedure ? 2017 compatible ?
Thanks so much
You can still use the 2015 PCX valve clearance adjustment youtube video from my channel to service 16,17 and now 2018 models... no significant panel or engine changes.

First time doing the procedure you'll be needing a weekend for sure. Take your time, don't force anything and don't loosen the tappet nuts until you check the clearances because most likely they are within tolerance. Not many have reported needing to make adjustments.

Watch the video in its entirety on a device that allows you to see the annotation. This is where you will read any updates, shortcuts and warnings. Not that difficult and requires patience more than mechanical skill or special tools. There is a tiny tab on either side of the grabrail cover that's almost impossible not to snap off but not critical if you do break one for reassembly. Also the battery box bolts need your attention prior to reinstallation but this tip is in the video.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... oyVAcpcIwl
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Re: 2017 pcx versus 2015 pcx valve adjustment

Post by springer1 »

First time doing the procedure you'll be needing a weekend for sure.
The first time I did it I watched Homie's video first the evening before - and then on a Saturday did step by step with the laptop closely replaying the video - took me @5 hrs because I was very careful and methodical. I expect the 2nd time will take me 1/2 that time, maybe less.

There's a lot of talk/fear/etc/etc about this, it's just not the hard thanks to Homie.
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Re: 2017 pcx versus 2015 pcx valve adjustment

Post by PCX150Rider »

If the valves get too far out of whack on a PCX, they generally are too tight. We haven't heard of a valvetrain failure from that yet that I'm aware of, but I do remember reading once on someone who had starting troubles from valves being out. If it's not making ticking noises and is running fine, I say skip an interval or two.
MD - I come from the "old school" that a noisy valve is a happy valve. It has clearance and closes. That being said too much of any good thing is no good. So a real noisy valve or valve sounds that seem out of character in my view are definitely worth checking out. When the clearance gets too tight then the valves tend to quiet down. . .not as much metal to metal wack so-to-speak. So I'd also be concerned if I noticed a change in performance and a change in valve noise to the quiet side. The valves don't close all the way when they are too tight. . .hence damage over time.

Since I haven't adjusted the valves on my PCX yet (going with the U.K. OM schedule maintenance to inspect every 4000 miles instead of 600 and then every 2500) I don't feel I've earned the right be critical of those who have. . .and more than once. But I have adjusted valves on my motorcycles over the years and hope that when I do service my PCX I don't break anything! 8)
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