New to forum, and a new PCX 150 owner

[pongo]

Just wanted to say hello to everyone, and to say thanks for the great info I have gotten from this site so far. I have a question about my new 2013 150. I just got it and have only put 60 miles on it, so I am still going through the break in period. My question is after break in, will performance pick up on it? I ride motorcycles, and wanted to add this little scooter to commute back and forth to work ( 90 to 100 mpg sounded good to me) plus short trips around town. Now to my problem and question, about 8 miles of my trip to work is highway speed of 55 with a couple of slight hills, now I know I should not be running the new engine at wot for long due to it being new, but had to see how it would do. It has a hard time staying at 55, and the gas gauge seems to be moving pretty fast towards empty. It is a brand new stock scooter, and I weigh 240 lbs. will it get better after break in? or am I to heavy for it? I bought after reading on this site how well it does.

[kramnala58]

Welcome to the forums Pongo. I am wondering if your lack of speed it due to wind resistance. I am fairly large myself (6'1" - 220 lbs). You might want to try a windscreen. I don't use one myself as my driving is exclusively in the city, but from a number of other posts that I have seen here on hondapcx.org, it seems that a windscreen does well at cutting down the wind resistance. On the few occasions that I have been able to ride wot, I get a few more mph when I tuck myself in. I also found that removing my topbox added a few mph.

[pongo]

I was thinking the same thing, but would rather not have to put a windshield on it. The advertisement for this scooter said it was good for 60+ mph. May be it needs a few more miles on it. I do not want, or need to go faster than 60, maybe after the warranty period is over, I can do something to the belt drive set up to get it there. Sounds like the motor is bogging at highway speeds, I think it needs to "down shift" more to get the engine up in the revs more. If it was a car, I would say that the torque converter was not unlocking, at least that's the best way to describe it.

[strkngfang]

Welcome, Pongo & congrats on the new PCX. You need to put on more miles, my wife's 150 has 1,300 miles on it & it will reach 63 mph with no windscreen & we're both under 200 pounds. Initially it struggled with 55 as well, I still don't think she'll ever reach 70 like a lot of others. She stays pretty even with my 125. I'm told you need 2,000 miles for a full on break in & I will agree. My 125 has 2550 now & it will rocket up to her 62 mph rev limit. Give it some time.

[pongo]

Thanks for the info, I was hoping that breaking it in was all it would need

[maddiedog]

Make sure to vary your throttle constantly during break-in, and avoid long periods of full throttle.

Modern engines come mostly broken-in, here's all Honda has to say about break-in on the PCX 150:

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I've heard lots of people getting 5-10 more mph after the first service. YMMV though.

[Mel46]

When we first brought ours home (a 150) it wouldn't get higher than 55, but it slowly moved up as time went on. After the 600 mile service it really started moving up, and by 2,000 it was definitely a fun bike. Now, at 6,000 miles it gets on the freeway occasionally and has no problem keeping up with the traffic. My wife rides it most of the time, and she weighs nowhere near your weight, so that is going to be a difference you will have to live with. However, we do have a windscreen and it helps a lot on the freeway. As far as the top box is concerned, we keep ours on because we bought a custom seat from powerbypcx.com that is lower, which means the helmet will no longer fit under it. I do not know what your experience will be after yours is broken in, but I am sure you will be happier once it hits 2,000 miles. Patience Grasshopper, Patience..:-)

[pongo]

Thanks for the input, I am breaking in the engine the correct way, just had to try highway speeds once, and was disappointed, but figured it would do better after more miles are logged on it. All I need it to do is 55 to 60 mph so I want get in the way going to work. My motorcycle really picked up performance after the 2500 mile mark, so I will wait and see what happens. But I really like the little scooter.

[Pedro-agogo]

Hi Pongo,

I am the same weight as you and we are definitely not too big for the PCX. I know you don't want to put a windscreen on and that is your choice but I found it made a massive difference to speed, handling, safety and comfort. I would prefer not to have the windscreen too but the benefits far outweigh any disadvantages if you are doing highway riding.

Welcome.

[Stef-fm]

Welcome pongo

Hi Pongo,

I am the same weight as you and we are definitely not too big for the PCX. I know you don't want to put a windscreen on and that is your choice but I found it made a massive difference to speed, handling, safety and comfort. I would prefer not to have the windscreen too but the benefits far outweigh any disadvantages if you are doing highway riding.

Welcome.

hi Pedro-agogo. What windshield do you have and how is the buffer of the helmet? I'm 6" and concerned about the obvious.

[Pedro-agogo]

Hi Stef,

I just saw your first post. Welcome mate- looks like you have done a bit of research already. I went with the Honda custom screen for the PCX which I believe is just a Givi (not sure of the model). I got ripped off but at least thanks to maddiedog I was able to fit it myself and save over $100 there. Yes- the obvious- the noise on the helmet is bad but I have started to get use to it more. Having the visor open a bit helps- I live in Perth, Australia (just down the road from you…. sort of) so the weather is hotting up now so I will be having the visor open fully a lot more. I wonder if your height will actually be a positive as I think if you can get higher or lower it can help. Have you seen maddiedog's screen?

[Stef-fm]

Yes it's massive... would like to see one in the flesh before I commit.

[Mgalutia88]

The large screens cut down performance a LOT. I have a tall biondi and a short givi. The mileage difference is considerable also. The short givi is a good windbreak. You get air on your shoulders and the top of your helmet. I'm 5'6" and 170 lbs. order the short givi first before you commit to a taller screen. There's lots of wind pressure on the big screens. I found I went to 3/4 throttle at 55 and half throttle at 45 with my tall screen. In contrast with the short givi I'm at a 1/4 throttle or less to run 60-65mph.

Yes it's very true that after the first 600 miles the bikes seem to come alive. I'm suspecting a change in fuel and spark maps in the computer after that break-in period. I have done all my own service. At 2800 miles in four months I. Has not been back at the dealer since I picked it up with 1.2 miles

Your mileage on the highway will average 75-80 mpg. I run a NCY variator and a givi short screen. I average 85 mpg with about a third of my mileage at 65-70 and 3/4 of my riding at 40 or more. My top speed is 77mph down hill with the rollers in the variator bouncing around. I can hit 75 on a flat.

I have had 420lbs on my pcx 150 and it had no problem running 60mph. That was before any mods.

[Mgalutia88]

Oh also drop your roller weight to 12 grams. It will help acceleration immensely by raising rpms to 8000 where peak power is. Multiple people have found this to be true. Ask Pcxdemon about this.

[pongo]

Thanks for the info, I am leaning toward either the +25 ermax or the medium or shorter givi.
My scooter is doing a lot better now that I have over 300 miles on it. Very pleased, 60 mph no problem

[pongo]

What are these rollers that they are talking about, and how does the weight of them matter?

[you you]

What are these rollers that they are talking about, and how does the weight of them matter?

That's opening the floodgates on any twist and go forum

[dasshreddar]

What are sliders? Now that's a question.

[pongo]

sorry, I guess ignorance really is bliss.

[you you]

sorry, I guess ignorance really is bliss.

Sorry. They are little weights that are part of your scooters automatic gearbox. Changing the weight, and possibly changing from rollers to sliders, alters how it works.