The Honda PCX / Forza / ADV150 / SH Forums

I alway get shopper's guilt after every purchase. I am a 26 college student. About to enter my last year of school. I live within Baltimore ( a nice big metro city). The highway that goes around the city in a circle is a 55mph limit. I dont have time for the cross country travel. So my situation is this. I was 99% sure on the pcx150 then I ran across the Forza on the forum and now so on the fence. I do 4 days a week at school. Which is like a 4-5 mile round trip in the city. i work 2 days on the weekend which is 30 miles round trip on the 55mph highway. 1 day where i just sit at home so i had a scooter, ill definitely be just joy riding around on that day.

So in my head, my arguments in my head are the following. Keep in mind that this will be first anything on 2 wheels. My only experience on scooters was my 3 months i spent in Vietnam but its sorta dumb to compare there to here (USA).

PCX is smaller and lighter. Im a 5'6 male at 180lbs. I dont think my girlfriend will ever ride with me. But there is a small chance of her riding it by herself or my roommates and they've already ridden the pcx125 vietnam versions. I was just planning on this being my main form of transportation and letting my gf take the car. the 100+ mpg is just awesome. I just put in $60 of gas into my sonata and wasnt too happy about it. Its seems like such a waste of gas and time to drive 2 miles to my school and try to stake out a parking spot during peak hours 4 days a week. I feel like i could save a ton on gas money with the PCX and I have ALWAY wanted a motorcycle. Someone in the forum did some math and said the PCX can pay for itself in like 30 months. I honestly dont want to buy bigger cruiser models. They are huge, ugly, old looking, and heavy. The price is reasonable for me.

Forza, read that it is the do all scooter. Just the perfect in the middle scooter. But whats hurting is the price. Found one on craiglist for $4500 3 hours away from here. I havent seen either. But it sounds like the Forza isnt too big like other cruisers and small enough to handle city driving. People said the Forza is more comfortable than the PCX but like i said, im only 5'6 and not cross country driving.

Please feel free to add whatever else i've missed.

Sorry for the long read but this is a big investment for someone my age and i dont want regrets. I know this will be PCX bias on this forum so i will be posting in both sections.

Two miles?
Get a bicycle.

2.7 miles to be exact. Bicycle sounds legit except i sometimes have to go to and/or back from school with my girlfriend or roommates. all 5 of us go to the same school

So get five bicycles.

Sounds like you don't need the forza, the pcx is enough for your needs.
And your gf is probably too small for the forza.

Get the PCX 125

I was in the same situation... trying to decide between a PCX150 and Forza. I decided on the PCX and loved it (and still do).
However, I have found far too many occasions where the extra hp/mph of the Forza would have allowed me to travel on 2 wheels instead of 4.

As soon as the PCX is paid off (later this year), I will be adding a 250cc+ scooter (Forza, Kymco People 300, or BV350) to the garage. Or perhaps a Nighthawk 750.

JoshM wrote:I was in the same situation... trying to decide between a PCX150 and Forza. I decided on the PCX and loved it (and still do).
However, I have found far too many occasions where the extra hp/mph of the Forza would have allowed me to travel on 2 wheels instead of 4.

As soon as the PCX is paid off (later this year), I will be adding a 250cc+ scooter (Forza, Kymco People 300, or BV350) to the garage. Or perhaps a Nighthawk 750.

Seeing how i can't afford to do that even though I would love to. I cant say I would have many occasions where i need the Forza but I just cant risk it.

I have both.

I think for your needs, the PCX 150 is sufficient. If 55-60 MPH is what you're looking to top out at, you really don't need the larger bike. The mileage is closer to 100 MPG rather than 65 MPG (for the Forza), the bike is lighter and tighter on surface streets. There are a number of aftermarket saddlebags and other "luggage" that fit the PCX that don't fit the Forza. That might be important for a student. Depending on the combined weight of you and your girlfriend, the PCX should be fine. Even with two people, if that 55 MPH traffic is really moving no more than 60, you should be fine with two people. With my 200 lbs, the PCX cruises at 60-65 without having to pull the throttle full out (of course, the Forza will cruise 10-15 MPH faster).

I often make 30-100 mile trips on both bikes -- they both work fine. I usually pick the bike based on the roads I plan to take (or if my son is along and riding the other bike).

If you need to spend much time on the Interstate and want to keep up with traffic, the PCX is not a good choice, and the Forza would be a better fit.

Hope that helps.

Here's my two cents worth: I lived and worked for many years in the Baltimore area. I love my PCX and it would be great in the city but I wouldn't want to spend much time on it riding the Beltway, JFX or I-95. It is just too light and it's max speed is not much more than 65, barely fast enough to keep up with traffic on those roads. Based on your experience level, both you and the bike would be maxed to your limits which is not the safest way to go.

Personally, I would be much more comfortable on a heavier bike that can cruise easily at 65-70 mph such as the Forza or Burgman 400/650.

But you know what they say about opinions--they're like a**holes, everybody has one.

I have to agree with GeezyRider about getting the Forza if you plan to do much riding on the Beltway. I don't feel comfortable/safe at all at 55+ on the PCX. This bike just doesn't feel stable at its highest speeds. Plus, the wind resistance (with stock windshield) against my head and body can be pretty overwhelming at higher speeds. Having said that, though, I love the bike on city streets--it's tons of fun!

I would be inclined to get the PCX if it was me. The smaller, lightweight fun factor and ease of use for a new rider would help. It gets much better gas mileage than the Forza. For the two days that you have a 15 mile commute including highways you could drive your car and your overall mileage may turn out to be the same as if you used a Forza for all your riding. Or you could leave 10 minutes early on those two days and ride surface streets instead of the highway if highway speeds turn out to be a problem.

When I was working I had a 16 mile (each way) commute and left about 45 minutes early three days a week to ride a bicycle (30 minutes by car, hour and 15 by bike). If people can commute that easily by bicycle you can certainly do it by PCX.

The cheaper price, light weight, fun factor and fuel economy puts me with the PCX. However, if you think that you will end up wanting to do a lot of freeway and highway riding then definitely get a larger scooter.

Get either rather than typing...

yea, thanks to all the responses on this forum. I have decided to go with the PCX. Now my new dilemma is wether to get the 2013 or 2015? Probably gonna go with the 2013 seeing how no one has a set release date for the 2015 and I've found new 2013 for $2600 at two local dealers. Now I gotta figure out how to walk with it with the cheapest price. How do I negotiate?

mongerhater wrote:yea, thanks to all the responses on this forum. I have decided to go with the PCX. Now my new dilemma is wether to get the 2013 or 2015? Probably gonna go with the 2013 seeing how no one has a set release date for the 2015 and I've found new 2013 for $2600 at two local dealers. Now I gotta figure out how to walk with it with the cheapest price. How do I negotiate?

Just buy a bike and get on it. That's when the fun starts

Heh, sounds pretty much exactly like my situation, only my school commute is about 5 miles with about a mile of that uphill, and work is just across the intersection. I also drooled over the Forza for quite a bit, but I figure maybe above $5,000 is a bit much for a first ride, especially after dealer fees and taxes. I'd say you're lucky on the mainland as the dealer here doesn't seem to be budging on the prices.

I'll be going for the 2013 PCX myself.

I figure:
A) It's my first ride, and I haven't driven a car in a while, so insurance would be pretty high. Might as well go a couple of years, plus to see whether anyone would try to steal a maxi scooter here. If it's all good and I find the power/space to be lacking, I can bump up to a Forza later down the road.
B) 102 mpg is tough to argue with for a college student. Maybe with more of a flexible income I'd be burning more gas.
C) It's lighter than the Forza, but still heavier than most scooters, so I could use the opportunity to see how I handle it and whether a 400+ lbs Forza is something I could wrestle with.

mongerhater wrote:yea, thanks to all the responses on this forum. I have decided to go with the PCX. Now my new dilemma is wether to get the 2013 or 2015? Probably gonna go with the 2013 seeing how no one has a set release date for the 2015 and I've found new 2013 for $2600 at two local dealers. Now I gotta figure out how to walk with it with the cheapest price. How do I negotiate?

$2600 is a fantastic price for a new PCX. I don't think there is much negotiating room left except for maybe a discount on future service.

I was trying to make the same decision a year ago. I had bought a 500lb bike that was too big for me to "wrestle" with. So, I decided to trade it in on a scooter.

I already had a Ruckus, so I knew I needed something bigger than that. I was between the Forza and the PCX150. I was alos a little nervous that the Forza would be too big for me. But, I took it for a ride and it's not at all. I wanted something that was big enough to do highway speeds if necessary, but small enough that I was comfortable in traffic and at low speeds. I bought the Forza. It is not all that heavy and I have not problems riding it at low speeds at all.

There are times when I look at the new 2015 PCX150 and really want one. Honda has made a great bike there and eliminated many of the minor issues some riders had with the 2013 PCX. I am sure the PCX is a bit more nimble than the Forza, but the Forza is surprisingly good at low speeds. And, it can keep up with traffic on the highway without issue.

One thing to consider is that I notice on a windy day I get blown around a bit on the Forza. That problem would probably be worse on a PCX because it is lighter.

It sounds like for what you want that a PCX might be a better fit for the distance and traffic situation you will be driving in. Also, the PCX is cheaper than the Forza.

Both are nice bikes. You won't be disappointed either way.

I actually ended up picking up a 2013 red pcx150 for $2250, $30 transfer fee, and about $200 in gas and supplies to go pick it up. It only has 160 miles on it.