The Honda PCX / Forza / ADV150 / SH Forums

Well, here in Europe the model is a 2014, but we know that things are different over here!

I have driven only about 50 miles by now, and the scooter is really smooth and quiet. At the moment I'm really happy with the purchase

I have long legs and the seat is a little low for me, and therefore I will need to add a little extra foam and new upholstery. The new seat does not have the "hump", but given that the space destined for the passenger is much higher, it does not allow the driver to change his/her driving position... when I add the extra foam, the seat will have a more or less even horizontal surface, so it will (hopefully) help

Some pics of the new scooter:

















I'll have to adjust the LED headlight, as most of the time I drive accompanied by my wife, and at night other road users get blinded by the intense LED light... it looks EXTRA COOL and when properly aimed it will throw a good flow of light (if this expression exists in English)

Looks great

Malaga?

Thanks! I wish I lived in Malaga... Perhaps when I retire! (For those not familiar with Spain, Málaga is the equivalent to Florida in the USA

Note: I live in Zaragoza

pcxpower wrote:Thanks! I wish I lived in Malaga... Perhaps when I retire! (For those not familiar with Spain, Málaga is the equivalent to Florida in the USA

Note: I live in Zaragoza

Wrong again. I thought Malaga because Portillo is a bus company there I'm sure. Well moderately sure.

No problem! Portillo, in this case is part of "Estación del Portillo", which means "Portillo Railway Station" a sign that shouldn't be there, because the Station was relocated long time ago

pcxpower - did you have the lights on full beam by chance or are they just miss-aligned?

iceman wrote:pcxpower - did you have the lights on full beam by chance or are they just miss-aligned?

No, I was driving on "low beams", like that:



When the other drivers warned me with their high beams, I momentarily changed the lights to low beams to show them that I wasn't on high beams... When I have some minutes, I must have a look at the headlight to see if I find this screw that shows the owner's manual (I haven't found online one in Spanish or English, but there was one in Italian - Of course the scooter comes with one in Spanish)



Anyway, thanks for the hint!

So far I've only ridden to work in the dark, 2-4am, coming home when it's still light - that is soon to change! Not had anyone flash me in passing when riding at night, and the beams do seam to be pointing towards the road and not illegal - unlike so many cars I see!

Yes, some cars' headlights are very annoying...

My PCX only blinds oncoming drivers when my I drive accompanied by my wife, who only weights 50 kg (110 lb). I'm about 76 kg (167 lb), and when I drive solo the low beam points towards the road at the right angle

Hey! Hey! Hey! ~ 2 0 1 4 ~ there ya go!
"Simply Irresistible" sitting pretty like that!! You're now a PCX (power) rider!! Congrats!!

How fast you've discovered that the seat needs personal customizing, I definitely understand your reasoning. Will you be doing the fix or will a local shop?
AFA locating the headlight aim screw? I'm on the same page now in my svc manual...where is it located? & how do you access it? Some of these illustrations need help (I do, anyway )

Your PCX has a twin sister!!!

Talking about the seat, I thought that I was the only one that was not 100% comfortable with it! I intend to modify it myself, and I will document the process, in case that it can help the DIYers

I have done it in my other scooter, a 2009 Suzuki Sixteen 125, and the result has been acceptable from the ergonomics perspective. Of course that the scooters look much better with the original, unmodified seats, but at my age (I'm 45) if I have to choose between comfort or aesthetics, I will definitely choose comfort, if possible without destroying aesthetics too much!

This is how the standard Suzuki Sixteen 125 scooter looks like:



And this is how my Suzuki Sixteen seat looks like after I modified it:







As you can see, the original seat shape from my Suzuki Sixteen and the PCX is very similar, so I hope that (if I'm lucky) I will be able to modify it so that it will be much more comfortable

I'm going to try to Photoshop a White PCX to see how a seat like that would look like:

Standard seat:



Seat with the "PCXpower" mod



And here we can see the amount of foam that we would need to add:



It's easier/faster to do it in the computer than on the seat!!!

One of these days I will purchase the vinyl, and I will keep you informed about my progress

WhiteNoise wrote:AFA locating the headlight aim screw? I'm on the same page now in my svc manual...where is it located? & how do you access it? Some of these illustrations need help (I do, anyway )

Yes, the illustration in the owner's manual is not very useful... I have just had a look at the underside of the headlight, and yes, there is an adjusting bolt/screw, difficult to see if we do not look closely:



It's supposed that one has to use a (stubby) Philips screwdriver to release a little bit the bolt, and then introduce the tip of something pointy to move the adjuster clockwise or counterclockwise, and then tight the bolt to lock the adjuster in the desired position? As soon as I have some minutes I will try to do it and post my results (These technical things are even difficult to explain in my native language (Spanish), so please excuse if I do not explain myself correctly in English... )

pcxpower wrote: As soon as I have some minutes I will try to do it and post my results

I have already done it, and it couldn't been easier! Literally, a 20 second job

Forget what I indicated before: You simply have to turn the 10mm nut:

* Clockwise: The beam goes down
* Counterclockwise: The beam goes up

No need to do anything else. When the beam has reached the desired length/reach, you simply stop rotating the nut, and it's done One can easily do it on route, as is extremely simple and fast.

Instead of using a Philips screwdriver you can use a regular 10mm wrench. In mi case I used this special one:





^^^ by the way, the new seat's upholstery looks great in detail! ^^^^

pcxpower wrote:Talking about the seat, I intend to modify it myself...

I forgot to mention that one can "undo" the modification to the seat, as I will explain in my "how to", so that one can return the scooter to its original unmodified seat, should he/she changes his/mind, or intend to sell the scooter

I have recorded a short video of the LED taillight in action. It's really bright!!!!!

http://youtu.be/mfrFqkxNC4g

On the other hand, after adjusting the front LED headlight, according to what I wrote in my previous messages, I used the scooter yesterday night, and... WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!! Very nice light flow, and more important: Oncoming drivers are not blinded by the light!

Hey! Forgot to tel you, that you're doing a fine fine job talking to us in your native tongue! Not to worry (or as we say in New Yawk, "no worries bro" )

Okay now a question or two,
Going back to the headlight adj. screw: did "you" raise or lower the beam? Did you max out the screw in the direction you chose?
Viewing your tail-light brightness video (btw, thank you for that) - I'm wondering if you added a flashing mechanism while braking? Something like a "Back Off " modulator? I kinda like that idea. I saw a bit of that in the South. It "caught my eyes"....Did its job

Thank you very much for the encouragement! I wish I could speak in English as I do in my native language (Spanish). It's nice to know that you more or less understand what I say!

And about your questions:

* I lowered the beam, as it came from the Factory too high and I blinded oncoming drivers. I usually drive accompanied by my wife, so it was even worse... Now the beam is "spot on"

* I did not max out the screw, and I'm pretty sure that it admits a very ample regulation. It's really easy and, in fact, when I left home to test it by night, I took my 10mm tool and adjusted it in some seconds when I realized that I should have lowered it even more than I did. It takes literally "seconds", and if you do it with the scooter running (and the headlight "on") you can actually see the beam, so it's really easy.

* In the video (I'm glad that you liked it ) there was a custom "back off" modulator ---> MY WIFE's LEFT HAND!! Some years ago I also thought that it would be a good idea to install one of these devices, and even purchased one, but it was backordered, and these waiting days I changed my mind and cancelled the purchase, as here in Spain, laws are very strict and I would have been fined for sure...

I also was afraid that if there was an accident, and the other driver said "I was puzzled because there was an strange sequence of lights and I did not realised that the motorcycle was braking", there would be problems with the insurance, so when I'm followed by a vehicle and I need to brake hard, I brake/stop in fast sequence (if this expression is correct) with one of the levers, while braking hard with the other one, to let the other driver know that I'm braking hard. Until now, it has worked, but I try to always have an "scape route" if the other driver comes fast at me!!!!! Let's hope that we all are lucky and are not rearended...

Talking about the LED headlight, the other day I took a night picture with the "low beam" on:
It's not common to see a so bright/white headlight in motorcycles/scooters, given that xenon headlights are rare among 2 wheeled vehicles, and most of people stare at it when they see the scooter coming...

When I went to my Honda dealer there was a 2015 PCX with the higher optional HONDA windshield and Honda rack, and I took some pics for my fellow forum colleagues, in case that you could be interested in the higher (and pricey) windshield:

pcxpower wrote:when I'm followed by a vehicle and I need to brake hard, I brake/stop in fast sequence (if this expression is correct) with one of the levers, while braking hard with the other one, to let the other driver know that I'm braking hard.

Today I have needed to brake hard while followed by other vehicle, and I have realized that I wrote incorrectly what I do: I brake/stop in fast sequence with BOTH LEVERS at the same time, because if I did it with just one, the stop light would be on the whole time, instead of "flashing" to warn the other driver that we are braking hard

By the way: The PCX has not a rear wheel disc, but it brakes ok. Drive carefully and precisely