Trevor wrote:How many miles can you get out of these things, like do they often break down after 40-50,000 miles? Can it last years? I know maintenance is paramount here, so it will be brought in for service regularly.
That was a question on my mind when I bought too.
I'm at 32,000km now and it's still going as good as they day I bought it. I track oil burn (to give me an idea as to predicted engine life) and it currently burns around 60 - 70ml per 4,000km.
Like any vehicle, it's a mechanical beast and things do wear out eventually - and the PCX is no exception. There's a pretty good information base here, and from what I've observed, the kinds of things that pop up seem to do so at pretty much the same intervals.
I'll quickly outline some of the things (don't worry, nothing bad as such).
- Tyres. Expect to get about 15,000km out of a front one and 10,000 out of a rear one. The tyres are round on both the inside and outside when new - but get flatter on the outside with normal riding - but remain curved on the inside - and so the material between the centre of the tyre on the outside and the centre of the tyre in the inside are getting closer and closer - but that's not always particularly obvious from the outside. I've run two tyres to over 14,000km on the rear and ended up with rapid punctures that would have been "interesting" if I'd been going faster or was loaded up in a turn. I pushed them too far and so for me, I've set a limit of 10,000km for a tyre (changing it then costs less than having the bike hauled back to the dealer on the back of a truck - don't ask me how I know this ...). Costs less than an ambulance ride too.
- The bike has a common GY6 clutch which often develops a characteristic of making the bike shudder a bit on take-off until it fully engages a short time later (then no shuddering). Starts off when bike is cold, but progresses to when bike it warm too. Gets to a certain point but doesn't get any worse for a long time and then (in my case anyway) has actually started to get better. I was concerned about it until I understood what it was all about - now it doesn't bother me in the slightest (it's actually a nice reminder of the power in a way). Can be fixed easily enough at anytime also.
- Some bikes had a common fault with a noisy clutch bearing, but I think that's sorted on later models anyway, so I won't bore you with it. Mine is an affected model and it's still no biggie.
- The bike has a V-Belt transmission and Honda recommend the belt be replaced every 24,000km (mine is at 32,000 but will be replaced shortly). Dealer will be happy to do things like that for you, but at a cost. Many of us here enjoy doing a lot of our own maintenance; it's a little daunting at first, but it's not anywhere nearly as bad as people expect it to be - and there's a wealth of knowledge to answer ANY question you could possibly need to know in that regard. I'm in New Zealand and parts cost a LOT of money through official channels (I was quoted $160 NZD for a new belt that I got from overseas for about $50 in the end - inc freight) - should be much cheaper at your end, but you still need to decide how nice you want to be to your dealer.
- With regards to maintenance in general I think the most important thing is regular oil replacement. Book for mine says every 8000km, but I do it myself every 4,000km. Changing it can be messy or it can be a piece of cake - all depends on preparation, a few things, and technique. Piece of cake when you get the hang of it. A lot of book items are just "check this, check that" - in most cases they're absolutely fine because that's what you'd expect on a new bike.
- One of the things Honda does recommend is checking the valve clearances every service - bless them - because a LOT of things have to be taken off the bike to do that, which adds up to a bigger bill due to the time. I asked a non-affiliated dealer if that was really necessary and the answer that came back was along the lines of "it's not a particularly high-revving engine - and it's unlikely to change much - so just don't worry about it unless something suggests it needs it (like getting hard to start). So it was done once at 1000km and hasn't been touched since - and bike is still running as good as ever at 32,000km - and I'm expecting a lot more too. So I've saved about $600 from that decision so far.
- My personal opinion is that things like air filters, brake, and cooling fluids can be stretched further than Honda recommend, but since you're in the USA they're probably cheap enough to change on schedule for you anyway - so why not.
- Things like Brake pads will eventually need replacing - but not often (I'm still on my original ones) (although fronts are getting low now)
So in summary - yes, bike will need maintenance like any other bike. No known particularly nasty traits (pretty much the opposite in-fact). You can save money by doing a lot yourself if you want - or pay money to a dealer to do it for you if you want - no biggie either way so long as it gets done. By doing more stuff yourself though, you do get to know the bike a lot better which I've found to be a good thing.
I can't speak for others, but for me, a Givi box on the back has been invaluable - perfect place to store a first aid kit, wet weather gear, lunch, and a few other bits and pieces. Wouldn't want to be without it and it was pathetically cheap to buy and fit.
Hope this helps!