The Honda PCX / Forza / ADV150 / SH Forums

typhon2222 wrote:

sendler2112 wrote:1,750 rpm at idle. Hopefully 8,000 at full throttle as you pull through 30-50 mph. Now that you have the longer gearing of the clone NCY vario, you may never see redline again at 9,600 rpm which would be 80 mph.

So, having installed the NCY variator & drive face, with 12g rollers, along with a tachometer, I took the red candy bomb out for a test spin today.

Idle after a few minutes of warming up: 1,725.

RPM at full throttle pulling through 30-50 mph: about 7,800 on average.

Max speed: about 62 mph (and even at that speed, tach only showed about 8,000).

I'm surprised to get those results with the 12g rollers. If I recall, 7,800 is what Homie and some others with the NCY were getting with 13g rollers....

Am also bummed that top speed wasn't a tad higher. I'm a small light guy (5'8", 140 lbs), and am running with a small Givi windscreen (which, if I recall, is about ideal for speed).

typhon2222 wrote:Yesh, those results with the NCY were on my 2011 125. With Givi Mid. (I think I said small earlier, but can't edit the dratted post.)

I've got a 2013 150 too, so I'll be interested to hear your results.... You're using 13g rollers?

Hmmm, I used no loctite..... perhaps I should? (and get an impact driver....)

typhon2222 wrote:Hun, interesting....

So if I understand right, ideally I'd like to find rollers of a weight that would pull at or a little above 8,000 when full-throttling up from 30 through 50 mph or so, and would hit naturally limited (by wind & weight) top-speed at something like..... oh, maybe 8,800 on flats (leaving a few hundred RPM in reserve for when downhilling/tailwinding)?

typhon2222 wrote:

sendler2112 wrote:1,750 rpm at idle. Hopefully 8,000 at full throttle as you pull through 30-50 mph. Now that you have the longer gearing of the clone NCY vario, you may never see redline again at 9,600 rpm which would be 80 mph.

So, having installed the NCY variator & drive face, with 12g rollers, along with a tachometer, I took the red candy bomb out for a test spin today.

Idle after a few minutes of warming up: 1,725.

RPM at full throttle pulling through 30-50 mph: about 7,800 on average.

Max speed: about 62 mph (and even at that speed, tach only showed about 8,000).

I'm surprised to get those results with the 12g rollers. If I recall, 7,800 is what Homie and some others with the NCY were getting with 13g rollers....

Am also bummed that top speed wasn't a tad higher. I'm a small light guy (5'8", 140 lbs), and am running with a small Givi windscreen (which, if I recall, is about ideal for speed).

typhon2222 wrote:I'm not happy with my new Yamaha SMAX. (There's lots to like about it — but it's just not for me.)

yodaismycopilot wrote:

typhon2222 wrote:I'm not happy with my new Yamaha SMAX. (There's lots to like about it — but it's just not for me.)

Am looking for a first bike. Am looking at both PCX 150 and SMAX. Was curious to know what you did not like so much about the SMAX. Thanks and I appreciate any of your insights!

A local used dealership had a great deal on a 2011 Honda PCX125, so I picked it up.

And almost wish I hadn't, because it turns out I far prefer it to my new SMAX.

I really wanted to like the SMAX. And it does get some things right for me over the PCX, such as...

* the flat floorboard (not just because it's easier to step into the SMAX, but also because it provides a place to put stuff, temporarily rest things when you're fiddling with gear and moving things in and out of the underseat compartment, etc.);

* the much larger cubby hole in the front fairing (the PCX's glovebox is miniscule, and a pain to use);

* the presence of a bag hook on the front fairing, a tiny item that adds great utility;

* a far more comfortable seat (though the new 2015 PCX150 redesigns the seat, eliminating the hump that was the bane of the earlier models);

* higher speed, of course, than the PCX125 (and perhaps marginally faster than the PCX150, but if so, by only a few MPH);

* standard arrangement of controls (the PCX switches the position of the blinker and horn buttons, so you're constantly honking when you mean to indicate a turn -- it's really obnoxious, and absolutely unnecessary; plus both buttons are hard to reach on the PCX);

* bright attention-grabbing running lights below the headlights;

* far far brighter taillights, and brighter braking lights, than the 2011 and 2013 PCX (don't know how the new 2015 PCX stacks up);

* and greater under-seat space, or at least, a more usable configuration of space than what the PCX has.


So why do I still, hands down, prefer the PCX? It handles like a nimble dream to me, while the SMAX feels like a cumbersome tank in comparison. The SMAX is heavier, of course, but I guess it's also a matter of where the weight is concentrated: the Yamaha has a higher center of gravity. Combine that with the scoot's greater weight, and it's a beast for me to wrangle around in my garage. I'm sure guys with big bikes will laugh at me for saying it, but the SMAX is just too big for me to maneuver comfortably. And on the road too, it feels like a tank to me. The handling on the PCX is more akin to my tiny 50cc Metropolitans than it is to the SMAX: quick and nimble like a bicycle.

The PCX also feels much easier to handle at very low speeds (say, when turning out of a parking space) than the SMAX -- and it's more than just a function of its lighter weight. Much of that has to do with the throttle and power transmission. The PCX will start moving forward very gently with a slight twist. The SMAX, in contrast, transmits no power at all, then suddenly leaps forward.

And while the SMAX's seat is more comfortable, it's just too high for me. (I'm only 5'8".) The PCX keeps my butt and legs closer to the ground. Doesn't much matter when you're hauling along. But come stop-and-go city traffic, and it makes a huge difference in my comfort.

There's also the aesthetic factor. Straight from the side I prefer the looks of the SMAX. But from almost every other angle, I think the PCX is the sexier machine. The scale plays a role here too. The PCX's styling seems perfectly matched to its smaller proportions. Whereas something about the SMAX's design seems mismatched to its size. Wish I could be more specific here, but that's the best I can put it.

I haven't given up on the SMAX yet. Hoping that with more riding I'll come to understand how it wants to move, learn to control it, and develop a better feel for the twitchy throttle. But for me, at least, it's no PCX-killer.

OldGuy wrote:Went on about a 260 mile ride yesterday on my unmodified 2015 pcx 150. On the way there (Spanish Fort, TX), I took mostly secondary highways, got lost a couple times, stopped for lunch etc. However by the time I got there it was already after 3pm and the grandkids baseball game was at least 2 hours away, so I just rodeher wide open on the freeway for about 90 minutes, on the 75 mph freeway till I hit a traffic jam at Denton. All this to say that with 2000 plus miles on the bike she's indecating about 58-62 mph on the speedometer but the cars and trucks on Interstate 35 are not passing me all that fast. Except for the stop and go traffic jam I didn't feel threatoned by the freeway traffic. In spite of that long traffic jam I got to the ball park right after the game started. The scooter is a joy to ride in town. I can get places much quiter than in my minivan.

tbln930 wrote:I took my NCY w/13 gr rollers upgraded PCX on vacation to the Ozarks a few weeks ago and even though it raised the top end into the 70s the upgrade really helped out on the Ozark mountains. Much better acceleration and speed maintenance up the steep inclines then when I first used it in the Ozarks stock last fall.

OldGuy wrote:I might have to try the NCY variator upgrade. I was noting the angle of the stock windscreen, if you can call it a screen. It should direct the wind up over most riders. From long ago experiance it likely would if you could get enough speed out of the bike. Way back with my first bike, a Honda cb350, I was going across the West Texas desert and for a short distance ran wide open to see how fast it would go. I had no windshield other than the bubble shield on my helmet. The wind had ripped my nylon wind breaker to tatters, but at about 85 or 90mph all of a sudden I was settinh upright in almost still air. I assumed that the headlight must have deverted the air around me. It was amazing. Too bad I couldn't just stay at that speed, but didn't want to get a speeding ticket. Anyway, I would bet this tiny windscreen would act similar at high enough speed. I am happy however that Givi now has a screen for the 2015 PCX. Happy to hear that the NCY helps maintain speed up hills. Thanks.

kurt_tml wrote:Hi, anybody tried malossi variator? Its costd about usd130