The Honda PCX / Forza / ADV150 / SH Forums

At the Honda dealer yesterday. Took another close look at the PCX. I like the looks, overall design and the feel. But, I have a few steep grades here. A short one into the neighborhood for example. If I thought it would handle the short 25 mph stretch I will pursue a purchase. Otherwise, not sure about what is next.[/size]

My 2019 has no problems with the hills in San Francisco...

For a single rider, it will handle it fine. I’m 250 pounds and have no problem or large grades around my neighborhood. Now if you have two people and they’re both relatively big (meaning obese), you may have a problem.

You wont have any issues, and if you do, Change the weights and let that puppy rev... I cant fathom a situation where the bike wont be able to climb hills...

Small hills ok..long grades and you will see it drop off especially with a wind.. Bigger is better if you have grades and steep climbs.

It might not get real good grades to dun pass.

Gradients, or a slope, will be fine as long as it is hard paved and general traffic use it.

The laws of physics dictate that every vehicle will be slower whilst climbing a steep hill when compared to their speed on the flat - and the PCX is no exception.

So the question becomes "how much of a speed drop is acceptable?" Not sure what the speed limit is for you, but in my parts - in the city - it's exactly 1/2 the speed that the bike is capable of on the flat - so there's actually quite a lot of power in reserve that you can deploy if you're going up a steep hill with a city speed limit restriction.

For me (being a bigger guy) the bike won't quite maintain the speed limit on steep city hills - but it's close. Cars behind me aren't particularly held up as their performance is reduced too. If there's "that one guy" stuck behind you - driving up your exhaust pipe - who wants to get by then my personal philosophy is to indicate - pull to the side (without stopping) - and help them pass; I don't want him behind me putting me at risk any more than he wants to be there - so letting him pass keeps everyone happy - it's a win/win.

I've had the bike on even steeper hills with another fattie on the back - combined weight probably in the region of 500 pounds and the bike is quite slow but the transmission does it's job and gets us there no problem.

My advice is to simply tell the dealer of your concern and ask for a test ride up a hill to see for yourself. I ride mine over quite a few hills and for the most part I'm cursing car drivers ... not because they're behind driving up my exhaust pipe - but because they're ahead and going too slow (the hilled roads I'm on are quite twisty and the bike can navigate through corners considerably faster than the average car and driver).

Hope this helps. Personally, I suspect that you're over-thinking it. If you want ultimate hill performance then go buy the latest Fireblade - you'll be able to pull wheelies up hill in most gears ... you just won't have any onboard storage - or great fuel economy - or any money left in your bank account!

HondaC110 wrote:My 2019 has no problems with the hills in San Francisco...

I know SF hills and if you are happy in that environment then you have put any question I had to rest. The only hill of concern is in the hood and much shorter than any in SF.

I ride single and weigh 160.

Thanks for all the responses.

P.S. if I am in the mood to smoke down the road, I have my Ninja.

TahoePCX wrote: P.S. if I am in the mood to smoke down the road, I have my Ninja.

You may notice a small drop in performance moving up to the PCX

Going down or up?

Coasting wrote:

TahoePCX wrote: P.S. if I am in the mood to smoke down the road, I have my Ninja.

You may notice a small drop in performance moving up to the PCX

Yeah, I know but I am never in a hurry these days. Looking for something easy and comfortable and not concerned with speed. When I ride with my neighbor on his Ducati then will need to be able to keep up. Otherwise, on my own, just want to cruise along and enjoy the ride. The Ninja 68 hp and 425 curb weight. Only a 650 and enough for me. I think I read somewhere the top speed is over 140 and I will NEVER reach that.

Thanks again for the responses.

I can agree with all the posts here, I've ridden around in the rural hills of Arkansas. Took a hill the other day that was practically straight up into the sky at about 30MPH you just have to open the throttle up.
I will say though I am 'only' around 135LBS.

Many many years ago, when I was in the military and stationed in San Francisco, there was a hill outside of the city that warned riders and drivers that they needed a certain amount of horse power or they would not make it up that hill. I doubt the PCX150 would be able to make it up that hill, but it was steeper than Telegraph Hill in San Fran...which the PCX150 could probably make it up with a little effort.

So I would have to say that your answer would be a "yes", but with a proviso. There are obviously some hills that will pull all of your power and still need more, so it will depend on the steepness of the hill. If an old VW Bug can't make it up that hill, you might find it difficult for your PCX150 to climb that hill as well.