The Honda PCX / Forza / ADV150 / SH Forums

Hey everyone, I'm new to the forums and I'm a new owner of a PCX 150. I rode my father in law's for months before I bought my own and had fallen in love with it after the first few rides! I picked mine up used, only 130 miles on it, so everything should be relatively new and in great condition.

I took it out for a spin yesterday for the first time, and I had a blast. However, on one of the long straightaways in my area, I wasn't able to push it beyond 55 mph? When I rode my father in law's PCX 150 I went 50 mph on that same road with a passenger with little to no issue, now on my own PCX I feel like I'm redlining it to maintain 55 mph with no passenger! Any ideas on what might be hindering its top speed would be hugely appreciated, I don't have a ton of technical know-how but I do have mechanic friends to help me out. Is there any sort of governor on the PCX? Again, any help is appreciated, thanks

P.S. I'm not trying to clutter the forums, I did check out some of the other "top speed issue" posts, but they mostly talked about issues after changing out parts, mine is completely stock.

Your bike only has 130 miles on it. It isn't going to be fully broken in until close to 2,000 miles. Ride it conservatively until at least your 600 mile service. Then try to keep it below 60 mph if you can. Eventually it will be broken in enough that it will reach its top speed, which should be 67 mph based on GPS, not your speedometer, which is usually off by up to 10% OR right on the mark. I know, that sounds strange. Some of these scooters have speedometers that are correct, and some don't . Most bikes are off by up to 10%. That is a given. So feel lucky if your PCX is right on the money, based on a GPS you bring with you....or you can ride behind a car that sets the pace. Those have to be correct. I hope this helps.

Mel46 wrote:Some of these scooters have speedometers that are correct, and some don't . Most bikes are off by up to 10%. That is a given. So feel lucky if your PCX is right on the money.

did not know this, grabbing helmet and GPS

That is super helpful information, thank you for letting me know! I'll keep it around 50 until I can get it fully broken in, I'll mostly just be commuting to school and work each day so no real need to take it beyond 50 mph in my city. Thanks again for the info and for the swift response, looking forward to reading and learning more in these forums.

Welcome aboard!

You scoot should go faster than 55, but no need to push it for a few more miles. Maybe you can find one of those radar things the cops set up to see if your particular speedo is off (or on - mine seems pretty much right on).

Relax and enjoy your ride.

I just hit 600 miles on mine and it maxes out between 55 and 60. I had to ride it back from the dealer 60 miles from my home at highway speeds, so rode it longer at max speed than I would have preferred during break in.

Chaseme37 wrote:Hey everyone, I'm new to the forums and I'm a new owner of a PCX 150. I rode my father in law's for months before I bought my own and had fallen in love with it after the first few rides! I picked mine up used, only 130 miles on it, so everything should be relatively new and in great condition.

I took it out for a spin yesterday for the first time, and I had a blast. However, on one of the long straightaways in my area, I wasn't able to push it beyond 55 mph? When I rode my father in law's PCX 150 I went 50 mph on that same road with a passenger with little to no issue, now on my own PCX I feel like I'm redlining it to maintain 55 mph with no passenger! Any ideas on what might be hindering its top speed would be hugely appreciated, I don't have a ton of technical know-how but I do have mechanic friends to help me out. Is there any sort of governor on the PCX? Again, any help is appreciated, thanks

P.S. I'm not trying to clutter the forums, I did check out some of the other "top speed issue" posts, but they mostly talked about issues after changing out parts, mine is completely stock.

Mel46 wrote:Some of these scooters have speedometers that are correct, and some don't.

Mine seems to be right on the money based on the speed given whenever I ride past a speed display sign by the road (they seem to like to use a lot of those here in San Diego). I was surprised by this considering how much I've read about scooter speedos being so far off. My wife's Buddy on the other hand, it reads about 5 mph below mine when travelling at 35 mph or so.

To OP, agree with the above. Don't ride for long stretches at full throttle. The best break in for your scooter engine is a lot of starting and stopping or varied speeds. Try to take it easy for a while (I know, it's hard).

I got a 2nd pcx150 a few months ago. Aside from having a stock variator at the time, it had 16 miles on it when I bought it. It felt noticeably slower that my other PCX150 with over 2k miles. Noticed more engine power since, and is getting closer to being on par power wise to my other PCX. 3 things will help...one already mentioned:

1) Time...well mileage really. Give it to about 2k miles to really "seat" the piston ring which gives higher compression, thereby, more power.

2) Look into variator mods. I run and NCY Variator and NCY drive face ($90 total) and top speed is 79mph (rev limited) (http://www.corsportusa.com)
Tip: The power falls off according to the dyno chart in the last 1k rpms on this bike. THat means as you're trying to accelerate from 60-67mph top speed (stock variator configuration) your dealing with increased wind resistance at the same time your motor is losing power...not a good combo, and why our bikes feel so lethargic stock over 60mph. Again, seriously consider variator mods. FOr me, the modified variator bike feels stronger running into the rev limiter at 79mph than the stock variator bike at 67mph. I now have the same NCY variator and drive face setup in both bikes. =)

3) Tuck down. On these low powered scoots, overcoming wind resistance by tucking down will gain you 6-8mph on a flat.

BTW, the speedos on the US PCX150's are pretty much spot on. =)

Mine hits the rev limiter at 68 now at 9xx miles. Do those third party CVT parts affect acceleration much? I might consider it after the warranty runs out. I wonder if the rev limiter is set the same in the 2013s and 2015s?

SEcoda, I'm only 150lbs, so it's not an issue for me, but I really didn't notice too much of a loss in acceleration from a stop. For me the tradeoff for better top end and accel in that range was worth it! BTW, I use the OEM rollers in the NCY variator. Anytime you change rollers for top speed you give up some accel down lower. Like I mentioned above, I don't notice a power deficit down low, it's noticeable at freeway speeds, and has to do with the power tapering off close to redline.

As a note, Honda makes these bikes to cover a wide range of customer profiles and usages. It really does make sense to tailor the variator to your specific needs to get the most out of your bike. I have a performance clutch that make my PCX take off like a rocket, but I took it off because over 50mph, it really struggled, and it dropped my fuel economy by 25% and went through drive belts rather quickly. If I actually needed the accel, I'd run it, but prefer to give it up in the name of economy. I've already had the 165hp 1000cc sportbike that would wheelie in 4th gear. Im into a different game now. =)