The Honda PCX / Forza / ADV150 / SH Forums

well almost new, but i purchased a 2013 PCX with 840 miles from a dealer yesterday, am picking it up tomorrow, dealer says he will check it over before i take it, my question is i have about an hour drive to get it home and wanted to know if i can check the oil myself before i leave the dealer, can it be checked without taking any covers off.

Chet

The dipstick/oil filler cap is on the right side of the scooter at the back end of the engine, just forward of the muffler. No body panels need to be removed to get at it or to change the oil. It should have had a full service at 600 miles. If the oil does not look relatively fresh, I would not sign anything until the service is completed.

Thanks Paul. the dealer did say it was serviced, but i do want to double check. Lancaster, been there many times, we are up in Wilkes Barre, bought the bike at Rusty Palmers in Honesdale

Chet

Ahh, a fellow Pennsyltuckian. Been through the wilkes-Barre area only once. Scenic for sure. Was on 81, so I didn't get down into the valley. Don't know anything about your dealer, but I do know they exist to make money, and this leads some to cut corners.

Hope the scoot treats you as well as mine has me.

Paul

thought about the deal, was looking on the internet for 2 weeks, this one at the dealer caught my eye 840 miles with an aftermarket rack on the back and a aftermarket taller windshield, some on the web were salvage bikes and some with alot of miles, this one has a scratch on the side, can be easily fixed, and to top it off while i was looking at it another guy came looking at it too, he was looking it over, i thought he wanted to buy it, he said nice bike and i said yea!, then he said he is the original owner, he traded it last week for a bike, he said his wife fell over where the scratch is and he said the windshield was around $100 bucks and offered better wind protection, said it was a good scooter, now i have about an hour drive to get it home, there are some backroads, but might have to ride the interstate for 15 miles or so, not sure if it will handle the interstate, might take my trailer up, i also have a V Strom, nice bike too, great for touring, do you get on the interstate's at all

Chet

Your PCX will go 60-65 on the interstate, so long as there are no really long hills. If you pick a quiet time and stay to the right, you should be OK, but it will not be fabulous fun.

Until you get on the backroads... THEN you will find out what a good buy you made.

Welcome aboard.

i might drive it home and have the wife follow me in the car, dumb question, but i can ask the dealer too, but i am curious, it says the instrumentation and has a gas low light, is there a gauge that i can see how much is in it at times or only a low warning.

Chet
ps cant wait to get it i hear so many good things about it, i was looking at the burgman 400 and the yamaha Magesty. i was ready to make the purchase on a Magesty, till i stopped at a dealer the other day and sat on both the burgman and the magesty, never rode them, but they just seem so heavy, not sure it would be a fun bike for what i was looking for,

Chet

Congrats! See my sig for lots of ideas...some good, some bad....lol

chet wrote:Paul

thought about the deal, was looking on the internet for 2 weeks, this one at the dealer caught my eye 840 miles with an aftermarket rack on the back and a aftermarket taller windshield, some on the web were salvage bikes and some with alot of miles, this one has a scratch on the side, can be easily fixed, and to top it off while i was looking at it another guy came looking at it too, he was looking it over, i thought he wanted to buy it, he said nice bike and i said yea!, then he said he is the original owner, he traded it last week for a bike, he said his wife fell over where the scratch is and he said the windshield was around $100 bucks and offered better wind protection, said it was a good scooter, now i have about an hour drive to get it home, there are some backroads, but might have to ride the interstate for 15 miles or so, not sure if it will handle the interstate, might take my trailer up, i also have a V Strom, nice bike too, great for touring, do you get on the interstate's at all

Chet

I'm going to guess it have a givi windscreen on it. It's A decent screen and offers better wind protection than the stock screen. Read through my blog (link in sig) for my take on the bike, a vid of the windscreen install including a brief review that includes a bit of commentary on hwy riding, as well as another vid of the Honda rear rack/trunk mount install.

As a summary of hwy riding, as another has stated, it's possible, but not really what the scooter is designed for. Being so light, it's susceptible to wind interference, esp from passing big rigs. If I were you, I'd map out a back route and ride it home, with maybe traveling a couple miles on the hwy to get the feel of it. I know mine really seems at home around 50 mph as I generally find myself there upon looking down at the speedo. This is a problem since a lot of the roads around my house are 25 mph.

chet wrote:i might drive it home and have the wife follow me in the car, dumb question, but i can ask the dealer too, but i am curious, it says the instrumentation and has a gas low light, is there a gauge that i can see how much is in it at times or only a low warning.

Chet
ps cant wait to get it i hear so many good things about it, i was looking at the burgman 400 and the yamaha Magesty. i was ready to make the purchase on a Magesty, till i stopped at a dealer the other day and sat on both the burgman and the magesty, never rode them, but they just seem so heavy, not sure it would be a fun bike for what i was looking for,

Chet

The instrument panel includes a gas gauge and when it has about .4 gallons left will have one blinky block telling you it's low on fuel.

The Majesty and Burgy have single cylinder "thumpers". The Burgy's is better balanced than the Yamaha, based on my experience riding them, which means less vibration at a standstill, and I could tell the difference. I found it very unpleasant on the Majesty, and could feel it a bit even at speed. Both are a good bit heavier than the PCX, but the weight serves a purpose. Neither is as sporty because of the size and weight, but they are designed with long distance hwy riding in mind, unlike the PCX which has more of an urban / suburban feel about it. Not that you can't do a long range ride on the PCX, you can, and I will be doing just that this next weekend, but I've been told I'm missing a few French fries from my happy meal.

Jge64 wrote:Congrats! See my sig for lots of ideas...some good, some bad....lol

Glen, I can't connect by clicking your thread in your signature. So I quickly did this for New member Chet: http://www.hondapcx.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4640

Hey! Welcome Chet you're going to love your PCX! It's a different kind of Fun...so agile and flickable. You'll find that out Real soon Definitely check out Glen's thread above, it'll Wow you!
Have you thought about asking the dealer to deliver your scoot? Many of them do it. Some for free, some for a $$. Just an idea. Me? I always want my very first ride on "my new to me bike" to be a fun exciting safe and memorable. Why shouldn't it be? it's a special day indeed! Cheers

well thanks guys, there is alot of reading about this PCX on the link you attached, one thing i read was about the dipstick, the part that shows the level, is it prone to failure, am i understanding it right.

Chet

One person said watch it and it was a diff dipstick, be careful what you read on forums, things can morph into catastrphe where there is none. So far mine is fine, does not look to be a design or mfg fault. But don't buy the bikerz dipstick if you think it's going to be easier to read, it's all garnish and not much function.

You need to be very careful when choosing a replacement dipstick, you'll know when its time to get one when the original one can't reach the oil anymore.
Take a note of the length of the original and get one at least 15mm longer, this should reach down to the oil ok.
Some will say that a 10mm longer one will be enough, but for safety you're always better to go with the 15mm extra.

PCX dipstick prone to failure / shortening < what? I've been a member of this forum for over a year and this is the first I can remember reading this. Seriously? I thought as long as you dont break it it lasts the lifetime of the scoot?

iceman wrote:PCX dipstick prone to failure / shortening < what? I've been a member of this forum for over a year and this is the first I can remember reading this. Seriously? I thought as long as you dont break it it lasts the lifetime of the scoot?

You are having one of your limbs tugged

gn2 wrote:You need to be very careful when choosing a replacement dipstick, you'll know when its time to get one when the original one can't reach the oil anymore.
Take a note of the length of the original and get one at least 15mm longer, this should reach down to the oil ok.
Some will say that a 10mm longer one will be enough, but for safety you're always better to go with the 15mm extra.

This is something of which I am unaware...Do the dipsticks go through some kind of shrinkage? "I WAS IN THE POOL!!!"

"Dipstick-gate"


"You're holding it wrong"......
7/16/10
S Jobs..



Lol.....

Under prolonged exposure to oil, the modern dipstick tends to shrink.
The old materials used in dipsticks cannot be used for environmental reasons nowadays and the new organic green materials just don't stay the same size for long enough.

gn2 wrote:Under prolonged exposure to oil, the modern dipstick tends to shrink.
The old materials used in dipsticks cannot be used for environmental reasons nowadays and the new organic green materials just don't stay the same size for long enough.

We all have this problem with our dipsticks as we age...

Should the bike be taken to a shop so the mechanic can check up the tailpipe to make sure everything is in working order?