Hello all. I need a little friendly advice… thanks!

[florida-boy]

Hi, I'm Brad and I live in Jacksonville, FL. I'll be 38 next week, I'm married with a 3 y/o boy and spend a lot of time on the water. My wife and I recently had our 10 yr wedding anniversary and went to Savannah, GA. We rented a 50cc scooter and had a great time. Since then I got my motorcycle endorsement/license and have decided to buy a scooter - only nicer/faster than what we rented.
That was my first experience on a scooter. My brother and father both ride Harleys; my dad not so much anymore. I just want something for cruising around town and I want something that my wife and I can take on the hgwy for trips to St Augustine (about an hour away).
I'm 5-11 and 200 lbs. I started out looking at the PCX 150 but have reservations. I fear that after owning it for a short while I will regret not getting something bigger. I want a scooter that's highway capable, will perform well with 2-up and offer enough leg room (I'm 5/11 but have long legs). I've been looking online at the Forza and Silverwing but I'm not sure I want to pony up the dough on the Silverwing. There aren't many scooters sold where I live and the local dealer doesn't offer test rides; I'm going to look for a more committed scooter dealer starting tomorrow, but in the meantime, I happened upon this forum and thought I'd sign up and ask for some advice.
Specifically, should I look past the PCX 150 to a larger scooter like the Forza or Silverwing since highway capability, comfort with 2-up and leg room are important to me? I'd love to hear what experienced owners have to say, thanks!

[homie]

Yep, you are too tall for a comfortable seating position on a PCX and dedicated highway travel is out of the question for the little Honda. Having the additional passenger weight on the highway would be brutal as well on a PCX so you are thinking correctly.
Welcome to the forum Brad but it might not be the right one for you and your wife's cycle needs.

[kramnala58]

Welcome to hondapcx.org. I hope we can be of help. It won't take us long to forget where you are from, so why not revisit your profile page and update your location. It helps when we are offering assistance to know where you are from because we are located literally around the world.

I don't think your height will be the issue, but a few times in your post you mentioned both highways and the thought of a larger bike. That tells me your mind is already there, so you might as well do it now as it will only be a matter of time before you do ... and likely a short time.

I am 6'1" and ride in a very congested city (Bangkok, Thailand). The PCX is perfect. I come most recently from the US but spent most of my life in Canada. If I move back to either of those countries, I would definitely move up in size to the Forza at minimum.

[iceman]

I'm 6ft and have no issues with seating position on the LED version of the PCX (seat different from past models). Yep, it's way too light and not powerful enough for anything other than occasional fast speed on some faster lanes outside of town, it's made for town use.

[Oyabun]

Considering highway and two up riding requirement including your dimensions - I believe you'd have to make a lot less compromises with choosing the Forza than the PCX. Both are great scoots - but they are designed for different purposes.

[GatorGreg]

Welcome fellow Florida-boy! After reading about your scooter needs I have but one piece of advice:

May the Forza be with you!

Seriously though, if you stick to the alternate routes like A1A you could probably get by with the PCX IMO. But I would not recommend getting on I-95 with regularity.

[honkerman]

The PCX is an excellent scooter and perfect for roads with speed limits up to 50 mph for a single rider. It can do 65 and a bit more, but only just and it's screaming the whole time, again, this is with a single rider. For two-up riding, I'd say the PCX would be better around town or on rural roads with speed limits around 40. It's only an itty-bitty 150cc engine. Asking more of it is going to drastically shorten its life and trying to ride it on a 65mph highway with two people on board could drastically shorten your life as well.

That said, here are some options:

1.) get two PCX's (or similar scooters), one for you and one for the wife. Put a sidecar on one for the kid. Plot your route so you won't need to run on the highway (highway riding sucks monkey nuts anyway).

2.) Buy something that will be comfortable for two up riding with enough power to handle the highway , like a Yamaha Majesty, Burgman, Kymco Xciting 500i. or a Silverwing. These will all go at highway speeds with a passenger and the operator. You could do it with a 250 or a 300, but again, you're asking a lot of that smaller displacement cylinder when you put a passenger on pilion.

3.) just go all in and get a Goldwing. If you really want to run long distance on the highway, that is the way to go about it.


The PCX is most at home in an urban or suburban setting, but it does work well on back roads with twisties. Even though the advertizing says it's highway capable, that is all it is: Advertizing. Yes, it will work for short hops, and I run mine on the highway a few times a week, at short hops, in a 55mph zone. Not only is it hard on the machine, it kills fuel economy and the wind from the slipstream of other vehicles can be dangerous. It can't be said enough, if your goal is to run on the highway a lot, the PCX is not the machine for you.

[Bash On!]

Having both the PCX150 and the Silver Wing, I can assure you the PCX will likely be too small for your needs.

For me, the Forza riding position was even more cramped than the PCX's, but you might fit better. There's a new non-ABS Forza being advertised locally for $3995.

For that price or less, though, you could get a used, low-mileage Silver Wing. They have a reputation for being trouble-free and running forever. Luckily for you, resale value is not good so you could get a deal, especially this time of year. The Silver Wing is bigger and has a larger displacement, so it will take you longer to get comfortable on it than a smaller scooter. The SW is perfect for the highway, though, and is not bad at all around town. Check out the SW forum at http://www.silverwing600.com/

A little more friendly advice--whatever scooter you get, ride by yourself for a good while to get used to the scooter and being on two wheels. When my kids were the same young age as yours, I was extremely careful when both my wife and I were on the same bike--for reasons you can well imagine.

Best of luck, and welcome!

[honkerman]

A little more friendly advice--whatever scooter you get, ride by yourself for a good while to get used to the scooter and being on two wheels. When my kids were the same young age as yours, I was extremely careful when both my wife and I were on the same bike--for reasons you can well imagine.

This can't be said enough. A passenger can really throw off your balance and if they are new to riding it makes it even more challenging.

[homie]

Seriously though, if you stick to the alternate routes like A1A you could probably get by with the PCX IMO. But I would not recommend getting on I-95 with regularity.

average age of the Florida driver '90'

[GatorGreg]

Seriously though, if you stick to the alternate routes like A1A you could probably get by with the PCX IMO. But I would not recommend getting on I-95 with regularity.

average age of the Florida driver '90'

Homie's right - upon further review, with all those 90 year olds driving around I think it's too risky to have both parents on one scooter when you have a 3 year old to look after (as someone else pointed out above). If it were me I'd get his and her PCX's and stick to the back roads - I think that would be much more enjoyable for both of you

[Jge64]

I live in S Fla and the old people are not the problem. Yes there are a few, but the real bad drivers come from other countries in the north American continent. No turn signals, slow driving on interstates and turns from the wrong lane. But you must stay off the interstates with a PCX, it's just not powerful enuf to be safe. It's not only the limited speed of the PCX, but the weight...it gets blown around, big time.

[homie]

Well I lived in Florida for 15 years and will return soon, don't know how long they will be able to keep up the plantation song though with Aunt Jemima in the portrait in todays PC climate... but sure be careful, US90 is a good run.

[florida-boy]

Thanks for all the thoughtful input!
Sounds like regardless of what I get (was hoping not to spend too much), I will also want a small trailer to avoid the interstate altogether, especially when with the wife.
Was hoping not to spend too much $$$ I've already got a nasty fishing habit… can't take it with you I guess…
Maybe I'll just explain to the wife that if you consider the $$$ I'll save by not fishing when I ride the scooter, it will practically pay for itself…

[fish]

This a good time of year to be shopping scooters - unless you're in Florida! You goofy/lucky people ride scooters all year 'round.

The Silverwing is a LOT of scooter - indeed a superb cruiser for two-up for an hour on the interstates. Perhaps there is a nice left-over (no current yr models due to discontinued) or low mileage SW on the dealer's floor?

Forza is a nice 279cc scooter with a load/weight capacity of about 350 lbs. Priced like a Honda....unless you're up North where they are being discounted some, now.

Piaggio BV 350, around here in Ohio, is priced about the same as a Forza. Bigger engine - handsome Italian with at least the same abilities.

Kymco makes a couple of 300's that are very popular with their owners and sell for less than Hondas. Made in Taiwan - the new Japan. Fine quality. (Forza is made in Thailand....no where near the reputation of Taiwan builders of scooters!)

SYM makes a super Taiwanese made 300 - if you can find a good dealer & parts support.

If I were in your position - I'd be looking at Kymco 300's (sell for less $ than Forza - at least as well made) , BV350's (well made priced like the Forza), SW left-overs, and maybe the bigger load capacity of the Burgman 400's (left-over's priced like the Forza)....before I'd blindly buy a Forza. (I owned a new Forza for 365 days & loved it - traded for a new, left-over Burg. 400 love it more, should have bought it instead of the Forza - same $ - but blindly wanted a "Honda" ----and also own a Kymco product)
No way a PCX will work for you - even one-up has no business on the highways!

Good luck, Fish

[homie]

she might not care to ride after you go fishing a couple times with it.

[Bash On!]

I can smell that from here, homie.

[you you]

Well I lived in Florida for 15 years and will return soon, don't know how long they will be able to keep up the plantation song though with Aunt Jemima in the portrait in todays PC climate... but sure be careful, US90 is a good run.

Homie...!

[GatorGreg]

she might not care to ride after you go fishing a couple times with it.

Here's a scooter you can take fishing

[Mel46]

I have had a lot of bikes and I have had passengers on almost all of them. My best experience was with a used Suzuki Burgman 400. It handled beautifully with a passenger, and some people have actually turned them into a trike, though the Burgman 650 is better for that. You don't have to buy a new scooter to enjoy it. The one I purchased only had 2 miles on it, and when i sold it, it only had 8,000 miles on it and ran beautifully. You can probably find a really good used one for less than $3,500 - $4,000, though newer ones would be a little higher. Go to a dealer and look and some, sit on them, try 2 up seating. You would be surprised at how comfortable they are. They are meant for two up riding.