Drive belt life?

[Adonai1st]

Hi, what is the average life span for the drive belt on a PCX 150? My bike has about 14500 miles on it and has never been changed. Thanks in advance. ..

[gn2]

Service interval is 12,000 miles so time to change is now.
Or if you really want to know how long it will last, ride it till it breaks.

[Adonai1st]

Service interval is 12,000 miles so time to change is now.
Or if you really want to know how long it will last, ride it till it breaks.

Okay thanks.

[aguim]

Recommended replacement: 24,000km (15,000 mi.), according to the owner's manual.
It can probably last 30K in 'normal' use.

It is very important to take apart the Driven pulley once in a while, and properly clean/lube it.
A dried-out one will eat belts in a hurry. I use BelRay assembly lube generously, taking extreme
care not to contaminate the faces+belt.

[montliz44]

Good post, Aguim, thanks.

I notice your profile says you have a Forza. Have you done this service on the Forza yet? Reason I ask is because my Forza, at 5000 miles/8000 km, is still silent and I haven't touched it, whereas I've had my PCX apart three times already for cleaning and lube, even though it has fewer miles. I haven't replaced the driven face assembly on the PCX yet because the bearing appears to be in good condition. It just gets dry and dirty and then noisy and so I clean, lube, inspect, and reassemble it just to make it quieter (for a while).

I'm thinking about not worrying about the noise anymore and letting it go until it starts actually presenting other symptoms. What do you think? I'm sure there are plenty of PCX owners who never touch the transmission for years at a time.

YouYou, what say you to this? Being an oilhead owner, I'm sure you don't get too excited about a little engine noise.

Johnny

[aguim]

Johnny,

My Forza has 14500km, and I have done the lube job twice (when new, and recently). There
was not much grease there when I first had a look...

I now plan to clean/lube it every year (or 15000km).

Looks like your PCX has a worn inner bearing already. Buying a new pulley may be preferable to
fixing it, as the new ones are dirt cheap (as opposed to the Forza's) and have the better bearings
included. One of these 2 bearings is a needle one, and can ruin the output shaft if defective.

With a new (fixed) pulley and proper lube, the PCX should be OK.

Thinking about it : the Forza's clutch nut is 41mm (I use 1 5/8").
And: everything looked perfect at those 14,500 km.

[aguim]

Ooops,

I meant the INPUT shaft, of course (relative to the transmission itself).

[Adonai1st]

Recommended replacement: 24,000km (15,000 mi.), according to the owner's manual.
It can probably last 30K in 'normal' use.

It is very important to take apart the Driven pulley once in a while, and properly clean/lube it.
A dried-out one will eat belts in a hurry. I use BelRay assembly lube generously, taking extreme
care not to contaminate the faces+belt.

I ordered a new drive belt this afternoon and also ended up ordering a complete NCY transmission kit also, it includes the complete variator set with roller weights, as well as the complete clutch pulley set so I should be good to go once installed. Got a new air filter also...

[aguim]

Ronnies (oem parts) puts that at around 400$ for the PCX, real cheap.
Not so for the Forza, about thrice that (I stopped counting when it started hurting).

The parts are basically identical. Can anybody explain?

(But then I like to think I'll never need those, except a few belts+ rollers... Please do not
contradict me, I'm still hurting...)

[montliz44]

Thanks, Aguim. I wasn't aware that the new assembly had a redesigned and improved bearing. Considering that, I'll probably go ahead and buy and install the new parts, just because I love it when things work right instead of just working adequately.

One question, though: Am I correct that the driven face bearing is only moving when the engine is at idle, like at a stoplight, and that the driven face bearing does not move/make noise/wear out when the bike is underway and the two clutch faces are engaged? I ask because I only hear that particular noise when I'm pushing the PCX around the shop by hand or spinning the wheel with the engine off (scooter on centerstand) or letting it idle on the centerstand with the engine running. As soon as I rev up the engine and engage the rear wheel, the noise stops immediately.

If that's true, then the bearing would last forever as long as the vehicle is underway with the clutch engaged. Hmmm..

Whaddya think?

Johnny

[aguim]

Johnny,

Yes, you are right. Bearing noise will calm down as soon as the clutch engages (the bearings then
serve as radial supports only).

But even a slightly worn bearing will un-stabilize the pulley, creating other problems (belt noise,
belt wear) It never ends...unless the bearings (or whole pulley) are changed and properly lubed.

Don't you think Honda is responsible for this frequent PCX problem? I'd phone them in a hurry.

[montliz44]

Well, it's definitely a regular PCX issue, and probably the number one service complaint on this scooter. Several people on the forum have taken them to the dealer for repairs and the dealers have been aware of the problem and worked on them accordingly, but I don't remember whether the work was done under warranty or not. There are a couple of other threads on this, so maybe someone who's had this done at the dealer can tell us. I am pretty sure that there's never been a recall or a general service alert on it, though.

I just never take any repairs to the dealer (especially the place I bought this one from) if I don't absolutely have to, so I haven't talked to them or to Honda about it. I don't think Honda will speak to individuals, anyway, so the dealers would be our only contact.

Johnny

[aguim]

Johnny,

American Honda has a Customer Relations Department (866-784-1870), with a legal obligation
to listen to customers' complaints. I phoned its canadian counterpart about my Forza's fuel pump
(there were rumors an original recall was ineffective), where a guy sounding more like a lawyer
than an engineer told me: "nothing to worry about, young man. No, you won't need a spare one".
Well, three months later there was a recall#2 letter in the mail...

I LIKE Honda recalls, actually (won't complain about a new pump, hey). The Forza should now be very reliable (except the brake pads, of course...). We can't have it all, I guess...

[montliz44]

I hear ya.

I'm going on the theory that Honda considers this driven face bearing issue to be a known problem, but not a recall-level problem. Maybe if we wait long enough they will officially recall them and then I can go to my local dealer and pick up the parts for free and install them myself. Could happen!

Johnny

[iceman]

I hear ya. I'm going on the theory that Honda considers this driven face bearing issue to be a known problem, but not a recall-level problem. Maybe if we wait long enough they will officially recall them and then I can go to my local dealer and pick up the parts for free and install them myself. Could happen! Johnny

I wouldn't hold my breath on that one - Honda seem find knowing people will pay for repair and keep them and Dealers happy, should it not be done under warranty. If there is a permanent fix, better bearings or just using a good amount of grease in assembly, then new models will be better for it. $30 is not much anyway, but when I checked some months agom UK pricing was around £80 for the same item!