? for PCX150 owners

gn2 · Post by **gn2** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 1:11 pm

May I refer you back to your earlier observation about enthusiastic owners....
AFAIK none of the 150 owners above have any serious miles on their drive belt, this is crucial because as the belt wears the top speed drops significantly, mine is down more than 10% as compared to new.
By all means buy one and give it a go, but imo you would be far better served by a 250-300 job.
After two and a half years and 13,500 miles of ownership I would only recommend the PCX for city use.

redhandmoto · Post by **redhandmoto** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 2:42 pm

Consider me thus referred. But our replying colleagues do strike me as sober, straightforward yeomanry, not given to excitable hyperbole.

The next scoot, whatever it is, will be my, ah, 14th; I am familiar with 'worn belt/dropped speed' phenomenum. Shredded-belt phenomenum, even, which is why I always have spares about.

The 250+ CVT machines do not appeal. I've had two. The light motorcycle performs in that job-slot admirably. No need to duplicate its function.

Now it may well be that I seek that which does not - in the US market - exist: a small(ish) liquid-cooled, disc-braked CVT thing that allows both nimble urban handling and longish day rides at 55-60, unstressable by a few hours within 10% of its top end.

you you · Post by **you you** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 2:55 pm

gn2 wrote:May I refer you back to your earlier observation about enthusiastic owners....
AFAIK none of the 150 owners above have any serious miles on their drive belt, this is crucial because as the belt wears the top speed drops significantly, mine is down more than 10% as compared to new.
By all means buy one and give it a go, but imo you would be far better served by a 250-300 job.
After two and a half years and 13,500 miles of ownership I would only recommend the PCX for city use.

What about towns?

redhandmoto · Post by **redhandmoto** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 3:12 pm

you you wrote:
What about towns?

and hamlets, villages; informal unincorporated aggregations of rural hutments where people have few teeth and plot the casual robbery and murder of travelers with worn drive belts?

See, with my 55-60 cruising/EFI/Liquid-cooled desiderata, I am seeking to move efficiently between and away from such places on roads affording more visual interest than the massive featureless Interstates, and to use the same machine for my shopping, errands, endless doctor's appoinments, all in the chuffing urban milieu, where it is unhandy, a burden to be tied to a lumbering hog and its endless up and down shifting.

Once upon a time, in this same quest, I kitted a Zuma 125 to 164cc, and applied upgearing, and a nice stainless pipe. Which worked a wonder, truly. Until it blew up. Thus my adherence to stock and the wisdom of OEM engineers.

Someone will eventually, if this thread doesn't die of ennui or lack of oxygen, mention Piaggio and the many scoots in its lineup which seem to qualify. But. I have already sworn never to indulge in another Piaggio/Vespa/Aprillia rant...

gn2 · Post by **gn2** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 3:33 pm

The only way you will ever find out for sure if a PCX suits your needs is to buy and ride one for a while

If you do get one I'm sure you'll probably like it well enough.
But given your last post (and at the risk of sounding like a stuck record) I would just like to say two words: Kymco Downtown.

redhandmoto · Post by **redhandmoto** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 3:56 pm

Oh, certainly, if a bit of overkill. But.
Kymco can be had only via the afforementioned sight-unseen, un-sat-upon pig-in-a-poke route. The sole local Kymco "dealer" stocks only the 49cc machines; if I want something other than those, I put down a deposit and they order it. Similarly, the intriguing SYM machines cannot be seen or had within a couple hundred miles.
A sad state of affairs, but the US market generally is scoot-resistant, a niche within a niche. In PTWs, it favors and caters to the Harley-Davidson aesthetic, which is why all Asian non-sport bikes mimic that styling. Tsk.

EDIT: I see that there are apparently not many PCX150s around just yet...checking in, I usually see that entities accessing the forum are often just me, a couple of unregistered guests, and the drone-like Google Bot. What d'ya suppose the Bot rides?

ItsaHonda · Post by **ItsaHonda** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 5:10 pm

The PCX (even the 125) will do everything you say you need it to do... I doubt you'd be disappointed. In terms of small scoots under 200cc, I find it to be one of the best values in the lacking US market. It is more powerful than the typical 150, larger frame, it is liquid cooled, fuel injected, has larger wheels than the others and very impressive refinements (especially concerning the paint, suspension, guages and switchgear) for it's price. For what its worth, I ride a Burgman 650 and I don't think that even my 125 is under powered for what it is. For a 125, it impresses me. I have no trouble riding and keeping up with my friend's Kymco People 200. Considering that you're pretty set on a 150cc scooter, if the PCX doesn't satisfy your needs, no sub 200cc scooter can. Just my $0.02

redhandmoto · Post by **redhandmoto** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 5:31 pm

I appreciate those two coppers, Itsa...you're keeping up with the People 200, eh?; hmmm... the People 200 was on my list to look at until I discovered they're not to be found in my state. I believe that pup is an actual 173cc, yes? It was the seeming hole in the US market between 150 and 250 that I lamented, given the so-so performance of most available 150s. So that's good, your performance with the 125, and bodes well for the larger 150.

ItsaHonda · Post by **ItsaHonda** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 5:52 pm

The Kymco People 200 is technically a 163, I believe... but is only rated at 11 hp. That is exactly the output of my 125... though the People does have a smidgen more torque. In any case, I can run with him with no problem. The Piaggio Fly 150 is also rated at 11 hp. The PCX150 has 13 hp (or it may be something like 12.8 ), which you'll find is class leading, even compared to some slightly larger CC scoots.

I started off on a junky chinese maxi 250 that was only making 13 hp.

Alibally · Post by **Alibally** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 6:12 pm

It's a 125cc scooter. If you want to go fast buy a bigger bike.

redhandmoto · Post by **redhandmoto** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 6:22 pm

jeez; why dint I think of that...?

dasshreddar · Post by **dasshreddar** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 6:27 pm

correction it is a 153cc scooter.

Alibally · Post by **Alibally** » Tue Feb 26, 2013 2:08 am

dasshreddar wrote: correction it is a 153cc scooter.

Yes your correct, but it's still a city commuter bike.

Pcxdemon · Post by **Pcxdemon** » Tue Feb 26, 2013 3:39 am

redhandmoto wrote:jeez; why dint I think of that...?

Pcxdemon · Post by **Pcxdemon** » Tue Feb 26, 2013 3:54 am

ItsaHonda wrote:The Kymco People 200 is technically a 163, I believe... but is only rated at 11 hp. That is exactly the output of my 125... though the People does have a smidgen more torque. In any case, I can run with him with no problem. The Piaggio Fly 150 is also rated at 11 hp. The PCX150 has 13 hp (or it may be something like 12.8 ), which you'll find is class leading, even compared to some slightly larger CC scoots.

I started off on a junky chinese maxi 250 that was only making 13 hp.

I go on a group rides that happen every 5-6 weeks and we do about 150ish miles in the few hours. There are 250 and 300 gts vespas, kymco people 200,used to be fly 125-150,scarabeo 200 etc etc..
As a 125 only vespas and scarabeo 200 would be faster than the Pcx but by not too much margin as the sizes would suggest. Pcx always punched well above its weight as a 125cc. Since 170cc install i can say im on par with vespa 250's and scarabeo 200 (awesome 170cc engines,4v head) with 300cc just piping me ahead as the rider is some 20kg lighter than me. When we swapped scoots,me on (im 85kg) 300 and lighter bloke on my Pcx we were even up to 75mph with hardly no diff between the two....
Ive ordered 30mm throttle and im really keen to find out where that will lift 170's performance from here...

Dudley · Post by **Dudley** » Tue Feb 26, 2013 6:07 am

I believe the kymco like200 is 163cc.
The people 200 is 205cc.
But I could be wrong.

redhandmoto · Post by **redhandmoto** » Tue Feb 26, 2013 10:03 am

Alibally wrote:It's a 125cc scooter. If you want to go fast buy a bigger bike.

and

Alibally wrote: Yes, you're correct, but it's still a city commuter bike.

fixt that for yas.

Well, then. Alibally is right. "City commuter bike" was clearly the design warrant for Honda here.

What I failed to make clear is my (not uncommon) belief that one may "tour" on a PTW of any size, so long as one accepts the inherent constraints and limitations of the platform. Indeed, many prefer it - the couple who did a RTW on SYM 110cc Passport clones, or the famous DaBinhChe Calif-to-Alaska jaunt on a little 2-smoke, or the Canadian couple who crossed N America two-up on a Yamaha C3, to name a few.

I also failed to make clear that other, much bigger bikes are already available to me. My cup overfloweth. So the admonition to "get a bigger bike" would be a bit of a non sequitur here had I been more exacting.

The core question was and is: will the small, light-weight, liquid-cooled, disc-braked, EFI Honda PCX150 cruise comfortably, without undue stress or overheating, at 60 mph, that it may handily serve both the local-errand and county highway roles?

In the bike/scooter world, as noted, the press and some enthusiasts will repeat a manufacturer's optimistic dreaming out of sheer brand loyalty. The Genuine/PGO Buddy 170i is a case in point - air-cooled and fuel-injected, it becomes (or has, for some users) overheated (or so its EFI module apparently believes) at sustained 60-something plus speeds, and falters. Its strength was intended to be the short-run, higher speed capabilities that the carbed Buddy 150 it replaced could not achieve.

In answer to the question to hand, some have said "yes, no problem"; others are less sure. PCX125 data has comingled with PCX150 info. No definitive answer can be had, absent buying one, breaking it in carefully, and seeing for myself. That may lead to my death at the hands of my wife - she has already suffered through the expense of a six-year buying/selling/swapping-out cycle.

I table the matter for now. Many thanks to all who have replied.

Mel46 · Post by **Mel46** » Tue Feb 26, 2013 6:57 pm

Should you desire to buy and ride one, there are a lot of accessories for it because those for the 125 fit the 150 nicely. We purchased one of the custom seats for my wife's 150, which lowered the seat enough that she could no longer put her helmet under the seat. To solve that, we purchased a Givi tail box. We already had the Givi windscreen. All of these accessories were for a 125. Here is what a PCX 150 looks like with 125 accessories on it. As you can see, no problem. This is something many scooter owners don't think about. I am very glad that we purchased the 150, and my wife is thrilled with it. She keeps up with my Burgman 400 on our day trips easily. (Our day trips are 60 to 80 miles round trip.)

: So decked out 2.jpg (123.08 KiB) Viewed 1630 times

Taz · Post by **Taz** » Sun Mar 10, 2013 2:32 pm

In oz you can buy either the 125 or 150 pcx at the moment. Do you get both options in other countries? I believe the 125 is still the non esp version here.

The_Head · Post by **The_Head** » Thu Mar 14, 2013 1:28 am

Damn you guys are lucky. Mine seems to run into a wall at 62 mph (indicated). It seems like theres a rev limiter there. I'm at 4,000 feet, I dont know if that matters.

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