...Erm, hello...

[pxc-in-japan]

According to the advice for new members, I start by introducing myself here.
Whoops! I have already written in a fuel-economy thread. I have broken the rules before I have even said hello.
Great start

Well, hello from Central Japan, where I enjoy riding a 2013 Suzuki DL 650 V-Strom, a 2008 Suzuki Address V125G and as from January 2016 a 2015-PCX-150, too.

Impressed with the PCX fuel economy, smoothly engaging clutch, low speed fuel smoothness, super easy filtering and better ability to carry a passenger than my Suzuki Address (better, longer seat on the PCX).

Not impressed with the ease with which light cross-winds blow me all over the place (fitted a Givi long screen, that may be it), engine noise (more than expected and desired), ill-thought-out passenger foot-rests that almost cut off my legs every single time I stop and pull away again, the awful and very awkward ignition key-lock placement and design.

Pleased overall and it seems from snippets here and there that the PCX should be as easy to service and maintain as the Suzuki Address, which is quite easy.

So, hello, and please enjoy your scoots.

Oh yeah, can someone direct me to [idiot proof] help with the search tool, please?
I need to order an English language factory/service/repair manual for this PCX150 and when I try to search, I get vaguely thechy messages telling me my search terms/parameters would return too many results for the site to process.
It's interesting and beneficial for me to use the local Japanese language version of the Address 125 manual in terms of brushing up on technical Japanese, but really it's a pain in the ass having to check new words when I want to service my scooter. So please help me find advice on ordering an English manual (apparently it has to be from The U.S., as the U.K., my country, has only PCX125s)

Thank you.

EDIT.
How do I add my fuelly.com banner to my signature, please?

[iceman]

Hi. Helm.inc in the USA is the best place for original service manuals but they charge $100's for postage outside the US - ridiculous and they would not budge when I was in contact with them - silly as the postage is only about $20! Other than that and considering where you are, then . . .
http://www.service-shop-repair-manual.c ... ir-manual/
From my experience, despite what is said about originals, they are not they are copies but they are very, very good ones and it's only the non-punched side holes and very very slight lack of contrast in some of the images compared to the original that gives it away. For the most part, tutorials on this forum and you-tube videos are all you need - I have the service manual and never used it once!
I find my PCX noisy compared to some out there, had 'shudder' issues doe to going to easy on the acceleration from stop so be a little more aggressive when throttling, and hate being blown all over the place in 30-40mph winds - some say there is no problem, but I've found it traumatic as I have literally been blown several feet from side to side and find it dangerous in traffic when most people are tail-gating and speeding in cars, vans, etc and I am being slowed down or blown around in strong wind.

[easyrider]

Welcome.. Yes, the PCX is a bit noisy so wearing ear plugs would help a lot.. navigating windy conditions is always challenging on the PCX. Especially going up long grades or steep hills a blast of wind will cut your speed dramatically so always be aware and stay on the throttle to keep pace.Cross winds are a bitch especially when they reverse on you .. Suddenly you are steering into it left then pow a right force hits you then have to steer right and the see saw effect can be brutal so stay on your game at all times.Its a great sporting bike and in the end you will love its performance acceleration and handling (in nice weather).

[Mel46]

It is somewhat obvious that the PCX is not a heavy bike, and so it was not meant for a lot of the things we now use it for. It was built for economy, and it delivers well on that. Most of the negative posts I have read on this forum concern the crosswind problem, and I don't think there really is a solution to it. Taking off the tall windshield may solve some of that but will cause you discomfort in other ways, such as when you are going straight on the road on cold days. I have tried the bike with the original windshield...if you can call it that...with the mid-height windshield, and with the tall one. By far the tall one has the most advantages if you have any distance to cover in various weather conditions.
As for the noise, I have had quieter bikes, but the PCX doesn't seem to be noisy enough for many of the members here. To me it is very quiet compared to many other scooters. Some Vespa riders even commented to me that they were impressed at how quiet the PCX is.

[Bash On!]

Welcome, "pxc-in-japan"!

[Pssst: Do you know you have the PCX letters out of order in your screen name??? Unless you intended to do that, of course!]

[WhiteNoise]

^^ I love it! Newbie welcome! Your name got Bash's attention! It worked!! Mistake or No mistake, diggin' it!
Glad help is coming through for you,...Our Forum Members Rock!
Congrats on the Many Bikes you own, that is so Cool!

[pxc-in-japan]

Welcome, "pxc-in-japan"!

[Pssst: Do you know you have the PCX letters out of order in your screen name??? Unless you intended to do that, of course!]

Hi.
Thanks for the welcome message.
I mistyped what I wanted for my user-name, yes, and I must admit this is not the only forum in which I now have a user-name containing such an error.... but it's not a problem to me. I could just pretend that English is my 2nd language and be instantly forgiven

[pxc-in-japan]

It is somewhat obvious that the PCX is not a heavy bike, and so it was not meant for a lot of the things we now use it for. It was built for economy, and it delivers well on that. Most of the negative posts I have read on this forum concern the crosswind problem, and I don't think there really is a solution to it. Taking off the tall windshield may solve some of that but will cause you discomfort in other ways, such as when you are going straight on the road on cold days. I have tried the bike with the original windshield...if you can call it that...with the mid-height windshield, and with the tall one. By far the tall one has the most advantages if you have any distance to cover in various weather conditions.
As for the noise, I have had quieter bikes, but the PCX doesn't seem to be noisy enough for many of the members here. To me it is very quiet compared to many other scooters. Some Vespa riders even commented to me that they were impressed at how quiet the PCX is.

Hi.
You are right of course about expectations concerning a 150cc scooter, where weight / wind tolerance is concerned.
It is indeed intended for economy and that is why I have it - for work and back plus my lady goes on the back about 10% of its mileage, for which...as long as I do not expect it to perform like me 650 v-twin v-strom... it is adequate and smoother than my 2008 Suzuki Address 125.
Thanks for the message.

[pxc-in-japan]

Hi. Helm.inc in the USA is the best place for original service manuals but they charge $100's for postage outside the US - ridiculous and they would not budge when I was in contact with them - silly as the postage is only about $20! Other than that and considering where you are, then . . .
http://www.service-shop-repair-manual.c ... ir-manual/
From my experience, despite what is said about originals, they are not they are copies but they are very, very good ones and it's only the non-punched side holes and very very slight lack of contrast in some of the images compared to the original that gives it away. For the most part, tutorials on this forum and you-tube videos are all you need - I have the service manual and never used it once!
I find my PCX noisy compared to some out there, had 'shudder' issues doe to going to easy on the acceleration from stop so be a little more aggressive when throttling, and hate being blown all over the place in 30-40mph winds - some say there is no problem, but I've found it traumatic as I have literally been blown several feet from side to side and find it dangerous in traffic when most people are tail-gating and speeding in cars, vans, etc and I am being slowed down or blown around in strong wind.

Hi.
Thanks for the heads-up on manuals.
I am going to check whether the differences in the JF56 manual and the KF18 manual are significant.
If not, I will as likely as not ask my dad in The U.K. to buy and send a JF56 (125cc LED version) on a ship which will take about 3 months but be cheap. I will probably have to pay about 50-80 pounds (perhaps 100 US dollars?) for the manual, but shipping it on a ship will probably not be more than about 20 pounds.

I will check out other Internet options first, though.
I will not need the manual until it is time for its first service of the kind requiring information not freely available on the 'net.

Also, if the manuals for the (2015 L.E.D. version) 125/150 are basically the same, I might buy about ten copies and sell them to other English speakers here who do not want to be brushing up on their Japanese skills while trying to service their lovely scooters

[iceman]

I believe Honda released only a revision for the LED version in the UK and not a complete re-write - I had to buy the revision and full (but older) UK shop manual to get all that those in the US get cheaper than each of the UK ones! (Helm sell a proper full revised manual for about $40 and both parts of the UK one were about £41 each inc postage). Never used either of them yet
UK amendment is 62KWN50Z (I sold the UK '12 shop manual and bought the US 150 '15 manual as stated above - a very good copy). The UK revision is quite thin and does not have most of the mechanical info. You can buy a full 125 Forza manual for £40 but perhaps not a PCX '15 one.

[pxc-in-japan]

I believe Honda released only a revision for the LED version in the UK and not a complete re-write - I had to buy the revision and full (but older) UK shop manual to get all that those in the US get cheaper than each of the UK ones! (Helm sell a proper full revised manual for about $40 and both parts of the UK one were about £41 each inc postage). Never used either of them yet
UK amendment is 62KWN50Z (I sold the UK '12 shop manual and bought the US 150 '15 manual as stated above - a very good copy). The UK revision is quite thin and does not have most of the mechanical info. You can buy a full 125 Forza manual for £40 but perhaps not a PCX '15 one.

Thank you, that is very useful info.
I tried following a link to the Helm-inc site from this site.
I also tried opening their homepage from scratch and then searching for the manuals.
In both cases, what I got was a page with drop-down boxes which would normally contain options for selection, but which actually are blank.
Perhaps there are some options (tech stuff) set on the site that my work computer cannot open/use.
If not, it's going to be the 'Contact Us' section and emails backwards and forwards.
I found another U.S. site last night (repairmanual.com) that has what appear to be genuine manuals for $50 plus shipping, and they offer cheaper but slower shipping options, too (standard international EMS).
We'll see.
Thanks again.

EDIT:
If I can, I'll get a few of those U.S. 150 '15 full versions and try to sell them here, but only if they do not charge full shipping for 'each' copy.

[iceman]

Better than Helm for shipping to the UK - $80ish posting to the UK rather than Heml wanting over $100 just for shipping!

[WhiteNoise]

Frustrating right?
Well, I just tried getting online with Helm. Their site is very slow today and Yes, I did see just "white" in their drop down box. I waited a bit and then the webpage was fully loaded. All systems go!

I'm going to link you directly to the 2015 Helm service manual. I hope this works for you

http://www.helminc.com/helm/Result.asp? ... d%5Fmedia=

[WhiteNoise]

iceman, I remember the hard time You had getting yours and the crazy cost of one.
Someone across the pond want to start up a business selling service manuals, and the like?

[iceman]

The other annoyance with the one I got from 'http://www.service-shop-repair-manual.c ... cx&x=0&y=0' is that it does not fold out i.e not hole punched so a good copy but the originals are better. Still, not likely to need it due to amazing tutorials on here and youtube.

[Mel46]

When I purchased my service manual for my two 2013 PCX 150s, I didn't think that I would use it as much as I have. It comes in handy, though I also saved some of the How-tos on this forum because a picture is worth a thousand words. However, there were quite a few occasions where the manual was my only source.

[pxc-in-japan]

Frustrating right?
Well, I just tried getting online with Helm. Their site is very slow today and Yes, I did see just "white" in their drop down box. I waited a bit and then the webpage was fully loaded. All systems go!

I'm going to link you directly to the 2015 Helm service manual. I hope this works for you

http://www.helminc.com/helm/Result.asp? ... d%5Fmedia=

That takes me straight there, thanks.
Now I hope my U.K. credit card is accepted (it sometimes is rejected as I very rarely use it and am in Japan, not The U.K., so it is often viewed with suspicion).

[pxc-in-japan]

Frustrating right?
Well, I just tried getting online with Helm. Their site is very slow today and Yes, I did see just "white" in their drop down box. I waited a bit and then the webpage was fully loaded. All systems go!

I'm going to link you directly to the 2015 Helm service manual. I hope this works for you

http://www.helminc.com/helm/Result.asp? ... d%5Fmedia=

I have just ordered the manual, and here is the cost.
Sit down before you read this:



Sit down!

$200.23

Yes, that's two hundred dollars.
Manual is 43
Handling is 40
Shipping is 117 (to Japan)

That is the most expensive book I have ever bought!

I am almost tempted to cancel it, but the alternative is the local Japanese language version at THREE HUNDRED dollars.

Who is a bigger thief, Honda or The Clinton Foundation?


I know someone who'll be very tempted to scan the entire thing, just to spite Helm, and post it on some torrent site somewhere.
Not me of course!

[Bash On!]

"That is the most expensive book I have ever bought!"

You must not have bought a college textbook recently (for self or dependent).

Another perspective: If you save yourself a couple or so hours labor charges at the dealer the manual will have paid for itself.

[pxc-in-japan]

"That is the most expensive book I have ever bought!"

You must not have bought a college textbook recently (for self or dependent).

Another perspective: If you save yourself a couple or so hours labor charges at the dealer the manual will have paid for itself.

I went to uni in 1993 at 21 years old.
You are right - I have not bought a college text book for a while, but they were silly prices even back then.
Yeah, it is silly paying 200 dollars for a manual, and I reckon all those people who have told me so would change their tune in seconds if I said' Do you want a full high quality scan of it? Haha.