Sold the PCX thanks to the Netherlands

[djcat]

Hello everybody,

I used to post on this forum after I got myself a PCX new in 2012. I liked the idea to just hop onto the scooter with ease and go wherever I needed without having to haul around hundreds of pounds of motorcycle. This was true from the start, however I was surprised how little I used it in the end – I sold the PCX in February with around 1800 miles on the clock. In the end I used the car and big bike more after all and for just a few miles, I also have a bicycle.

I just wanted to thank everybody for its insights, tell everybody what has happened in the meantime scooter-wise in my life and give some feedback about some of the questions especially the beginners to two wheeled motorized transportation have and post on here (at least a year ago that was the case).

Lots of stuff has happened in my life since I last posted here, but because this is a scooter forum I will keep to the scootering part. I am now living in the Netherlands due to work, a country that is known for its cycling culture. Coming from the UK, where the health & safety & liability culture is high (although I know when you live there it might not feel that way), you would feel like the Dutch know a thing or two about keeping safe on the road on two wheels. To my surprise I have to say that this is certainly not the case with at least half of them, plus somehow many take that lack of hazard perception with them when they change to driving cars. The infra- structure here is great, the state invested lots and lots of money into their road system and created cycling super highways (thanks to a harsh income taxation system it is all paid for), little scooters up to 50cc are allowed to use cycle paths as well. Unfortunately this nanny state taking care of its children also spoiled the kids a little too much and the stupidity of things I have seen on the roads here is immense and lacks nothing to what I have seen in the UK. To the contrary, in the last ten years I may have seen the aftermaths of many accidents back home, but that rivals to seeing about an accident a months happening here in Holland.... In a nutshell, I believe that the official statistics giving the NL the best safety record in the EU is wrong and that the Dutch would be really easy targets for the British cash for crash insurance fraud gangs we have in the UK.

Cycling at night without lights seems to be a Dutch national sport. The scooters here are not a form of transport for smart city commuters, they are the transport of choice for those who switch from cycling into motor transport and take all their “skills” with them, or for those who cannot afford a car (I pay 2236 Euros a year on road tax for mine, it was 210 Pounds a year in Britain). Scooters up to 50cc count as motorized bicycles and can be used on cycle paths, where they race at break neck illegal speeds for pole position with mothers on the school run on their cycles.

Helmets – it looks like somehow Dutch tarmac must be playground soft on impact. The amount of cargo plus children I have seen on scooters and bicycles alike is only rivaled by the sum of the chicken cages a Vietnamese takes on its two wheeled ride, but at least the Vietnamese would use a helmet.

Although my PCX was tuned up with larger tyres, uprated brake pads and Takegawa transmission and officially counted as a motorcycle, the ignorance of many local motorists soon taught me that I will always be confused for a poor, ignorant twat with a dead wish. For the Dutch if it looks like a Scooter, it should ride on the cycle path. Don’t come onto the main road where although you are allowed to ride and certainly fast enough for it, you will have people come onto your back wheel with only a hair’s width to spare and you will also be cut off big time by some – on purpose! If in the UK (and up to a point other countries I have driven through) you certainly can influence the behavior of other road users e.g. by your positioning on the road and others mostly want to make sure they don’t get involved with a motorcyclist because it is a vulnerable person they do not want to hurt, in the Netherlands I learned that many car motorists do not see the dangers they put us into. They certainly understand the law and e.g. who has the preference on a junction, but my feeling is that this is more to avoid any financial damages to themselves rather than care for the other person’s integrity. Everything here has a rule and people insist and stick to them (whenever there is a speed cam or law enforcement in sight).

Given the above, I decided that the little scooter was not the safest form of transport here for me anymore. The final drop in the bucket was when I got myself a house so my wife and newborn son could live with me, we are now living in an area 40 minutes from work but two minutes from daycare, three minutes from the doctor, four minutes from the national centre for young children (basically state pediatric care on top of the GP) and ten minutes from a beautiful lake. Yes, somebody here must be smart and it shows in the very innovative, smart urban planning – I am not complaining about living here but “just” about Dutch driving.

I sold the PCX and got myself a VFR 800 for my daily commute. I feel much safer now but my attention is raised to jet fighter pilot defcom alert levels. I put yellow headlight bulbs in the excellent headlights, yellow bullet LEDs and will paint the mirrors high viz yellow. On the side I put yellow stickers, in the back I have red reflective stickers specified to EC104 reflexite standard and a bright, yellow sticker saying “Houd Afstand” – Keep distance. All of this because most of the Dutch motorists do not leave any space for the unexpected and I have been nearly knocked off twice by left turning motorists before the yellow bulbs were in. No, I do not believe in illegal HID conversions or riding with high beams on cause the glare does only make people misjudge the distance to the bike. This has been proven many times – do your research and you will see.

What does make a difference though – and this is my advice to the novice riders – is to make sure you stand out from the crowd through contrast. A yellow light in a sea of white and blue-ish lights, will stand out. I bit of colour will help you being seen when a car driver comes rushing in from the fast lane behind you and wants to take the next exit, it is better to look like a bin man in high viz but one that gets home in one piece. Be on the side of caution, if you think you need to slow down a little please do so, give yourself time and space and focus on being smooth – speed will come by itself.

I hope you enjoy Scootering around safely wherever it is possible, I have learned that whatever is safe in one place may not be in another. Be alert and put some thought into staying safe. I certainly had my fair share of fun on scooters, including a trip from Saigon to Hanoi on a Yamaha 115cc last year. It is possible to be safe on two wheels, just do not be oblivious to the dangers but address them. Ride safe!

[RichyP]

thanks for sharing your insights, sad to hear you have sold your PCX but I too am nearing 10k completed on my 2013 model and the Honda NCX750 DCT is begging for me to buy it!