Upgraded to PCX 150!

[PCX Commuter]

Hi all,

Glad to be a part of the PCX community! After 10 years and a little over 11,000 miles commuting on my Metropolitan, I decided to step up to the PCX 150 on Jan 2nd. Something you already know, but what a great bike! I grew up driving off-road motorcycles, but my Metro was my first on-road two wheeler. I test rode a friend's Vino 125 and hated how unstable it felt at 50+ mph. Not so, the PCX!

I'm now journeying down the rabbit hole of accessory land and have appreciated all the great comments I've dug up around these forums!

[jlhog]

Nice scooter. I just ordered the black one. I hope to pick it up this Saturday!!

[haildamage]

congrats on the new scoot. love the red. you do look a bit young to be riding such a big scooter though!

[Black Bandit]

congrats on the new scoot. love the red. you do look a bit young to be riding such a big scooter though!

badum - tish


welcome to the forum mate

[ms_sparky]

Nice looking bike! Cute kids too! Welcome to the group!

[Shoe]

I'll say that my PCX was a great purchase. Many tried to convince me prior for an Enduro bike, or a small Harley, but I've been that route and it would only get me in trouble. (with my wife and possibly physical damage).

No need for tattoos, all the leather, just to fit the bill! I'd rather spend the coin on reducing life's debt! It does what I bought it for. it can carry a passenger, has storage, and gets awesome mileage.....

Enjoy the ride!

[maddiedog]

Welcome to the forums!

[WhiteNoise]

Hi PCX Commuter! Your boys look mighty happy sitting right there Adorable! So, how would you compare the ride of the Met to the PCX? What accessories are you going to add?

[PCX Commuter]

Hi PCX Commuter! Your boys look mighty happy sitting right there Adorable! So, how would you compare the ride of the Met to the PCX? What accessories are you going to add?

Great question. I persuaded my wife to give the PCX a drive last weekend. She was highly resistant, because of how much larger the PCX is compared to our little Metro, which she has driven aplenty. Once she got out of the driveway and onto our neighborhood roads, she just took right to it! I'd say because of the very low center of gravity, they ride very similar. Biggest things I have noticed after driving the PCX for a month now is the MUCH better brakes and overall speed. Especially in daily traffic, which is my goal in upgrading from the Metro.

Added a trunk and now looking at some of the great clock options, because not having one seems like such a huge miss! Also need to find a good drink holder for my Starbucks. The Metro had a great option on that front. MIght even do the 12v accessory option in the "glove box."

[WhiteNoise]

Ha Ha! Next thing you know....your wife will be asking for one Years ago I looked at the Met, just couldn't bring myself to buying a 50cc. I can see the attraction though for around town. Agree, PCX is a joy, the brakes do their job and its speed suits me fine. I'm happy too So your looking for a clock? Yeah! What's up Honda! Well, I purchased a clock in the past from here: http://www.clocks4bikes.com They are Really, really nice and so are the couple that make them. Worth a Look 4 sure, loved mine.
Another Starbucks fan, tell me...do you make it at home or do the "drive-in?" Other fans may have a suggestion for a holder. Me? I make my SB at home and down the hatch it goes

[mellamo]

Great pic. Very cute kiddos! I just sold my Sym Fiddle II 125 and am considering pulling the trigger on the new PCX 150 as a replacement. I used to have a 1200cc Harley Night Rod, but the wife will actually ride the 150 so I.don't mind having the smaller wheels. The nimbleness of the small bikes are just as fun to me as the speed of the bigger bikes.

I live in Nashville and saw you're in Franklin. What can you tell me about the local Honda dealers? Is there one I should buy from or one I should stay away from? Are they upcharging the new PCX or is it a reasonable price OTD? I wish they had a white option. Having a hard time deciding between the red and black.

Thanks!

[WhiteNoise]

Welcome! 3 words....."Pull the Trigger!" (okay, more words...) These here PCX's are fun, fun, Fun & flickable.

[Mel46]

My wife loves her PC 150. We go for long rides to the North Georgia mountains on our bikes, so it can travel fairly well. We have had it up to 70 so it has very little problem keeping up with the traffic. Still, I would consider a full windscreen if I were you.

[PCX Commuter]

Great pic. Very cute kiddos! I just sold my Sym Fiddle II 125 and am considering pulling the trigger on the new PCX 150 as a replacement. I used to have a 1200cc Harley Night Rod, but the wife will actually ride the 150 so I.don't mind having the smaller wheels. The nimbleness of the small bikes are just as fun to me as the speed of the bigger bikes.

I live in Nashville and saw you're in Franklin. What can you tell me about the local Honda dealers? Is there one I should buy from or one I should stay away from? Are they upcharging the new PCX or is it a reasonable price OTD? I wish they had a white option. Having a hard time deciding between the red and black.

Thanks!

I just bought mine in Jan and talked to all three of the local Honda dealers. Ultimately I purchased mine from Cool Springs Honda. They were very high on the initial quote, but negotiated down once I had offers from the other two. I've heard very good things about the Nashville dealer. Might start there.

I really do love the bike. Already hit 600 miles and broken in! Good for two up, though it definitely puts a cap on the top speed. The limiter at 70-ish is a little harsh, in my opinion. Now that the drive belt is broken in, I can't quite hit 70 before the limiter. I'm getting 90mpg pretty consistently on my daily drive around Cool Springs.

Hope to see you out on the roads!

[mellamo]

Thanks so much for the reply. My target is to be under $4k otd (including any "prep" fees, tax, title, registration, etc.). I've read on other forums that is a reasonable expectation in other markets, but I've not specifically heard from someone in Nashville. Is under $4k otd a reasonable expectation?

I've also been reading about how the valves must be checked every 2,500 miles, which almost totally negates any fuel savings if I take it into the dealer every 2.5k miles and pay them to adjust the valves. Did you talk to the dealer about that? I'm very curious about how much the dealer will charge for that service.

I'm on the edge to go down there and pick one up but am needing a little push.

Thanks!

[maddiedog]

$4k otd is reasonable anywhere in the USA other than CA. You might be able to get it for even less since it's off-season. This thread might be of interest: http://hondapcx.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=363.


The valve adjustment is easy enough to do it yourself: http://hondapcx.org/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=24. I have over 7000 miles on my PCX. My valves were out of spec the first maintenance and were in-spec when warranty-covered work was done on the bike right before the 2nd maintenance. I'm skipping the 5000 mile check and might check them at around 10k miles. They'll probably be fine.

I'm not in any way a Honda mechanic, so feel free to ignore my advice: I'll gladly ignore my valves and check them every 10k miles or so. The PCX is an economy scooter with 1 cylinder and 2 valves. If the clearances on the valves go off, it won't run right. It's unlikely it'll drop a valve, and far more likely it will just refuse to properly fire. Therefore, check it when you get around to checking it (after break-in), don't worry about it, and treat it like it is -- a fun, economical scooter.

For what it's worth, I haven't heard of a SINGLE engine failure due to valves on this PCX forum or ClubPCX, and I've read every single post here and every single post on ClubPCX that wasn't spam. The only engine failures I've heard of were from someone intentionally neglecting the first service ("it is still under warranty!") and from Snoopy's engine throwing a rod (http://hondapcx.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=526). The former failure was from gross neglect, the latter from extreme usage.

[you you]

$4k otd is reasonable anywhere in the USA other than CA. You might be able to get it for even less since it's off-season. This thread might be of interest: http://hondapcx.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=363.


The valve adjustment is easy enough to do it yourself: http://hondapcx.org/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=24. I have over 7000 miles on my PCX. My valves were out of spec the first maintenance and were in-spec when warranty-covered work was done on the bike right before the 2nd maintenance. I'm skipping the 5000 mile check and might check them at around 10k miles. They'll probably be fine.

I'm not in any way a Honda mechanic, so feel free to ignore my advice: I'll gladly ignore my valves and check them every 10k miles or so. The PCX is an economy scooter with 1 cylinder and 2 valves. If the clearances on the valves go off, it won't run right. It's unlikely it'll drop a valve, and far more likely it will just refuse to properly fire. Therefore, check it when you get around to checking it (after break-in), don't worry about it, and treat it like it is -- a fun, economical scooter.

For what it's worth, I haven't heard of a SINGLE engine failure due to valves on this PCX forum or ClubPCX, and I've read every single post here and every single post on ClubPCX that wasn't spam. The only engine failures I've heard of were from someone intentionally neglecting the first service ("it is still under warranty!") and from Snoopy's engine throwing a rod (http://hondapcx.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=526). The former failure was from gross neglect, the latter from extreme usage.

Tis true. The poppet valves are incredibly simple and aren't worth of angst on a lowly 2 valve commuter made by Honda that will in all honesty do a handful of miles

[depthman]

I did the same thing last year- but only had the Metro for a few months! Somehow I got it in my head last spring to get a scooter. I took a photo of a red/white Met I saw in Epping NH years ago, dug it up and decided THAT was the one to get. FOUND one on Craigs list, AND it fit in the back of my Sienna MiniVan!! Definitely fun, but just not enough balls on the 40-45mph roads. Looked for a replacement, and the NEW PCX150 was due in August... nabbed a red one in July. Got almost 2500 miles on it. LOVE it, still figuring out the seat. Bought an Airhawk, waiting for snow to melt

[depthman]

Oh, got a new plate

[mellamo]

$4k otd is reasonable anywhere in the USA other than CA. You might be able to get it for even less since it's off-season. This thread might be of interest: http://hondapcx.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=363.


The valve adjustment is easy enough to do it yourself: http://hondapcx.org/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=24. I have over 7000 miles on my PCX. My valves were out of spec the first maintenance and were in-spec when warranty-covered work was done on the bike right before the 2nd maintenance. I'm skipping the 5000 mile check and might check them at around 10k miles. They'll probably be fine.

I'm not in any way a Honda mechanic, so feel free to ignore my advice: I'll gladly ignore my valves and check them every 10k miles or so. The PCX is an economy scooter with 1 cylinder and 2 valves. If the clearances on the valves go off, it won't run right. It's unlikely it'll drop a valve, and far more likely it will just refuse to properly fire. Therefore, check it when you get around to checking it (after break-in), don't worry about it, and treat it like it is -- a fun, economical scooter.

For what it's worth, I haven't heard of a SINGLE engine failure due to valves on this PCX forum or ClubPCX, and I've read every single post here and every single post on ClubPCX that wasn't spam. The only engine failures I've heard of were from someone intentionally neglecting the first service ("it is still under warranty!") and from Snoopy's engine throwing a rod (http://hondapcx.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=526). The former failure was from gross neglect, the latter from extreme usage.

I read the entirety of the the threads you suggested. Thanks so much for that. I've done plenty of woodwork, dry wall, painting, and even some concrete work but a mechanic I am not. I feel comfortable changing fluids, but reading about the 3-4 hours and all af the little plastic pieces makes me feel a bit ill thinking about doing one thing wrong and screwing up the bike. It sounds reasonable to have them checked at 600, 2.5k, and then 10k miles.

I think it might be worth it to me just to pony up and pay the dealer to do the work. What should I expect to pay for the dealer to do the 600k service? What should I expect to pay for the dealer to just check the valves? It's possible that I may try to tackle it myself, but I pretty much suck with details and little plastic prices.