Traded in my old Wave for a new PCX150

[khaosaming]

Hi, folks! As this is my first post on this forum, I would like to introduce myself and my scooter. I'm actually from Finland, but my PCX resides in Thailand.

I just bought a new Honda PCX150 and traded in my six year old Honda Wave. Was suprised to see that they gave almost 30 000 Baht for the old scoot here in my neck of the woods, Trat Province.

I was happy with the old Wave, but it was a bit too small for two-up, as we have no car right now. I hope that PCX will perform better on the highway. Fuel economy was not bad on Wave either.

The new ride:


The old horse:


Note: the photos are from Wikipedia servers, but are the actual bikes I own/have owned.

[khaosaming]

Here's a photo where she is waiting to be delivered on the showroom floor. The old loyal rig in the background feels sad and unduly abandoned.

[maddiedog]

Welcome to the forums!

Any plans for mods?

[khaosaming]

Any plans for mods?

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Not really, apart from installing a rear trunk. Thankfully there's a nice tutorial right here on the forum (kudos go to PCX Commuter). I might go the way HawaiiJ has done -- order a replacement plastic part to experiment with and keep the original untouched.

I like keeping my scooters stock for the most part. I might be persuaded into replacing the stock red wine seat cover with something less obvious (black is in my mind the only option). There are upholstery shops even in semirural Thailand to do the job just for a few hundred baht. One can order a new seat complete with black vinyl from Honda and it won't break the wallet. Spare parts are usually quite cheap in PCX-land.

The reason I prefer Hondas is their chain of service shops, availability of spare parts and general omnipresence locally. Other brands just don't seem to make a dent in the market in Thailand. The first ever bike I owned was a Honda (2-stroke underbone Nova Tena 105cc). In Malaysia and Indonesia they call them Kapchais (essentially derived from "Cub").

[khaosaming]

My PCX150 has now 157 km on the clock. Today's ride was about 110 km. The seat seems to be a bit on the short side for the two of us. The suspension and frame was most of the time quite balanced and didn't struggle much on Trat's bad road surface. The engine had enough power to cope with other traffic, at least in the slow lane. I didn't dare squeeze all the juice out (still running in) but reached about 100 km/h at times. There were no real wobbles at highway speeds. PCX performed much better than my old Wave, but it sure cannot match SH300. The front plastic had some occasional rattling, not annoying and nothing to be worried about. The saddle felt like yielding (almost like breaking) when we hit a pothole. I looked underside and noticed that there's a factory-made hole in it with yellow foam. That must have been the reason for the issue. The built-in storage space has its limits. My wife bought a couple of pants and stuff like that and I couldn't make everything fit in. For any serious touring this bike needs a good rear trunk. I washed the scooter for the first time today. Now there are some water vapour spots on the inside of the speedo's plastic cover.

Here are some photos shot today.

[khaosaming]

I took my PCX150 for a short trip to the hills today. The hills (Khao Banthat, Cardamom mountains) are very close to the Cambodian border. There's a waterfall and a national park near Ban Nong Bon village named Namtok Than Hin Dat. On the way there I took a rest and had a snack, before turning on the winding road that leads to the waterfall. Nothing really spectacular, but a nice ride and slightly cooler than in the city. Than Hin Dat is not far away from the last stronghold of the Khmer Rouge, Pailin.

The scooter has now about 210 km on the clock.

The big Wat at Ban Nong Bon:


A closer look at the bike:


My snack and drink:


Namtok Than Hin Dat and a new-made friend:

[khaosaming]

There's one photo that I regret not posting above. It's on the way from Ban Nong Bon to Namtok Than Hin Dat.

A seated Buddha statue on a hill overlooking the valley:

[maddiedog]

What's a Wat?

Neat pictures. Looks like it was a fun ride. You're making me wish it was warmer here -- I'm commuting on my PCX or Silverwing still, but it was below freezing on my ride in yesterday! Far too cold still for going on leisure rides in my area of the world.

[khaosaming]

What's a Wat?

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I reckon you really want to know. Usually it's a joke around here 'what's a w(h)at'.

A Wat is a place for worship, meditation and monastic studies -- the home of the shaved guys in yellow robes (monks). A Buddhist monastery, that is. The area is usually vast. It has various buildings for different functions. The one in the photo with the scooter was only the gate to the Ubosoth. The monks live in small huts called kutis. The biggest buildings are the salas that are used for congregations. The closest thing to a church or 'temple' is the Ubosoth.

The Ubosoth is pictured here (sorry for the botched horizon, I had my helmet on):


In the monastery there was a traditional two-storey Thai house on stilts. I wonder what that is for (maybe a guesthouse for visitors).

The house on stilts:

[maddiedog]

It was a real question, though the "what's a wat" is funny.

So the Wat is the Monastery and all of the buildings in the complex around it? Sorry if I'm asking lotsa questions, unfamiliar culture is very interesting to me.

[khaosaming]

So the Wat is the Monastery and all of the buildings in the complex around it?

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Westerners (Farangs in Thai language) usually think that a Wat means a temple, which is too simplified. A Wat is a sacred precinct with all the buildings necessary. Technically speaking, a Wat must have a certain number of practicing monks. It also means a school, the same way as in the Muslim world a Madrasa (school) is part of a mosque.

The most essential buildings in a Wat are the Ubosoth (the Holiest of the Holy, the high altar), the Vihear (for common people to congregate and worship, usually contains a large statue of the Buddha), the Sala (for leasure, meetings and lessons), the Chedi (also called 'Stupa', contains relics of the Buddha or tombs of distinguished monks), kutis (Monks' quarters or huts).

Buddhism has many different sects that interprete Buddha's teachings in a slightly different way, much in the same way as there are Catholics, Orthodox christians and protestants. The type of Buddhism adhered to in Thailand is called Thevarada, which is considered to be the closest to the original, Hinayana (Lesser Vehicle). Mahayana is the other big branch (Greater Vehicle, common in Sri Lanka, China, Mongolia). In Tibet (and Nepal, Bhutan) there's also a special doctrine sometimes called Lamaism.

[you you]

What is Buddhism?

[maddiedog]

Ignoring you you... (Wikipedia has a good section on Buddhism if you're actually serious)

I've heard of Theravada and Mahayna, and am roughly familiar with the principles of Buddhism, but was not familiar with the associated places of worship. Regardless of sect, do Buddhist places of worship generally resemble a Wat, or do Vihears standalone elsewhere as centers of worship? For example, I was raised Catholic -- as a child, the church served as a meeting place for worship, had a sacred altar, and had classrooms for teaching the youth about religion or for leisure. Usually the priests lived in the church or on the grounds also, but we still referred to the overall facilities as a church.

[khaosaming]

Regardless of sect, do Buddhist places of worship generally resemble a Wat, or do Vihears standalone elsewhere as centers of worship?

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In casual speech I think it is safe to call any place of worship -- that resembles a temple -- a Wat. This applies to alien shrines, too (eg. Christian temples, Sikh temples or Chinese shrines). Technically speaking it's incorrect, because in Thailand a Wat must have the presence of practicing monks living in the compound. That said, not all places of worship are part of a Wat compound.

No matter how they call them, I've seen standalone Vihears (or Phra Viharn in Thai) in may places without any apparent adjoining buildings. It is sometimes hard to tell a Vihear from an Ubosoth from the outside. You should be looking for 'Semas', sacred cornerstones that protect the Ubosoth from evil (A Vihear has none).

In the ruined ancient capital of Thailand, Ayutthaya, there is a famous Vihear (Phra Mongkol Bobit) from the 17th century. It was restored to its former glory in the 1950's. The original gilded (with bronze core and masonry) Buddha statue is still there. This Vihear now stands alone, but I think it must have belonged to a greater royal compound including a proper, complete Wat. Moreover, there are Chedis or Stupas that are regarded sacred, and people tend to use them for worship. The greatest of them all is the great Stupa of Nakhon Pathom, Phra Pathom Chedi. In many businesses or wealthy homes you can see a small shrine on a pedestal outside. It is called a Spirit House (San Phra Phoum). These home shrines have nothing to do with Buddhism. They belong to the realm of animism, a relic from the past before Siamese territory was converted to Buddhism. In the center of Bangkok, there's a popular shrine in the corner of Rachadamri and Sukhumvit (Phloen Chit Rd.) -- the Erawan shrine. The shrine is dedicated to Brahma, a Hindu deity, but the Thais are happy to pay homage and show their respect.

Before Rattanakosin (Bangkok) era, temple architecture in Thailand was based on Khmer influence. The most prominent part of a Khmer-style temple was the Prang (a tapered, conical tower). The Prang was meant to resemble the sacred mountain of Meru. Interestingly enough, the symbol of Bangkok, Wat Arun, was built accordingly. That's because it is located on Thonburi (West) side of the river Chao Phraya and survived the sack of Ayutthaya in 1767. The Siamese army fled to Thonburi where general Taksin became the new king. After Taksin a new dynasty emerged, the present Chakri house, and the capital was moved from Thonburi to the east bank of the river, today's Bangkok.

[khaosaming]

I had a short day-trip today as well. Again, I took a run for the hills -- in the same general direction. This time I only rode along the main road between Saen Tung-Ban Nong Bon-Makham heading for a place called Khiri Than. There's a water reservoir there in a natural valley closed by a dam.

My PCX has now about 330 km on the clock. Today's ride was about 120 km. The scooter worked just a treat, pulled off nicely and in full comfort for the rider (I was driving alone).

Here are some photos I took today.

Khiri Than Dam reservoir:



The dam and my PCX (yes it's there, take a closer look):



The country road is nice:



In Thailand the King is held in high esteem and his portraits are everywhere:



My riding gear, suitable for the climate:

[khaosaming]

My PCX 150 has now about 700 km on the clock, so I tried how fast it would go. It was a little bit disappointing, but consistent with my experience riding other Honda scooters of similar size.

Two-up it was hard to go over 100 km/h indicated, but it could do an occasional 110 indicated on flat ground. At these top speeds the suspension struggles to maintain comfort for two. The brakes feel lackluster. Acceleration beyond 80 km/h takes a lot of time and needs a long stretch of road. It seems that an actual figure of 90 km/h is feasible most of the time. Uphill, the speed goes down to about 80 km/h indicated. It's not fast by any terms.

A Honda Wave 125 reaches 90-95 km/h indicated. Real world cruising speed for a Wave is no more than 80 km/h. The PCX beats the Wave by only about 10 km/h, but from a standstill the PCX is super fast, mainly because you don't have to switch gears. The Wave has a four-step manual gearbox with automatic clutch.

I had a field trip day yesterday. I went to see some pieces of land. The Wave is more manageable off road, so for a later sightseeing I decided to switch vehicles. I was afraid I could drop the PCX or scratch it, because the dirt road was so rough and uneven. The gears also help when going downhill on a sloping road. The PCX has almost no engine braking to speak of.

Yesterday I stopped at a roadside eatery:



This young girl decided to make a run for it when she saw my scary PCX:



At a rubber plantation:



For this destination I switched vehicles:

[gn2]

The engine braking is fine till you slow to the speed at which the clutch disengages.

[khaosaming]

My PCX has now 1330 km on the clock. The first service -- oil change (engine/gearbox) -- was a while ago at 1006 km. The guys at SMD Motor Trat didn't do anything else. I enquired about valve adjustment, but to no avail. "Not needed now". They didn't bother to clean the air filter or even open it. 'Chang man thoe', as they say in Thai. It was cheap and quick -- 250 Baht. Does anybody out there know if I should clean the air filter myself?

I had to renew my Wave's registration and check its road worthiness in Khaosaming. It was pretty easy -- they were not interested in breaks, lights or tyres -- just engine and frame numbers. That's ok by me.

On the way back we had a short break at a roadside eatery. I had my usual big Chang beer and 'khao phat moo' (fried rice).

My PCX parked in front of the Khaosaming DMV building:



Some shots from the restaurant on the way home:

[you you]

Its a replaceable paper filter so you can't clean it as such.

If you wanted you could take the filter cover and inspect it to see if it needs replacing. If I was doing this I'd take it out and knock any dust off.

[gn2]

The OEM disposable paper filter should be replaced more frequently in dusty areas, so perhaps a washable K&N filter might suit?