Zuma 125

[Old Grinner]

My new 2018 Yamaha Zuma 125 got delivered today. . .. I got in red because it makes me look like I'm going faster. . ..

Is it what I expected it to be? Yes. . ..

Solid. . .it will do what I need it too. And the switches are where I need them.

The seat is a better fit for me. . .flatter.

I put my old top box on it already. The dealership had installed the windshield and rear carrier for no labor charge.

It does sit higher than the PCX. The front and rear disc brakes are linear. . .not touchy or grabby.

Plenty of storage under the seat and the tool kit was a spark plug socket with screw driver.

Only had put 9 miles on it when I took these pics. Just did some roll on and idle down riding with it. Didn't go over 35MPH and only briefly. . .mostly stayed in the 25MPH range on neighborhood roads.

The suspension is firm. . .not plush. . .but didn't feel like it was bottoming out either. . .even with my 250+ lbs..

The way I mounted the top box it gives a bit more "presence" I think to the scooter and makes it stand out more in traffic. . .looks longer than it is. Plus I've got some reflective stickers on all sides.

The power and acceleration is not that of the PCX. . .it won't pull stumps but it will get you to what you need with steadfast determination. Keep up with traffic? Definitely. Take it on the Interstate? Not in this life!

Here's a few pics. . ..

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[Jge64]

Get rid of the board, it looks homemade .....go find yourself a piece of 1/2 inch black plex, Matte colored…

[Old Grinner]

Get rid of the board, it looks homemade .....go find yourself a piece of 1/2 inch black plex, Matte colored…

I know. . .but it's organic.

Next time I'm in Home Depot or Lowes I'll take a look at what they have.

A few other notes about the machine after a ride last night. . .

1) I do miss the LED lighting on the PCX!
2) The headight - Low beam is just adequate. . .good for city traffic. High beam is more robust than I thought it would be for being old school. . .better out in the rural areas. Very full expanse of vision with the high beam. The PCX beam seemed more blueish and the Zuma beam seems more yellowish. Halogen used to be a big deal once.

[Mel46]

There is always room for some LED lights.

[GeorgeSK]

Wood is fine, but does it really need to be cantilevered back so far? The pillion would have to be comatose to flop back far enough to use the backrest.

If the wood does start to bother you, a quick spray with matte black and your in stealth mode.

The scoot itself, however, looks fabulous. Enjoy! Out of curiosity, how hard is it to get to the spark plug or (gasp) the valves?

[you you]

Lovely bike. Glad you are enjoying it.

Out of curiosity what are the white corrugated pipes from you and your neighbors house for?

[iceman]

Probably covered in another thread, but why get rid of a PCX and choose this scooter?

[Old Grinner]

Wood is fine, but does it really need to be cantilevered back so far? The pillion would have to be comatose to flop back far enough to use the backrest.

If the wood does start to bother you, a quick spray with matte black and your in stealth mode.

The scoot itself, however, looks fabulous. Enjoy! Out of curiosity, how hard is it to get to the spark plug or (gasp) the valves?

Thanks!

I used to have this old EMGO top box first mounted on my KLR and subsequently on the Suzuki Bandit. Since I have a Corbin seat with a comfortable backrest for the Bandit I needed to move the box location slightly aft. So, I put my squirrel brain to work and came up with the plywood and stainless bolts idea. It worked fine for many miles. The rule of thumb was to load light weight bulk items in it. . .not anchor chain. Crude but effective!

As far as the maintenance the engine oil changes are often. . .first at 600 and then every 1800 miles thereafter. Just remove the drain plug on the lower left and the oil pump screen bolt underneath the crankcase. The room to get your hand on the dip stick is a little more than the PCX and it's a bigger cap to grab. The valves are much easier to get to. You just have to remove a few screws from the front panel under the seat and remove the panel. I read somewhere along the way that you can check the valve clearance in 15 minutes once you've done it a few times. That may be a bit exaggerated though. The exhaust valves are more difficult to do because they are facing downward but can be done. When I do it I figure I'll either try using a mirror or just raise the scoot up a bit with a suitable method or my motorcycle 1500 lb. jack.

Here's a video I watched where the guy gives a basic rundown on the process. He's already removed that panel. . ..

[Old Grinner]

Lovely bike. Glad you are enjoying it.

Out of curiosity what are the white corrugated pipes from you and your neighbors house for?

Thank you. . .I've got about 30 miles on it now. . .just taking it easy breaking it in with strong surges of throttle at low speeds to seat the rings.

Those white things are for rain water. When the gutters dump to the downspouts it's a good idea to get the water a bit further away from the house foundation. I have one on my driveway so the water goes to the street drain instead of my neighbors lawn. In real heavy rain some ponding exists in the low area between our houses.

[Old Grinner]

Probably covered in another thread, but why get rid of a PCX and choose this scooter?

Long story short I found the reverse location of the horn button and turn signal switch an annoyance. After riding 50 years I'm conditioned in an emergency to naturally reach for the horn button down low. I found that when I'd ride my other motorcycles I'd sometimes accidentally hit horn when I'd go for the turn signals and vice versa. Hard to teach an old dog new tricks and I had to think about it too much. The Zuma 125 has the turn signal switch and horn button where I expect them. . ..

The seat on the PCX was a bit of an annoyance also. As others have complained I too was not thoroughly pleased with it. The seat on the new Zuma 125 is flatter. . .a bit more cushy. . .not perfect. . .but better for me and the fuel tank is now relocated. Note that it is a taller ride in comparison.

Maintenance will be easier also. No fuss with tons of panels to remove and reinstall (or worry about cracking/breaking them) and it's air cooled.

Honda acknowledged my input and questions and let me know they passed my comments about the PCX on to the appropriate department. I hope some good comes out of it. . ..

[Old Grinner]

Now that the rain will be gone for a few days (it poured inches yesterday) I've been able to get out more on the new Zuma. . .almost have my first 100 miles on it now.

I took it for a ride in some dark areas and back roads tonight to further test the effectiveness of the headlights.

Long story short, as I've said before, I do miss the LED setup on the PCX.

Both the low and high beam illuminate mostly directly forward. The low beam has kind of a horizon on it so it does the job but not in a broad sense. Going around hairpin turns either side of the Zuma seems in total darkness. Really have to be on alert for anything that moves in the less lit perimeters.

The high beam does to a good job for focus on distance ahead. The 55W H7 Halogen is much better than a 35W H4 but the LEDs of today take the cake. Traveling along at 35 to 40 MPH the high beam is fine. That said, if you have to slow down to turn into a dark road or make a hair pin turn you still have to be really looking into the darkness on either side for anything that moves or obstacles or road debris. It kind of reminds of what it was like during the '70s when the fairing mounted fixed headlights were starting to become more popular. You could see great in front of you but trying to look well into the turns was an adventure into the realm of the dark unknown.

Bottom line is on the Zuma 125 you just have to use good judgement riding at night. In well lit, or city type areas, it's a non-issue.

For me, I bought it as an errand runner mostly for day time riding and occasional joy rides around the waterfront. When I get it broken in more I'll take it for a 50 mile round trip just to see how it compares to the PCX on a longer ride.

I'm still happy with the Zuma otherwise. . .. It does what I need it to. Great utility. . .sort of Jeep-like.

[you you]

Lovely bike. Glad you are enjoying it.

Out of curiosity what are the white corrugated pipes from you and your neighbors house for?

Thank you. . .I've got about 30 miles on it now. . .just taking it easy breaking it in with strong surges of throttle at low speeds to seat the rings.

Those white things are for rain water. When the gutters dump to the downspouts it's a good idea to get the water a bit further away from the house foundation. I have one on my driveway so the water goes to the street drain instead of my neighbors lawn. In real heavy rain some ponding exists in the low area between our houses.

Ah, never seen that before. Cheers.

[Old Grinner]

Just over 200 miles on it now. . ..

Runs great. Not the acceleration of the PCX 150 but ample. Start it up cold. . .wait a minute for the oil to quiet the valves, twist and go. The valve noise is discernable. . .not obtrusive. . .and the valve clearance will be checked at the recommended 600 mile mark when the first oil is changed.

The seat does seem a bit slanted forward at first but after sitting in it for a short while it seems to level off as the foam compresses. You feel like you sit "on" the Zuma. . .not "in" it. For me it works and has adequate comfort. No regrets. I think it's designed that way to allow shorter people to move forward to reach the ground easier with their feet. Since the tank has been moved below the floor board I think the front of the seat is a bit narrower also.

Bumps are taken up firmly by the suspension. Still no sense of bottoming out. . .just a firm ride. . .not harsh. Where the PCX was a bit more springy for me the Zuma just gets it and leaves it (no pogo).

The mirrors are kind of like on the PCX. . .they could be wider but do the job. Bulkier Winter jackets will take up more of the picture unfortunately so turning physically to look before changing lanes etc. . . .is advisable. Each to their own riding style depending upon the need.

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Topping off the fuel (87 Octane or 91 RON) from a pump at the local Shell Station is easier since the filler is on the leg shield now. But you still have to use good judgement by figuring out roughly how much you think it will take first and as it approaches that level back off and just add a little more at a time in spurts. The bar in the filler hole is visible in good light so you have to be careful not to overfill. By adding just a little at a time you will avoid spills. . .. Using a lawn mower gas can is easier but I like to use fresh gas whenever possible. Fuel economy has been between 75 to 80 MPG with my best guess.

The brakes are excellent. I don't miss the CBS of the PCX. The front and rear disc brakes on the newer Zuma 125 are a great improvement.

The stock accessory windshield does a nice job. I went around the waterfront last week in some really heavy wind. . .the white caps on the water were churning and I have to say that the Zuma held it's ground OK for a light machine. It did effect the rate of acceleration but under the circumstances I didn't want to go over 40 MPH anyways. I did have to keep a good firm grip!

After I get about 350 miles on it I will take it up over 50 MPH just to see what it will do. Right now I don't go past the mid 40's.

I miss the PCX for all it's good things but I have no regrets getting the new Zuma 125.

[Old Grinner]

Did about 40 miles on it yesterday. Just cleared the 350 mile mark. . ..

Weather was very hot and humid. . .heat index pushing 100 degrees. You could sweat just standing and breathing. . ..

Had it up to 55 a few times and it had more left. . .but not that much more I'm thinking. Only kept it at that speed for up to a mile or so at a time.

Still holding off on riding it fully locked WOT until I get more miles on it.

Tested it on some significant steep hills on back country roads and although not as powerful as the PCX it did OK. Considering my weight it held ample speeds. In fact I could go as fast as the roads would allow safely but certainly wasn't going to blast through them like a CBR would. These were twisty back roads. . .30 to 35+ MPH range going up the hills. . .faster otherwise. I've yet to take it up a long long hill where the speed limit is higher to see if I could hold 50 MPH. That will be interesting. . ..

The seat was OK. I did take a break at about 20 miles out to visit a horse rescue farm. On the return trip the comfort was the same. . .adequate. . .OK. . .but not plush. Definitely could ride further without a grimace.

One other feature I like about the Zuma 125 is that the turn signal gives audible clicks. . .somewhat like the Genuine scooters. So it reminds you it's on and in some cases can alert a pedestrian you may be turning into a road they are about to cross. It still never ceases to amaze me how many people will just cross streets from a sidewalk without looking just because they may not "hear" anything coming.

Bottom line. . .So far so good.