PCX LED 2014/5 - front suspension seems to have gotten worse

[iceman]

Ok, so the PCX suspension has never been great, one of the major problems on the bike tbh.

I know many find the rear suspension to be dire, but with the London roads in such bad condition, even the slightly lowered drain covers and sunken sections now seem to constantly 'bottom out' or whatever the expression is as I hear what seems to be the suspension reaching the end of it's travel riding over 1/2" sunken bits in the road. I try and avoid them whenever I can, but often it seems the age or patch up by contractors leaves the roads in bad condition.

So, have others experienced the front suspension ageing or suffering as years go by and what can be done - any remedial work other than replacement? (when I look up under the front sadly the steering column and other bits show lots of rust which is un-avoidable in wet, dirty and salty cities like London.

[Mel46]

I believe there was a thread about the front suspension on here somewhere, and the consensus was that you could change the front fork oil to a thicker grade, or you could install fork valves.

https://www.hondapcx.org/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=4877

[iceman]

Thanks, just seem to have gotten worse, or just the roads are now so dire.

[you you]

Ok, so the PCX suspension has never been great, one of the major problems on the bike tbh.

I know many find the rear suspension to be dire, but with the London roads in such bad condition, even the slightly lowered drain covers and sunken sections now seem to constantly 'bottom out' or whatever the expression is as I hear what seems to be the suspension reaching the end of it's travel riding over 1/2" sunken bits in the road. I try and avoid them whenever I can, but often it seems the age or patch up by contractors leaves the roads in bad condition.

So, have others experienced the front suspension ageing or suffering as years go by and what can be done - any remedial work other than replacement? (when I look up under the front sadly the steering column and other bits show lots of rust which is un-avoidable in wet, dirty and salty cities like London.

Change the oil in the front forks. Use a heavier grade of fork oil if possible. You’ll be surprised at the results.

[Gil]

Thanks for the link Mel46. I'm on the same quest of improving the front suspension. I just replaced the rear shocks with some YSS ones and it's a big difference. The original rear shocks seem too soft.

[Mel46]

YSS shocks are great. You really can't go wrong with those. That will take care of the rear. As for the front, change the oil to a thicker grade, as mentioned by others. You will wonder why you didn't do it sooner.

[Gil]

Ill stop by the shop, for some thicker oil, tomorrow.

[Mel46]

The manual says that it normally takes 10W. That is pretty lightweight. Capacity says 4.13 US oz., plus or minus .05

That sounds like you don't need very much.

Question for the experts: the manual says "suspension fluid". Is that different from any other fluid, such as synthetic engine oil?

[tomtomclub2005]

Question for the experts: the manual says "suspension fluid". Is that different from any other fluid, such as synthetic engine oil?

MEL, get fork oil. engine oil changes viscosity with temperature.

[Mel46]

Thank you, tomtomclub2005.

[Oyabun]

What TomTom has said above.
Fork oil (especially on such a very basic fork as on the PCX and the Forza) is a maintenance item, which is degrading over time and thus should be changed. These forks doesn't even have sliding Teflon bushes, so besides damping, all lubrication is provided by the fork oil.
Use suspension fluid (or otherwise called fork oil) as it has different functions compared to engine oil. e.g.minimal cooling and lower temps compared to engines, no need for ash retention, but temperature and shearing stability - as well as anti foaming is required.
Using heavier oil will result in higher damping force, but it will be beefing up both rebound and compression at the same time. Due to the simple design of the forks this results in a potential of hydraulic lock in case of high compression velocities.
Emulator valves are taking care of that, separating all three functions (hi speed and low speed compression and rebound) from each other, and providing tune ability of those.
If you want to go down of this rabbit hole, read the specific topic linked by Mel. If not, just do a maintenance on the forks, and use one step heavier fluid - which is 15w. Be aware, that viscosity index (e.g. 10w) values are only indicative. True viscosity is measured in SCT, and different manufacturer's 10w or 15w fluids can have different real world viscosities.