Effects of Extended Use At/Near Governed Top Speed

[rmaragon@yahoo.com]

Hi, this is my first post.

I have a PCX 2013 that I bought used about 18 months ago. I've really enjoyed riding it around town and for my short commute. It's also been economical; I'm getting about 90 mpg. The main issue though is that it's been great fun.

I've rarely taken the PCX on the highway, but have done it a few times just to try. These "tries" have included several rides during which I was hitting a high-end of about 63 mph per the speedometer. A governor/variator stops the bike from going faster; I could feel it kicking in. That said, it did not appear to me that the bike was straining or approaching any design limits.

Hence my question: While it seems clear that a PCX could travel basically forever going 40-50 mph, it isn't clear to me at all whether traveling at or close to the maximum governed speed (about 63) stresses the bike, creates increased wear, or shortens engine life.

Can any of you experienced riders provide some insight on that question? I don't intend to do this often if at all, but as I rode about 63 mph for more than an hour I was wondering if I was risking damage to the bike. There were no short-term issues I could identify, except that the PCX is a quality machine.

Would like to keep my bike a long time, which is why I am asking/wondering.

Thanks very much for your insight.

Ray A.

[gn2]

Mine sat just below the rev limiter for probably more than half the 19,000 miles I did on it.
Ten years on its still going strong, I see it out and about sometimes.
Have no fear of stretching its legs, probably do more good than harm, blow the cobwebs out.

[Mel46]

Since I changed out my variator and rollers my bike has had no problem hitting 75 mph. I don't run it at that speed very often now but it has never complained when I did. Though the belts have very little miles on them right now it would seem to me that the belt would be the only item to be concerned with shortening the life of. Otherwise, it's a Honda. It could probably go all day wide open. Honda sets these limits as a conservative measure. They know that riders will push these bikes beyond that limiter. They aren't blind. Every Asian country has a PCX group that modifies their bikes. Japan, Thailand, Vietnam... and then there are the other countries and areas, like Europe and the Americas. That is a lot of modifications.

[rmaragon@yahoo.com]

Thanks Mel46 and gn2 for the insight. I'm new to scooters and motorcycles so your experience really helps!!

[Mel46]

rmaragon, please go into your profile and add your general location so that we can help you more. Because this is an international forum there are members from all over the world, and Honda has modified their bikes to meet the regional requirements in these locations. Therefore, each may have its own problems.

[you you]

Mine sat just below the rev limiter for probably more than half the 19,000 miles I did on it.
Ten years on its still going strong, I see it out and about sometimes.
Have no fear of stretching its legs, probably do more good than harm, blow the cobwebs out.

Tell me about these cobwebs, I’m worried that my bike might get them.

[Gil]

Your concern is a legitimate one. I think it's legitimate because when riding this scooter at it's top speed the engine is also at it's top RPM. When Gasoline engines are run at their top RPM they wear out faster. But, I wouldn't worry about it. Just check your oil often when on long high speed rides, like 400 miles long. My engine died at ~36K, but that was due to running it low on oil, so low on oil that the dipstick was dry, and my top speed went up, LOL.

[gn2]

Mine sat just below the rev limiter for probably more than half the 19,000 miles I did on it.
Ten years on its still going strong, I see it out and about sometimes.
Have no fear of stretching its legs, probably do more good than harm, blow the cobwebs out.

Tell me about these cobwebs, I’m worried that my bike might get them

Edited: Comment Removed - Nothing to read here folks - WN

[you you]

Mine sat just below the rev limiter for probably more than half the 19,000 miles I did on it.
Ten years on its still going strong, I see it out and about sometimes.
Have no fear of stretching its legs, probably do more good than harm, blow the cobwebs out.

Tell me about these cobwebs, I’m worried that my bike might get them

Edited: Comments Removed - Nothing to read here folks.
Let's move on - WN

[maddiedog]

These scooters are tuned very conservatively. I've done lots of 100+ mile days many times, with most of that at the limiter with no issues.

You'll be just fine - my only advise is to leave a bit of extra braking room, since your scooter does not have anti-lock brakes (ABS) and to make sure you keep on top of the maintenance schedule. The PCX doesn't really have an oil filter - just a screen - so it's important to keep fresh synthetic in there.

[Inoplanetyanin]

Well, if the question is - does running the engine at or near red line "bad" for the engine?

The answer is certainly yes.

The reason there is a red line, or rather an electronic limiter that prevents engine from turning at revolutions higher than certain value, is in order to prevent engine from disintegrating at excessive engine speed.

If the PCX engine that is limited to let's say 10000 rpm, is allowed to spin at 25000 rpm, there is high chance it will explode within minutes, or maybe hours but the parts will wear out so quickly that it will not run poorly.

The reason the excessive revolutions are damaging is because of the increased force that is created when a part is moving at a higher than designed speed. So the bearings will have to face significantly higher forces (pressures), crank bearings, piston pin, crankshaft to block bearings, etc.

So, all things equal, the engine that is run at moderate revolutions will have significantly less wear and stress compared to the one that is run at or above the red line, therefore the first one will last longer.


As others have stated, with good oil that is kept at a designed level, you are unlikely to experience an engine failure that could be directly attributed to running near red line, unless your bike has a lot of miles (say over 20000), then I think you will start running the risk of having some part of the engine fail a lot sooner. Could be a head gasket as well, due to increased combustion pressures.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntxPrtHW1ys

[gn2]

If you use fully synthetic oil there will be no engine wear.

[alx123]

Is this a 125? Redline at 63mph seems to be very conservative.
PCX 150 can coast without any trouble at 68Mmph and will reach it's limiter at around 73mph.
I believe Honda's rev limiter is too conservative, but it make sense in a way, considering the poor braking capability of the PCX.

[Inoplanetyanin]

If you use fully synthetic oil there will be no engine wear.

If that was the case, it would mean a PCX engine was alike to perpetual motion machine that would last forever

Obviously that's not the case and there is always wear when the engine is running.

[gn2]

Use fully synthetic, ride 500 miles a week every week.
You'll break before the engine will.

[Old Scoot]

If you use fully synthetic oil there will be no engine wear.

No engine wear? That's impossible unless you don't use the engine. Anything that moves is subjected to wear.

[gn2]

Friction causes wear.
Lubricant reduces wear.
Fully synthetic reduces wear to negligible amounts.
Properly maintained a PCX will easily outlast its owner.

[Conelite]

If the PCX engine that is limited to let's say 10000 rpm, is allowed to spin at 25000 rpm, there is high chance it will explode within minutes, or maybe hours but the parts will wear out so quickly that it will not run poorly.

That's a YUGE stretch there. No engine that I know with a certain RPM limiter will EVER run twice the RPMs limiter removed.

From the Ruckus game. The Limiter is set to 9k RPMs. We add a CDI and spin them to around 10.5k in which you start to float valves. with lightened valvetrain we have seen 11.5k but not for long periods of time. Under a minute just to break our top speed records.

As for the PCX, I have ran a lot of Highway. Granted Im modded so 65-70 is all under 8700rpms.. 78mph @ 9200limter. To be pinned at WOT for a long period of time takes too much concentration since its all over the road. Go with bigger tires, a Variator and let the engine settle in the mid 8k range and you can cruise all day long no problem. Not to good for the engine when you constantly bounce the limiter (at least I hate that feeling).

[op3l]

I honestly don't know how some of you are getting 75mph fully stock. Mine maxes out at about 105 kph. I weigh 93 kg and have a tall windshield and even then that's about all I can get out of it.

I honestly wouldn't recommend riding it at max speeds for hours at a time as it simply isn't designed for that. As far as wear and tear on engine and components, of course it'll be faster since everything is spinning faster. So if you are going to do that, I'd keep a close eye on fluids.

[gn2]

I honestly don't know how some of you are getting 75mph fully stock.

Anyone who says a standard unmodified PCX will do 75mph is a liar.
Hope that explains it for you.