Woolley's PCX

[Woolley]

Im copying and pasting my thread from clubpcx to here. Hopefully that doesnt get me banned

[Woolley]

Bear in mind this is all backdated from 27th May 2011

JUST got back from the dealership to sign some finance paperwork and he showed me my bike
collecting it tomorrow after my CBT.
i took a couple pics in the dealership:



First thing im doing is getting one of those L plates that goes on the front fork. Anyone know if theyll fit? He said it wouldnt in the dealership but im sure ive seen pics of them on pcx's like that. Ive got some white reflective rim tape aswell.

[Woolley]

All went smoothly. Went for my CBT, there was 2 other people there. 1 little 16 year old hooligan that just kept talking about how many fights hed had and a 43 year old bloke that hadnt ridden for 25 years. Most of the instructors attention was on those two, seemed like they needed more help than i did. I did it on a nackered old speedfight that was falling apart, it was fun, but kinda annoying when youd pull the throttle and then 3 seconds later when your rolling into the middle of a roundabout THEN it would pick up speed. All passed after 6 hours of learning how easy it is to die on a bike, and some basic manouveres. So i moseyed on down to the honda dealership down the road, and picked up my shiny new PCX. First thing i did was go down back to the CBT place so i could practice a little in their car park first and practice emergency stops etc. I was amazed by how ridiculously easy this thing is to ride. Ive never ridden a bike/moped etc before my CBT and i didnt have to think about anything while riding the PCX, just looked out for other road users trying to kill me but fortunately everything went well. I rode down to see my girlfriend at work in halesowen then rode down to kinver edge and back home. Soon enough im gonna get rid of the L plate on my windshield and get one for the front fork instead. So yeah. Happy Woolley.
Edit: i got 62mph on the flat and 68 downhill (on the speedo) if anyones interested.

Some pics:

[Woolley]

some more pics i forgot i had, there from when i took it back to the CBT place when i first picked it up. I know their just more pics of another white PCX but its MY PCX







And heres a pic of the chain lock i got, was only £10 and its exactly the same as those overpriced oxford ones.

[Woolley]

White reflective rimtape added
Photos took with flash on


a bit too much sunlight in this one to show it reflecting.

[Woolley]

L plate relocated

[Woolley]

Thought id post some of the few pictures of my PCX with nice scenery in the background. Its hard to find in Wolverhampton as most of the scenery here involves concrete, moldy zinger burgers, hobos or hookers, so i rode it elsewhere

This was actually taken on my first ride, the day i bought the bike. Its in kinver somewhere.


On a trip to bridgnorth after a crappy day at work (saw SO many bikers on the way, its a great road) :




And most recently i ended up in bewdley:

[Woolley]

Heres a couple more pics from when i drove down to stourport yesterday. Its still just a stock white PCX i know, but this thread is kind of turning into my photo album.
Not sure what happened with the trees in the background, it was taken on an iphone 4 with HDR setting on.

[maddiedog]

Did you ever get your CBT to get rid of the huge L tags? The way you guys handle licensing on the other side of the pond is even sillier than how we do it in the USA.

[Woolley]

Nah the CBT is what i did, you have to do your CBT in order to ride at all. Then if i wanna get rid of the L plates, take a passenger and go on the motorway then i need to my FULL bike test. Either that or do my CBT every 2 years and stay on L plates. Ill see how i feel when its closer to renewing my CBT. I dont know whats happening right now with money since all the bullshit with my car has happened. How exactly does it work in USA? Cus my dream is to move over there. Itll never happen unless i win the lottery. But hey theres always a chance, i enter it every week via direct debit.

[maddiedog]

Everything is silly over here too, but not as bad.

There are "classes" of license -- A, B, C, and M. But, you only have one license with different letters on it depending on what you can and can't drive. A is heavy-duty semi trucks and dump trucks, B is light cargo trucks, C is normal cars and SUVs, and M is motorcycles.

In order to get any class of license, you have to pass a written test and a driving test. If you don't want to take the driving test yet so that you can get more experience first, you can get a learners permit for any of the classes that is valid for 6 months. In order to get the learner's permit, it costs about $30 and you just have to pass a written test. The same rules apply to permits here as there, for the most part (daytime riding only, no passengers (on motorcycles), no highways).

My license is endorsed for cargo trucks and motorcycles, so I have a class BM license. The category B includes all vehicles in category C, so I am legal to drive B, C, and motorcycles. I had to take a written test and a driving test for all 3 classes though. To get my A is much more difficult and involves a lot more training and a much more stringent test and driving test than the other licenses. On the other hand, my wife only has a class C and a motorcycle permit. So, her license is a class C MP. If she takes the motorcycle driving test in the next few months, she will be just a class CM, and won't have to ever take the motorcycle exam or driving test again.

The tests are cheap, and so are the exams... You can register and drive for under $100.

[Woolley]

Wish it was that cheap here. for a direct access course, where you basically pass your test in 2 days (theres 2 parts to the test, direct access covers both) your looking at about £700.

[maddiedog]

Damn, that's awful. The grass isn't always greener though, I have to pay $650 per year for parking at work. Your money gets taken from you one way or another.

At least it sounds like the direct access course actually teaches you how to ride. I had no friends or family who knew how, so I would have been screwed without the internet. How much is the initial CBT? I guess it must be relatively economical to just keep the CBT rather than getting the test then?

[Woolley]

Its about £100, but Honda paid for my first one. Yeah it is cheaper, theres more scooters in the UK on L plates than there isnt. If it comes to me not buying a car, then ill do it so i can take my girlfriend on the back. Isnt there anywhere you can park your PCX for free nearby? Ive never paid for parking for my PCX. Even in city centres.

[rainburg]

Just to add to what Maddie said, it does vary a bit state to state. In Washington state you can take the MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) Basic Rider course, which is a combination of classroom and skills training and you take both a written and skills test. The class takes place on a Thursday evening and then all day Saturday and a half day Sunday. If you pass the tests (and they do their best to help you do that), then you get a completion card and take it to the state licensing office and pay an extra $25 for your driver license with motorcycle endorsement (good for 5 years) and renewable without extra testing. Here in Washington the motorcycle endorsement is open, so even though I took the training and skills test on a 150cc Vespa, legally I can hop on any motorcycle

I only plan to ride scooters, but I'm tempted to take the class again in a few years on a motorcycle. I think it would be fun to learn the shifting and brush up on my skills. Much more fun when you don't really care if you'll pass or not. My classmates and I all worried, but passed.

[Woolley]

What happens if you drive into a different state on your bike?

[rainburg]

Other states would have to honor it. If you move to another state however you generally have a period of time (30 days?) to get your driver's license and vehicle registration at the new state. I'd guess that you might have to take the written tests again, but probably not a skills test. That is what I remember for our driver's licenses and registration when we moved to Washington. It's been awhile however....

[maddiedog]

It's usually actually 6 months to get registration and licenses moved.

States honor the policies of the home state. For example, on all east coast states, you require a Class A license to tow two trailers (tandem towing), whereas the rest of the states only require that you have a license appropriate to the weight limit. So, if I drove from Texas into Florida towing a fifth wheel and a boat and got pulled over for it, they couldn't do anything other than ask me not to do so in the future.

As for parking, that cost is to park my car, not my scooter. The scooter's free, and is how I usually get out of paying the parking fees.

[rainburg]

I double checked and it is 30 days in Washington state; I remember it was a bit of a hassle during a busy time although they were really nice. A shock coming from the long lines at the California DMV. They even asked me if my picture was okay or if I wanted to re-take it Definitely not in California any more! Anyway Wooley, it definitely varies state to state but most states have similar rules.

[Woolley]

Seems weird to me being different laws in the same country. I just live on one big island with all the same laws