The Honda PCX / Forza / ADV150 / SH Forums

homie wrote:

you you wrote:My best haggling suggestion would be to get an eyeliner and draw a lobotomy scar on your head.

I both trolled and got back on topic. Multitalented

perfect, I needed that today. Eye patch is good too, very unnerving and no one dare mention it. I put on mine when I go to buy a car.

Ah, but where do you put it?

Nothing beats a codpiece when haggling

Thanks for all the great replies! I find that in the last few days my back has ached a lot less so I might be able to go without a new seat, but it's nice to know that I can get better support if I need it.
My wrist is also feeling a lot better now. It's likely due to me trying to keep my wrist straight with my arm, but I might get that cramp buster if it still bothers me.
I have full coverage thanks to the advice given here, but after a couple years when it will have been depreciated enough, I might do just liability.
I am concerned about the first service, and want to do it myself but I think that voids the manufacturers warranty if I don't get it officially serviced. Oh well. We'll see.

Mel46 wrote:Ok, so now that you have your bike here are some suggestions from someone who has been riding most of his long long life. First of all, for the wrist, get a Cramp Buster. It will help a lot. Second, for the bumps, replace the shocks with YSS adjustable ones. You can order them online. They are easy to change out or you can have the dealer do it when they do the 600 mile service, which will be around $300, so be prepared. As for your back, that is why many of us ordered custom seats from Thailand with back braces. If you order the back Support instead, they will think you mean the one that actually has a high back to it. Go to powerbypcx.com and look at some of their seats. We can help you maneuver the site.

Thanks, I'll definitely get better shocks, sometimes when pulling into a driveway it feels like it bottomed out, but I'm probably just overthinking it.

homie wrote:Push the bars up as far as possible without they touch the windscreen when turning. Sit up perky as much as you can as you've figured out already.

Thanks for the kind words. As much as it terrifies me to mod the bike in any way, I'll have to change the bars, as that makes sense that it would feel more comfortable.

you you wrote:My best haggling suggestion would be to get an eyeliner and draw a lobotomy scar on your head.

I both trolled and got back on topic. Multitalented

This was hilarious and made me laugh!

kramnala58 wrote:I suspect your back pain will ease a bit as you become more comfortable with riding. I suspect, whether you realize it or not, being a rookie rider, you are more tense than usual.

I agree, I was pretty tense and maybe that's why it's getting g easier today.

Today I went on a slow moving highway where I could comfortably cruise at 55 mph, but then hit a ton of traffic and thought, "eff it, I think I'm gonna cruise between the cars". It was really nice speeding up my commute but was equally scary because the bike barely makes a sound. At least a Harley grumbles past, or a speed bike's motor can be loud, but silently puttering through cars seems pretty dangerous. Maybe I should beep my horn as I go past, or maybe I shouldn't do it at all.

I will never cruise between cars.

I think they can do it in Cali, there was talk of lane splitting in Chicago but I don't think I could do much of it because... doors and idiots.

First of all let me say that the original horn on the PCX is a toy. Nobody inside a car with the A/C and radio going could hear it, especially if they are also talking on the phone...which would be most of California. Get a louder horn. There are threads on this forum in which it shows some of us installing them. With some effort one will fit under the black dash covering.

Second: extended warranties are useless. You may as well not consider one on the PCX. We purchased one with my wife's PCX, but when the clutch bearing went out lo-and-behold anything that said 'clutch' was not covered. It isn't really a part of the clutch itself but its proper name must have the word 'clutch' in it, because the dealer went round and round with them to no avail.

Third: Maintenance...Consider learning how to do maintenance on your bike yourself, and get a Service Manual. It will save you a ton of money. The first service should be done by the dealer because the bike is breaking in so the valves will more than likely be tight, plus the oil is breaking oil. But after that you should be able to do it al yourself. You don't have to adjust the valves every time you change the oil. In fact after the second or third adjustment they should be fine. Changing the oil takes maybe 10 minutes. The reason dealers charge so much for service is because half of the plastics have to come off in order to do the valve adjustment. That is a pain, but after the first couple of times you will be a pro. Replacement parts are cheap enough. Go to Bikebandit.com and you will see for yourself.

Fourth: Insurance...when we had our accident, which involved us dropping our bikes rather than crash into an accident that was happening right in front of us, the insurance company paid for the damages to our bikes which ended up being very little in the grand scheme of things ($2,000 total between the two bikes). The medical costs were the major things that the insurance company bulked at. If you hit a car with your bike, I really doubt that you will hurt the car much, but you will be injured. Medical coverage will be what you need to concentrate on the most, so make sure you also have good coverage at our job. They will be piking up most of the tab. Good protective clothing will mitigate this quite a bit. I walked away from my accident because I was fully armored. My wife didn't because she wasn't. $75,000 later she is almost back to normal. Wear protective gear. I can't stress that enough.

I think you have more chance of extended warranty claims being honoured by Honda than dealers 'actually' doing a valve check on the 1st service.

You certainly may have a point there. I would not trust that the dealer did the valve check unless I was standing right there at the time. I am betting that many mechanics would try NOT to do it because of the fact they have to actually work for their money on this little bike. I stood there watching the mechanic on mine. They didn't like it but they went ahead with the work because they knew I was watching. Some don't need adjusting on the first service, but that is about 1 in 100,000.

Mel46 wrote:You certainly may have a point there. I would not trust that the dealer did the valve check unless I was standing right there at the time. I am betting that many mechanics would try NOT to do it because of the fact they have to actually work for their money on this little bike. I stood there watching the mechanic on mine. They didn't like it but they went ahead with the work because they knew I was watching. Some don't need adjusting on the first service, but that is about 1 in 100,000.

I must be one of those 1 in 100,000.

Doing your own service voids no warranties in the USA.
Keep receipts and records from whomever does the service as listed in the service schedule.
At this point be more concerned about learning safe riding habbits than moding a perfectly good scooter. There are no magic shocks for a well made scooter...just expensive ones and pretty ones.
Do not ride at speed over an unfamiliar road...especially at night or in rain...until you have a ton more experience.
You have a pretty and well made scooter. Focus on learning to safely ride it, not messing with it. It is not a motorized bicycle. ..but much more dangerous than that.
Wear your gear...no matter how hot it is in SoCal...bright shirts won't do it.
Fish

Newsasquatch wrote:..... Maybe I should beep my horn as I go past, or maybe I shouldn't do it at all.....

Beeping a horn in Thailand typically means, watch out I am coming through, don't change your course of action. Beeping a horn in the US typically means, watch out, you are doing something wrong. Thus, beeping a horn in the US may inadvertently cause the other person to take some unnecessary corrective action, potentially causing them to veer into your path.

With California only recently allowing motorcycles to lane split, I suspect that many cage drivers are not familiar with the change in the law, and won't be anticipating a motorcycle being between them and another cage. As well, if cagers are not familiar with the new law, I suspect there will be some unwarranted cases of road rage. Motorcyclists beware and only proceed with extreme caution.

"With California only recently allowing motorcycles to lane split..."

Well, now we can split hairs about lane splitting.

True, California just made lane splitting legal.

"On August 19th, 2016, the California Legislature passed AB 51, which formally defines lane splitting in the vehicle code"

However, these were previous guidelines of the California Highway Patrol (From http://lanesplittingislegal.com):

1.Lane splitting by motorcycles is not illegal in California when done in a safe and prudent manner.
2.Motorists should not take it upon themselves to discourage motorcyclists from lane splitting

Only in California....
I would be afraid to split lanes knowing that there are a lot of drivers who are already pissed because of the backup on the freeway, which is of course causing them to be late for whatever they need to do. When someone cuts in a line at say the movies, there are a lot of irate people who would love nothing more than to drag that person back out of the line and punch them. Imagine what they feel when someone on a motorcycle or scooter goes past them between cars in slow moving traffic. I am betting that they have the same feelings of wanting to drag that person out of the line and punching them.

Yes Mel, jealousy is the silent catalyst that plagues the whole idea of lane splitting in America. This emo can cause a lot sudden and unpredictable behavior in human beings. I think it's a cultural acceptance that will take a long time to become tolerated by Chicago drivers that's for sure and then I would still think twice about bucking the line.

I just posted a couple of my cell phone videos of lane splitting here in Bangkok. You can find them in the 'Off-topic' section of the 'Add-Ons' forum.

Wow thanks to all of you for all of the well-intentioned knowledge. Thank you Mel for the wonderful hard earned advice. I probably will stand there and annoy the shit out of them since a big fear of mine is that I'm just throwing money down the drain. I do plan on working on it myself too. I have full upper body armor, a ff helmet, gloves, and boots, but I'm yet to get knee pads, which I know I have to get. My medical insurance is currently very good, but I'll keep that in mind. I actually opted out of collision coverage of the pcx bc I figured I wouldn't get much in an accident, plus once it's crashed, I figure it's done for anyway. I instead got theft and vandalism insurance even though it's always locked up pretty good and had an alarm.
I do wish it was heavier and faster sometimes, and find myself dreaming of one day owning a Harley, but that would be years from now.
As a driver in Cali who never rode motorcycles, I never felt anger towards lane splitters, just envy. I and most other drivers in Cali make room for them. Maybe there are some here who get mad, but most ppl I know just accept it. Maybe that's why that law was passed in Cali. I'm sure some ppl will get pissed though so I only plan on doing it in emergencies and very slowly at that.