The Honda PCX / Forza / ADV150 / SH Forums

I find the PCX150 to be a very nimble scooter, and with variator and clutch mods I see some punchy acceleration off the line. I live in a motorcycle/scooter town, everyone has them.

So how do you ride, offensively or conservatively? I ride quite offensively, but I stay very aware of my surroundings. I think my fuel economy may suffer a little bit, but I still see close to 100mpg.

I know I am pissing off a few people though with my riding style. Just today someone yelled out of their car window for me to slow down. Meh, some people just don't like scooterists. That's my attitude anyway.

It's my first vehicle and I've only owned it for a month, I'm not even sure how to drive yet! There's one road into another city where the speed limit is 50kmph but traffic often goes 90kmph... I'm comfortable going at that speed but not in a 50 zone. If I don't keep up with traffic and instead go 70 (still 20 over) I'll have people VERY aggressively passing me, they won't even fully change into the next lane and then will merge the moment they think they've passed me, which often results in a vehicle merging back in front of me so close that it gets a little scary.

I'm starting to drive more offensively, people in my area are used to piss-slow scooters and often do their best not to let me merge. I like to think I surprise them when I eventually do merge and keep up with traffic without any problems.

Defensively. I work in an ER.

I ride intelligently.

When I was young I was bold. Now I am old and I ride defensively. There are very few old and bold riders left. That should give you pause for concern.

Mel46 wrote:When I was young I was bold. Now I am old and I ride defensively. There are very few old and bold riders left. That should give you pause for concern.

LOL... ditto

Being that I live in CA, and lane splitting is legal, I would say I ride somewhat aggressively, at least when lane splitting. Having ridden since I was 15, and now being 40, and having been over 13 years since I last met the pavement, I'm feeling somewhat emboldened by riding a 9whp scooter. Having ridden/owned the current crop of 160whp 100cc sportbikes recently, I feel like I can do no wrong...or at least, nothing to really get myself into trouble relative to the wheelies I used to do on the freeway for a mile or so.

In that regard, I've also been slacking off on the gear side of things. Been using it to get to the beach on a lot a mile or so away and have been riding in my swimsuit and sandals. I do keep my speeds to a reasonalbe, and mostly legal level so I give myself the ability to react. I know how to look out for other drivers and make myself visible to them after all these years. Barring some idiot who is blind, drunk, etc...I should be ok.

I try to ride defensively acknowledging that defensive riding doesn't necessarily mean conservative riding. It means being aware of your surroundings at all times and seeking to anticipate what other drivers will/won't do , then making the necessary adjustments accordingly, whether it be speeding up, backing off, changing lanes, looking for an escape route or whatever. To put it in GN2's words, "intelligently".

As I live in Chicago,home to some of the most ignorant drivers known to man, I try to ride as defensively as possible!!

I try to ride upright.

"Meh, some people just don't like scooterists."

No, they just don't like rude, dangerous drivers no matter what the conveyance.

I'm lite up like a Christmas goose with all my dayglo and refective material and I notice people doing everything they can to get away from me LOL. This suits me fine but there is the occasional butt head who seems to think tailgating is a good idea even though I'm over the speed limit... this is the putz who might find himself in a huge lawsuit someday. Good augment for one of these headgear cameras I guess.

That is my main pet peeve. It's one thing not to see us and eyes can play tricks on drivers but to consciously sit right behind me over the speed limit just bugs the crap out of me. Evening rush hour is the worst when all they want to do is get home fast at any cost but it happens anytime. So I tend to avoid busy roads in rush hours.

I live 15 minutes from Detroit and have cars up the wazoo all around me when I'm riding. Being aware of my surroundings and riding defensively and wearing high-viz gear is the way to go for me.

Steph wrote:I live 15 minutes from Detroit and have cars up the wazoo all around me when I'm riding. Being aware of my surroundings and riding defensively and wearing high-viz gear is the way to go for me.

Even in your photo, your hi-viz gear pops out.

It's a great defense! Do have people tease me about it though. Well, intelligence is a flower that doesn't grow in everyone's garden.

+++ on the Hi Viz stuff.

My dad recently rode out to my place on his R1100RS. He was wearing a new Hi-Viz color helmet I hadn't seen before.

I was in the car at one point and he was following me on the bike. It was amazing to me, even at a distance, how much he stood out in my rear view mirror wearing that helmet. It stood out like a sore thumb.

Next helmet I buy will be hi-viz color. Light years better than even a white helmet from a car driver's perspective.

Just picked up a Hi-Viz one-piece Aerostitch Roadcrafter. (Only because it was 40% off!)

Talk about bright! It's even brighter than the firefighting gear I used to wear.

I ride defensively in my college town. Sometimes I open the throttle at an intersection and blow smoke past the other cars...

I actually like the color of hi-viz yellow. The plus side is it's also a car repellant too!