Honda Pcx

[darhut]

It might just be a scooter but WOW it looks good.

Had mine a week now and I do notice the head turning and comments BSJ so maybe still a little WOW factor (maybe just that I'm in a small town)

I actually bought it for the comfort,brakes and fact that it's not too big for my wife.

As for price you get what you pay for.

[Gary A]

Actually I don't much care about the looks of a scooter although I do think the Fino and Scoopy are incredibly ugly. They remind me of those Italian tiny wheeled bulgy sided scooters. I rode a PCX and must say that I was impressed. I ended up with a Yamaha Elegance because it also impressed me and The cost difference made the decision. I refused to pay 75,000 baht. I did shop around and that was the lowest price. The PCX auto start stop feature is something I definitely don't need or want. I also don't like the combi braking system. Sand and gravel covered concrete village streets are not at all friendly to the front brake. I want to be able to use the rear brake alone and use the front brake where it is suitable to use the extra stopping power. If the start stop and combi brake were optional, I would likely be riding the PCX.

My requirements are decent sized wheels that can negotiate a pot hole without falling in the hole and dumping the scooter. I like having my feet in front of me and not between the scooter frame and the road and anything that may hit me broadside. Have you ever noticed the number of one legged and one footed Thai (former) riders?

My favorite spot is up on a mountain about ten kilometers from home so the extra power of the 135CC Elegance is appreciated.

[darhut]

Gary I was also concerned about the combi brake for the same reasons but after trying my hardest to lock the front brake on sand and gravel covered roads and also on grass it just didn't happen, the back would lock and get out of shape but not the front. The combi system only applies a small amount of braking to the front and if you want more front brakes you still have that option on the right .

I guess the problem in the future will be making sure the brakes are adjusted right during maintenance.

I didn't really want the idle stop either but thats just a flick of a switch (in a convenient position) and it's turned off. It does work well and would be handy in a lot of traffic and traffic lights but not here where I am.

[phiti]

I'm an 'over 50 year old' who after careful consideration, bought PCX last Friday. I shopped around Phuket and paid 71,000 baht, all in price for Candy Red one.

Apart from what I consider to be a stunning looking scooter, a point that my colleagues agree with me on, the PCX produces a smooth ride, excellent acceleration, superb braking and lovely handling. Have only done 200 km so far and therefore unsure of the fuel consumption but the tank appears to be about a third full still, so I'm reckoning the fuel economy is going to be very good. I am using the idle stop, finding it works perfectly and it's great to be sitting on a vibration free bike whilst stationary at the lights.

Another plus point is that I can park it with the big bikes, so no need to fight my way into a tight parking space at a car park, only to return and find someone has come along, moved it a bit in order to squeeze their bike in.

[tirekicker]

I'm an 'over 50 year old' who after careful consideration, bought PCX last Friday. I shopped around Phuket and paid 71,000 baht, all in price for Candy Red one.

Apart from what I consider to be a stunning looking scooter, a point that my colleagues agree with me on, the PCX produces a smooth ride, excellent acceleration, superb braking and lovely handling. Have only done 200 km so far and therefore unsure of the fuel consumption but the tank appears to be about a third full still, so I'm reckoning the fuel economy is going to be very good. I am using the idle stop, finding it works perfectly and it's great to be sitting on a vibration free bike whilst stationary at the lights.

Another plus point is that I can park it with the big bikes, so no need to fight my way into a tight parking space at a car park, only to return and find someone has come along, moved it a bit in order to squeeze their bike in.

Baht 71,000 was a good price, I paid Baht 74.000 all inclusive for my Candy Red PCX in March which still only has 500 km on the clock.

[samuijimmy]

I had not realized until readings comments here, that if you don't use the idle switch that the bike stops running after what is it ? 10 seconds, .....but as soon as you turn the throttle it starts going again,,,,, nice I like that!

As a friend pointed out RTFM! (read the manual!)

[JeffreyMcCollum]

Almost 22,000 on my PCX and still lovin' it.Got a complement today, one yesterday also. Have ridden the click and the scoopy, the PCX is a much smoother ride. I have to go to the gas station almost every day on the chicka's scoopy, about once a week on the PCX. Don't worry about theft, just get a brake caliper lock for the bike and close the ignition. The thieves would have to pick the bike up and put it in a truck to steal it. It would take at least three people to pick it up. I'm glad there were five people helping me when I moved.

DON'T buy the Yamaha! I know someone who did and they had it in the shop for a carburetor adjustment three times. He only had five thousand km on it. Not my idea of quality.

I've admitted here many times that the PCX is a great bike but I think you are doing everyone here a disservice by your very advising people not to buy a Yamaha. You have a database of precisely one bike that according to you had carburetor problems. I've had one Yamaha Nouvo for three years with no problems and my present Elegance for 2 1/2 years now with no problems. My friend Ross has put 30,000 km on his Elegance with no problems. I tried to convince two American friends to rent PCX's because both of them weigh around 300 pounds but both wound up renting Elegances which they were very happy with. Neither even considered renting PCX's.

Now let's take a worse case scenario of your friend filling his carburetor with mashed potatoes and gravy. He could replace the entire carb for a pittance based on my very recent experience renting a 250 CBR. Got out of the hospital yesterday after being operated on for a broken clavicle. Took the rental to the Naklua Honda dealer to replace a few parts and the total bill was 2900 baht. (I'll be calling my forthcoming article on my web site "Jack Corbett Crash tests Honda's new 250 CBR"). My point is repairs can be ridiculously inexpensive compared to repairing the human body.

I find the PCX / Elegance feud amusing. There will always be some Yamaha fans, and there will always be some Honda fans, as well as others. Some facts you can not dispute, and that is there are many more Honda shops for repair and service than Yamaha. Value and price is up to the consumer to decide what they wish.

AP Honda sent out a crew when I hand a question about my PCX, A crew. Yamaha, and yes I have a new Yamaha also, would not answer my E-mails and even when I went to the BKK office would not answer my simple question. My 2 American friend rode my PCX and traded their Elegances in, but I am sure some will like the other too. However after the lack of assistance and help from Yamaha when I did have a problem, I will not be buying theirs again. I can only vote with my baht when I make my next pruchase

[Gary A]

Sometime back there was a thread describing the Elegance being hard to start after sitting for a period of time. I didn't pay too much attention because I had no problem with mine. Now I know what they were talking about. I was gone for about a month and when I got home I had an awful time getting it started. It would start, run a few seconds and die. Fortunately we have a good little motorcycle repair shop about five kilometers from home. My wife took the scooter to the shop. They called the next day to say it was repaired. They charged a whopping 90 baht. The mechanic told my wife to be more careful where she bought her benzine. He said the fuel system was full of dirt. What do you suppose it would have cost if it had been fuel injected? He must have done some adjustments too because when it first starts, it idles much faster than it did before. After 20 or 30 seconds it slows to what I would call a normal idle.

[mic6ard]

The only reason I decided on the PCX was the floor space, with no limit to the foot size. I'm only a 42-43 size, but had difficulty in fitting comfortably on the yamaha, but only with a couple of pair of shoes. So my decision was pay more and have a scooter that I can use all the time, or pay less but have to select which pair of shoes I can wear . Plus I get to stretch out on the highway almost cruiser like, which is a lot more comfortable for me than the upright style of the others.

For those who has trouble with acceptiing the idle-stop function. After a while you just don't notice it. Just twist and go as always.

My only gripe is that fully fueled, it's a heavy beast. I typically half fill the tank just to give me the agility.So not a huge problem.

[jonnyscot]

I

Thanks for these extra comments. Testing a few different models seems a very good idea, and now I have an idea what to look for.

Hi, I have a suzuki skydrive right now, its a nippy bike and extremely easy to handle around town,, I have had it for nearly a year and I must say its a great run around, although no under seat storage unless storing documents or wallet or something small,, however I too am looking to buy a PCX within the next couple months, I would say that only the PCX would sway me to change.., we have moved away from chonburi and have some road tracks with uneven surfaces and chipping stones as surfaces, the Suzi has thin tyres,,, looking to upgrade to this PCX as they have much thicker tyres,,,,,,,, well thats the excuse I gave the wife to buy a PCX anyway ,,,, ,,,,

[Darrel]

I managed to get to sit on one today (stationary, in the showroom) and it did feel comfortable to sit on. I liked the large space under the seat and the general build quality felt high. It also felt much more solid to sit on than a couple of other cheaper bikes that were nearby. The features like the locking seat and fuel cover, the auto cut-out, the key-fob alarm all seemed useful. The mirrors seemed well-positioned and I got the impression that if something hit the side of the bike (or indeed if it fell over) the bike body would provide a little protection to the rider's legs. I may be mistaken about that. The speedometer fillled me with horror as it goes up to 160kph! God forbid that is a real number.

The price I was quoted for the basic model by the airconditioned Honda shop on the corner of South Rd and 3rd Rd in Pattaya was 80,000 including all the paperwork etc. which seems quite high compared to the 71,000 that the Phuket poster paid. None of the extras I saw on another very flash-looking model seemed to be very worthwhile, and all of seemed to be of the "go-faster stripes" type. Perhaps the fancy seat at 2500 is worth having, for long distances, and the variable brake settings may be of some use. Not sure how much that option was though. I suppose all those things can be fitted later for the same price anyway.

Thanks again for the helpful comments.

[Phatcharanan]

South Rd and 3rd Rd in Pattaya was 80,000 including all the paperwork etc. which seems quite high compared to the 71,000 that the Phuket poster paid.

That price of 80,000 is ridiculous. You can get the bike for around 72-74k if you look around.

[bifftastic]

Interesting thread, I was just looking at one last week up in Chiang Saen. Have to agree the 80,000 price is way high! Our local small dealers who only have one for display, were saying 76,000 and that's if you chuck them 20,000 and pay the rest off monthly!

[ttakata]

Any Japanese scooter will be fine, that one bad Yamaha is a fluke.

I personally have a Nouvo E 135, it can fit a full size helmet under the seat which is nice.

I've had a Honda and now a Yamaha scooter, they're all good reliable transport.

Get what you like riding and looks cool to you.

If you're just starting out the ergos of the NE135 are better suited for fast reactions, but the smaller 110cc bikes are even lighter and nimbler still.

My friend's Click 110 feels like a toy; its so small and nimble.

It's geared to accelerate faster than my NE135 too, but the smaller wheels are a little harsher over bumps.

[Darrel]

I've seen that older versions of the PCX came in colours other than the bright red, white or black available now. Some rather attractive beige/tan/brown colours.

Are there any significant technical differences between these older PCXs compared to the new red, white or black models?

Has anyone seen a shop that still has unused stock of these older versions? Presumably they would sell for less.