Upgrade Yamaha Nouvo 135LC to Honda PCX150

[ja99]

After 18mths+ faithful service from my Yamaha Nouvo 135, I decided to move up to a PCX150, lightening my pocket a tad in the process.

I did give this some thought for quite some time before finally giving in, and as much as I loved the trooper that the Yamaha was, it was it's ability to buck around like a bronco at minor road imperfections that prompted the change to something more stable. On a recent trip to PhangNga from Phuket, it nearly threw me off more than once and I am not talking major potholes here. It did return over 40MPG for the trip on largely level terrain, speed at times over 90KPH.

The Nouvo had a lot going for it - after putting over 13,000kms on the dial in 18mths, standard servicing at 1000, 4000, 8000 and 12,000kms cost less than 1,500baht in total. I doubt the PCX will be so kind. I guess I will soon find out, but what worries me is the Valve Inspections required at each service for the PCX, this could prove costly. If it does, then I suspect the love affair will not last long.

The Nouvo still comes in with a better power to weight ratio, .082 (kw/kg) to .0778 for the pcx.

I might add that in the quest for more stability(saftey) I was looking also at changing to a Honda CB125R/250R, up to any one of the new CB500R/F/X series where costs started at 83K, 135K then up over 200K baht for the the 500s. In the end, the PCX won due to it's 78K price tag incl. on road costs and a dodgy plastic crap helmet and light jacket. Bought from a dealer in Phuket Town, one of the few that accepted a trade on a Yamaha. Don't ask the trade value, Ok..Yamaha just do not have a bike in this range for me to even consider. What to move to from a Nouvo - a TMax at 500K baht? No thanks.

Riding the (Red)PCX out of the shop, I noticed at the first roundabout a tendancy of the bike to want to follow a different line from where I wanted it to which surprised me. I got it back the 3kms to my place, check the tyres and of course the shop dude had em pumped to 45 and 55PSI front and back, way too much. The Manual states 29 and 33-36 for the rear so I adjusted to 30 and 35psi and the bike handles very well now.

I am certainly not a fan of the hump in the seat, that is just plain uncomfortable for my height 180cm and it will be off shortly.

IMHO, the main features that make the PCX a more stable, arguably safer bike -

Fatter Tyres as standard, my bike has Dunlop TT100s fitted and after having this bike up over 90kph in the wet here, I have nothing but praise for them.

Combined braking system, no complaints here, tho the Nouvo's brakes are superb with a different feel. Maybe the next model Pcx release will have ABS?

Side stand cutoff switch, peace of mind. Yes, I managed to ride off on the Nouvo with the stand down when I first got it, luckily it never threw me. The Nouvo SX has the switch fitted, bravo Yamaha.

Overall, the standard PCX's abilty to stick to the road and not jump about out-performs the stock standard Nouvo any day of the week, dry or wet roads.

Now if the monsoon will bugger off for a day or 2, I will go for a ride back to PhangNga..

[anto]

>>It did return over 40MPG for the trip on largely level terrain, speed at times over 90KPH.<<

Thats very heavy fuel consumption for a small bike .You will find the PCX far more fuel efficient .

[jackcorbett]

You have made some very good points here. I have a Nouvo Elegance as well and have done some extensive road tests on this bike as compared to the Honda PCX and the new fuel injected Nouvo SX. I view the bike scene as this. For the average person living say in Pattaya the two absolute finest all around bikes are the Nouvo Elegance 135 (or new 125 SX) and the PCX, and out of the two PCX's the new 150 trumps the 125. For me it's a fifty fifty thing here. The PCX is terrific and so is the Nouvo. But I am rekindling my love affair with my 135 Elegance since upgrading my tires to the Michelin Sportys while going up one size larger. The handling of this new setup is absolutely outstanding. The PCX especially the new 150 is better on the highway than the Nouvo. It was designed to be. But Yamaha built the Elegance and the SX for unbeatable handling in their class. They are exceptionally quick turning, nimble creatures with excellent acceleration for the type of conditions one is going to find anywhere in the Pattaya area with the exception of having to mix it up with cars on the motorway. All those Mios, Finos, Filanos, Scoopys and Clicks are simply not in the same league. My Elegance, especially with its new set of tires really feels a part of me. I think it will out turn my gf's Filano with its 12 inch wheels even at low speeds. PCX or Nouvo...take your pick. Want the the sport scar out of the small automatics go for the Nouvo Elegance or SX. Want the best for ride, comfort and secure performance up to 90 kmph or so, get the PCX 150. And by the way, don't laugh when I talk sportscar performance here. No.....a Nouvo can't be considered to be comparable even to a CBR 250, I'm only relating it to the other scooters and underbones in its class that represent what most Pattaya expats really need.

[jackcorbett]

>>It did return over 40MPG for the trip on largely level terrain, speed at times over 90KPH.<<

Thats very heavy fuel consumption for a small bike .You will find the PCX far more fuel efficient .

That is absolutely untrue. I did a side by side comparison between a PCX 125 and my Nouvo 135 Elegance from Pattaya to Rayong and the fuel economy was identical for the two bikes. And in my tests the fuel economy over that distance is in the 100 mile per gallon area for both bikes. A similar test between the new fuel injected 125 Nouvo SX and my 135 c.c. Nouvo Elegance gave the same results, identical fuel economy. However, the story might be altogether different if we checked the mileage for city driving only.

It looks like I'm going to have to do a You Tube video that shows how one should test bikes for fuel economy and do side by side comparisons in order to separate all the bull from real facts.

[ja99]

>>It did return over 40MPG for the trip on largely level terrain, speed at times over 90KPH.<<

Thats very heavy fuel consumption for a small bike .You will find the PCX far more fuel efficient .

Sorry , brain snap, should be 40km+/litre

[ja99]

>>It did return over 40MPG for the trip on largely level terrain, speed at times over 90KPH.<<

Thats very heavy fuel consumption for a small bike .You will find the PCX far more fuel efficient .

That is absolutely untrue. I did a side by side comparison between a PCX 125 and my Nouvo 135 Elegance from Pattaya to Rayong and the fuel economy was identical for the two bikes. And in my tests the fuel economy over that distance is in the 100 mile per gallon area for both bikes. A similar test between the new fuel injected 125 Nouvo SX and my 135 c.c. Nouvo Elegance gave the same results, identical fuel economy. However, the story might be altogether different if we checked the mileage for city driving only.

It looks like I'm going to have to do a You Tube video that shows how one should test bikes for fuel economy and do side by side comparisons in order to separate all the bull from real facts.

You are right, it is over 100MPG, the cofee hadn't kicked in, oK, should have been 40k+per liter,

[ja99]

You have made some very good points here. I have a Nouvo Elegance as well and have done some extensive road tests on this bike as compared to the Honda PCX and the new fuel injected Nouvo SX. I view the bike scene as this. For the average person living say in Pattaya the two absolute finest all around bikes are the Nouvo Elegance 135 (or new 125 SX) and the PCX, and out of the two PCX's the new 150 trumps the 125. For me it's a fifty fifty thing here. The PCX is terrific and so is the Nouvo. But I am rekindling my love affair with my 135 Elegance since upgrading my tires to the Michelin Sportys while going up one size larger. The handling of this new setup is absolutely outstanding. The PCX especially the new 150 is better on the highway than the Nouvo. It was designed to be. But Yamaha built the Elegance and the SX for unbeatable handling in their class. They are exceptionally quick turning, nimble creatures with excellent acceleration for the type of conditions one is going to find anywhere in the Pattaya area with the exception of having to mix it up with cars on the motorway. All those Mios, Finos, Filanos, Scoopys and Clicks are simply not in the same league. My Elegance, especially with its new set of tires really feels a part of me. I think it will out turn my gf's Filano with its 12 inch wheels even at low speeds. PCX or Nouvo...take your pick. Want the the sport scar out of the small automatics go for the Nouvo Elegance or SX. Want the best for ride, comfort and secure performance up to 90 kmph or so, get the PCX 150. And by the way, don't laugh when I talk sportscar performance here. No.....a Nouvo can't be considered to be comparable even to a CBR 250, I'm only relating it to the other scooters and underbones in its class that represent what most Pattaya expats really need.

I agree largely with what is said here, the Nouvo certainly had a better turning circle, no doubt about that. If I had found a dealer/shop that had Dunlop TT90s then I would probably have fitted wider versions like you did and kept the Nouvo (which still had the original horrible iRC on front but an upgraded fatter IRC one on the rear). My biggest beef with the Nouvo would have to be the front end - the forks bottomed out too easily which led to instability, or so it seemed to me. The main reason for the swap was that I was after something more stable at upto highway speeds and I am convinced the Pcx150 is the better choice for that.

[moe666]

I have the PCX150 and have ridden some long trips and it is very stable at 90 to 100k. The gas mileage will suffer at higher speeds though. I have the IRC Wings on my scooter and plan on upgrading to a better quality tire in the future. I do not have a problem with my PCX it has been very reliable and my last checkup was 400baht. I think you will like your PCX after you have ridden it for a while. The seat bump is a issue as well for me had it removed and a new cover installed but saw something better at PCX Club site. A fella from Phuket removed the bumps caused by the bolt hole supports and had a flat seat built he said very comfortable, I plan on trying it in the near future

[ja99]

I have the PCX150 and have ridden some long trips and it is very stable at 90 to 100k. The gas mileage will suffer at higher speeds though. I have the IRC Wings on my scooter and plan on upgrading to a better quality tire in the future. I do not have a problem with my PCX it has been very reliable and my last checkup was 400baht. I think you will like your PCX after you have ridden it for a while. The seat bump is a issue as well for me had it removed and a new cover installed but saw something better at PCX Club site. A fella from Phuket removed the bumps caused by the bolt hole supports and had a flat seat built he said very comfortable, I plan on trying it in the near future

Very happy with mine also, most importantly the quality of the ride with excellent power delivery. However, I have since discoered that the rear-end suspension bottoms out with 2 up, say a combined weight around 150Kg, that is something the old Nouvo never did!! The Pcx still wins all round by a mile. I will pump the rear tyre up over 40psi and see if that helps tighten the rear up a bit before looking at maybe upgrading the shocks. If you are looking at tires, as I mentioned the Dunlop TT100s would seem hard to beat. mileage seems near 100MPG on the first tank too

[ja99]

You have made some very good points here. I have a Nouvo Elegance as well and have done some extensive road tests on this bike as compared to the Honda PCX and the new fuel injected Nouvo SX. I view the bike scene as this. For the average person living say in Pattaya the two absolute finest all around bikes are the Nouvo Elegance 135 (or new 125 SX) and the PCX, and out of the two PCX's the new 150 trumps the 125. For me it's a fifty fifty thing here. The PCX is terrific and so is the Nouvo. But I am rekindling my love affair with my 135 Elegance since upgrading my tires to the Michelin Sportys while going up one size larger. The handling of this new setup is absolutely outstanding. The PCX especially the new 150 is better on the highway than the Nouvo. It was designed to be. But Yamaha built the Elegance and the SX for unbeatable handling in their class. They are exceptionally quick turning, nimble creatures with excellent acceleration for the type of conditions one is going to find anywhere in the Pattaya area with the exception of having to mix it up with cars on the motorway. All those Mios, Finos, Filanos, Scoopys and Clicks are simply not in the same league. My Elegance, especially with its new set of tires really feels a part of me. I think it will out turn my gf's Filano with its 12 inch wheels even at low speeds. PCX or Nouvo...take your pick. Want the the sport scar out of the small automatics go for the Nouvo Elegance or SX. Want the best for ride, comfort and secure performance up to 90 kmph or so, get the PCX 150. And by the way, don't laugh when I talk sportscar performance here. No.....a Nouvo can't be considered to be comparable even to a CBR 250, I'm only relating it to the other scooters and underbones in its class that represent what most Pattaya expats really need.

When I was in the dealers, shopping for a replacement, the Filano looked interesting with those rather fat tires fitted. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the bike was a smoother ride than the Nouvos, around town at least, I dont think the 12inch wheels would somehow be up for much highway use?

Edited July 5, 2013 by ja99

[Pinot]

I enjoyed the insight on this thread. The YNE and the PCX are the premier bikes and a big step above the "Click" class. My girl is always on the back and the Click, I also own, just doesn't cut it. My YNE has been faultless for 3 years. I do look at the PCX longingly but not willing to part with the 40k it would take to upgrade.

[andreandre]

Regarding bigger tyres on nouvo..what is largest size tyre one can fit on the rear?

I heard Michelin make a 120,/70or80 but was advised it wont fit..anyone can advise, much appreciated.

[ja99]

Regarding bigger tyres on nouvo..what is largest size tyre one can fit on the rear?

I heard Michelin make a 120,/70or80 but was advised it wont fit..anyone can advise, much appreciated.

The largest size I have seen fitted on forums is 100/90-16 which is what I had on mine, an IRC and which was a lot better than the standard thing. 120 is probably too large, good luck with it.

[andreandre]

Regarding bigger tyres on nouvo..what is largest size tyre one can fit on the rear?

I heard Michelin make a 120,/70or80 but was advised it wont fit..anyone can advise, much appreciated.

The largest size I have seen fitted on forums is 100/90-16 which is what I had on mine, an IRC and which was a lot better than the standard thing. 120 is probably too large, good luck with it.

I read on another thread that someone had indeed fitted 120, but cant find the post now...

Anyone done so?

[vietexpat]

Yes, tire upgrades help. 80/90 front and I upgraded the rear wheel to accommodate the 100/80-26, using the rim from the Nouvo 6. How can I upgrade the front forks? Can I swap forks with a newer Yamaha model like NVX? I have paid people that say it's upgrading, and it does feel a little better, but it still dips heavily when braking hard....

[papa al]

You lost bro.?