Our new Honda PCX150

It has been the proverbial question for the last couple of weeks; do we get a motorcycle or a scooter? After much deep thought and consideration, we went with a brand new Honda PCX 150. For the same price range, the other alternative would have been to purchase a used motorcycle, somewhere in the 200cc – 250cc range. As I wrote in an earlier post, 99% of the population that rides on two wheels has a scooter. And unless you plan on doing a lot of cross-Thailand touring, there is not much point in getting anything bigger. After reading about the constant carnage on the Thai highways (worse accident record than China), my dreams of touring Thailand on a motorcycle soon evaporated. We will stick with safer ways to get around the country! This cool little machine will fit our needs just fine.

It is definitely a high-tech machine. With fuel injection and a 2-valve, liquid cooled engine, it has a surprising amount of efficiency, torque and power for being so small! It actually has more horsepower and torque than the new 200cc motorcycle I was looking at last week. The starter motor and cooling system are both integrated into the engine which saves on weight and space. I don’t know if I would want to take it on any major highway but it is great for getting around town and for short trips into the countryside.

We wanted something reliable and this fits the bill. It came with a three year warranty on the engine and a five year warranty on the fuel injection system. With all the necessary insurance, licensing and one-year of theft insurance, the grand total came to around $2500. It has enough bells and whistles to excite any gadget freak! Built in alarm system, automatic locking with the key chain button, locked gas tank and starter, and a digital dashboard that would put many cars to shame! Tack on the 100 miles per gallon that it regularly gets, and we decided it was a winner!

After riding my Kawasaki 1500cc in Canada and my old 750cc Chang Jiang in China, I really thought this thing would be gutless on the hills. But today we headed up the mountain road outside our doorstep with no problems. It is so nice to be able to get out of town and see the surrounding countryside. I had no problem navigating the twisties up the side of the mountain and, even with the two of us, the little Honda PCX 150 had no trouble keeping up with the traffic as we rode uphill to Doi Suthep Pui National Park, only ten or fifteen minutes from our front door.

It is also great having a twist-and-go in the city. Not having to worry about the clutch makes for a much more relaxing ride, especially in traffic. There is also a Start/Stop button which can be switched on. When this is active, the engine turns off every time you stop and then immediately kicks in again when you twist the throttle. Apparently, this results in a 7-8% savings in fuel as a result of this technology alone.

Here in Asia, the scooter is king. A large bike is not necessary and only prevents you from weaving through the city traffic. With a little guy like the Honda PCX 150, it is a piece of cake getting to the front of any traffic jam and taking off as soon as the light changes. Looking around at the other millions of people riding scooters makes me believe we made the right decision. And the Honda store is just around the corner from where we live, which is really handy. Talk about a busy place! There were seven others buying scooters at the same time as us. I chatted to the new, young sales guy that was dealing with us and he said that he had sold 50 scooters and motorcycles since he started working in the shop only three months ago. I would think that would be considered a pretty good record for your first three months.

Anyway, stay tuned for more posts on life outside the city as we begin to explore the countryside on our super-duper weanie bike!