My Honda PCX 150 – six months later

It has been exactly six months since we purchased our new Honda PCX 150. I have had quite a few visitors to my original posting that I wrote when I first bought the scooter so I thought I would check in and give an little review now that I have had it for several months.

I have to say we have been very satisfied with our purchase and were very happy that we made the decision to buy a scooter rather than a motorcycle here in Chiangmai. It has been plenty big enough, and not having to shift while riding through Chiangmai traffic has been a major advantage. It has also been easy to move between vehicles at stop lights, which is just what you do here.

The larger turning radius than some smaller scooters has made it tricky to do U-turns quickly  and safely. I did end up crunching my toe once while trying to do a sharp turn-around at an intersection. It caught on the passenger foot rest as I was leaning over in the turn a bit too much!  Of course, riding with my sandals on did not help the issue. However, this is not a big deal and I  have learned to wait it out now instead of attempting to beat the oncoming cars.

One large helmet, or a couple of bags of groceries, easily fits under the seat. If we empty the bags and spread the stuff around, you would be surprised how much we can fit in that space. Between the under-the-seat storage space and a small back pack, we can carry a lot  of stuff home from the supermarket!  Because of the hump between your feet in the front, you really can’t carry anything there as you can with most scooters. I’ve also heard some complaints about having to lift your leg to get off the thing as you would with a motorcycle. I don’t really see that as a problem. If it is, maybe you shouldn’t be on a scooter at all!

When I ride it alone, it is very quick off the mark and has power to spare. We can easily cruise at 100 km/h, but any faster than that and it feels a little wind-blown after riding a 1500cc bike for so many kilometres. Scooters are really too light to do much serious highway driving, as far as I am concerned. There is not a big difference when I add a passenger to the back and it still has plenty of acceleration to overtake cars on the highway when necessary. As I said above, it is small enough to squeeze between cars and the passenger foot rests can easily be pushed in to make the whole machine that much narrower.

The local dealer included five free check-ups with the purchase. I am not sure if that is a local thing or a Honda thing. We just went in for our 2500 km check and apart from oil, etc. everything is still fine. I usually end up paying less than 120 baht each time (less than $5) The shocks in the back could be a little stronger but that is about the only weakness I have seen yet. Riding two-up, it is easy to bottom out over bumpy ground or speed bumps unless you really slow down.

The gas mileage is incredible. I am easily getting at least 100mpg as advertised. I’m sure the idle stop has something to do with that. I am still amazed that the engine shuts down at the red lights and takes off right away at the twist of the throttle, without any hesitation at all.

Anyway, for those of you contemplating buying one of these scooters, you won’t be disappointed. It’s a great little bike for the money!

You might also enjoy Honda PCX 150 New Wheels.