My new scoot....
 

I've owned every type of 2 wheeler under the sun. Cruisers, sportbikes, dual sports etc. My favorite will always be supermotos. But this time, I decided to try something different...

Backstory: this started when I went to a demo day a couple years back. I was late getting there, so everything was signed out except for a couple of scooters. I didn't expect much, but came away extremely impressed with the capability, quality and fun of the PCX 150. I made me rethink how many CCs you REALLY need just to get around.

For 2015, the bodywork was updated, LED lighting, 12v accessory plug, etc. I test drove the updated one and was as impressed. So I picked one up for banging around town. It will do 110km/h with me on it. Fuel economy was an unbelievable 2L/100km (118 US MPG) for my first few trips. Been having lots of fun riding it around. Wife and I took it to dinner. So far we're having a good time with this bike! I think the biggest compliment I can give is it feels like much more bike than what it is. Quality is very high.

2015 Honda PCX150

Honda, meet Porsche!

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08...229fe2b9e7.jpg

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08...8e852bb138.jpg
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08...6f0d4737ae.jpg

Lots of storage

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08...516ad24b72.jpg
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08...eaa3c35eb4.jpg

Dash is great! Notice speedo needle is on outside of ring rather than middle. Also, handlebars have some chrome which is a nice touch

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08...509249a1ef.jpg
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08...34c2c6c783.jpg

LED lighting

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08...5a123edfb6.jpg
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Glove box with accessory power outlet

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08...03237478aa.jpg

I should get a scooter, maybe an electric scooter. That would be perfect for my commute about 2/3 of the time

OMG, no. Just....no.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6051/5...2cdf0f2a_z.jpg

Whatever! Looks like fun! Don't want to go 100 on it, though. :)

Was on the highway with it. As stable as any other bike I've been on at 100. Probably more stable than my dual sports.

Well, its a scooter.

Congrats. My ex GF had a 200cc Vespa that was a kick. Nice Power Rangers helmet!

It's actually a rare Aria Tetsuya Harada replica. He was a 250GP champion.

I've been thinking about buying a scooter for getting around town. Bought my niece one of those 50cc Chinese jobs 2 years ago after her scooter got stolen. She loves it and said she does not need a car. It sure looks like fun!

Btw, I was on the freeway doing 60 mph when a scooter passed me doing about 70! I was amazed.

I would have bought the Honda Grom. Scooters remind me too much of those YouTube videos of the Chinese getting whacked by big trucks...

Just like the ones the Power Rangers wear!



Ha.

I want a Honda Ruckus for cruising around race track infields/paddocks when we camp! Don't know anything about them, but remind me of something you could order as a kit from the back of Popular Mechanics (albeit much more polished)
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1441199522.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1441199623.jpg

If it was a vintage Vespa, I could maybe see cutting him some slack. But a Honda? :(

The funny thing is that there's a HUGE aftermarket for building power out of vintage Vespas. Big scooter scene here with all kinds of crazy fast Vespas.

Bought my son a Ruckus while in college in Austin. Perfect vehicle for him to get around campus. Bought a nice, low mile version here in DFW, sold it for the same price a year later in Austin.

My stepson holds the land speed record for 200cc scooters and has placed high in the Scooter Cannonball cross country scooter race. He runs an on-line forum at modernvespa.com. Some of these guys take their scooters seriously.

Yes, I know some "scooter trash" in Austin that are into the Vespa thing. They are not to be messed with.

The only demographic I ever see riding these full size scooters are fat midaged nerds that don't want to ride a cruiser bike.

Sorry ... ;)

Seriously, I don't see what these do better than a decent MC?

G

Needs more mirrors

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1441219942.jpg

Dude, don't listen to them. It's fine.

if I had a short commute that didn't involve freeways, and if I was a tad ........ well lets say if I had a more sporty stature, I'd ride a scooter even if aigel laughed at me ;)

But i have a long commute that's almost all freeways, and I'm too big to ride one. I'd dwarf a scooter like nobody's biddness.
Like riding in the back of a pick-up, there's no way I could do it and look cool.




PS I like the power rangers too ;)

My wife would kick your ass if you started badmouthing her piglet (Vespa ET2). She rides it all over town, waving at the HD wannabe's.

Gary

So...you'd look like you had a wheel sticking out of your butt?
:D

LOL, more like this:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1441226699.jpg

Anyone remember these guys?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1441226794.jpg

Honestly, I got cruisered out. I used to design and CNC machine custom made cruiser parts. People would walk in with a design on a napkin and say "Can you make this?" Some of my parts have been in the Custom Chrome and Chrome Specialties catalogs. I did a bunch of work on Sammy Hagar's Red Rocker Bike, one-offs and production parts for New York Custom Cycle/Choppers (I think some of the parts I did are still in their catalog too), etc etc.. We were doing 3D CNC parts before almost anyone else in North America. We'd blow people's mind because custom parts were generally usually 2D affairs (hand made tanks and fenders excepted). And we'd make these crazy parts out of solid billet. We'd also buy aluminum wheel blanks then machine 3D spokes into them. Was lots of fun. So cruisers sorta ran their course with me....as have sportbikes. I will always have the itch for supermoto and to a lesser extent hard core dual sports.

What do scooters do better than regular motorcycles? Cheaper to buy, maintain, run, fuel, insure, etc. Very easy to ride..although that's a non issue for me.

Unfortunately, I don't think those are scooters, though. :) Goldwings? CBX?

In truth I think those were Honda Dreams or Superhawks.

No worries. I've been riding bikes my lifetime and it doesn't seem to matter what you ride, some people will always rag you for it. I've had many ignorant comments when riding sportbikes, Harleys, supermotos, etc... Everybody has a different idea of what the "best" type of motorcycle is and have no problem telling you so!

A good friend has been riding BMWs since he was in high school. He has 5 or 6 various models and his hobby is rebuilding vintage BMW roller cranks. He's about 70 now. He has an array of BMWs to choose to ride, but I see him on his Honda scooter most of the time. There must be some reason.

In high school, one of the local bad kids rode a moped around. he was always in trouble and wasn't the type to hold a job, so no car.

But he took the moped to another level:

In metal shop he made some 1/4" thick steel slippers that slipped over his shoes.
He'd get going on the moped, put his feet down and lift the front wheel up, and ride everywhere in a wheelie with sparks shooting off his feet. Ended up melting lots of tennis shoes tho.

Point is, it doesn't matter what you ride. It's how you ride it :)

The Ruckus is cool.

Huge after market parts catalog.

Stretching them is a popular mod.

http://nebula.wsimg.com/a2aca790ff5f...&alloworigin=1

http://motosezon.com/images/stories/...ches_ybcvy.jpg

The PCX150 is the best selling motorcycle in Europe.

Yep..the aftermarket in owner clubs for these things is bonkers!

Needs some mirrors like this!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1441346364.jpg



Kidding!

Looks like a fun ride. If I lived in a smaller town if have a little scooter for buzzing around town.

Scooters are just plain fun, the Grom and Ruckus are the current productions which interest for me, im also a fan of the Sachs MadAss. As you can see from my sig my own collection tends toward the vintage vespa 2smokes, still lots of devotees there and a similar DIY ethic as you would find for vintage VW.

Even with motorcycles my tastes tend toward the light and relatively small displacement, theres just something fun about riding something small and light. The allure for me is just how spritely and fun scoots can be to ride, and with a fanbase/scene that doesnt take itself too seriously. Sadly I seem to be one of the few ATTGAT scoot riders I see on the road despite having a similar risk profile to a motorcycle.

My ex-next door neighbour had Goldwings for years, last one he bought new around 2006-2007 and the thing cost him about $40K. After a long trip the wife said she wouldn't ride on it again and shortly afterwards he sold it. But he still wanted a ride.

So a couple years ago he bought a Suzuki Burgman 650 Scooter. He just loves the thing, FI, automatic, storage for a crapload of stuff and lots of power. The thing he loves most about it is after two knee surgeries he doesn't have to lift his leg over the bike.

wife has a scooter.
fun to ride. awesome for errands.

No Goldwing costs $40K. Even the one with the airbag.

Canada, taxes, he had every option, every bit of bling, hitch, matching custom trailer, etc, he had the whole rig....adds up fast.

Here a Goldwing starts at $30500 plus $4k in tax so that's already up to $34500, don't think it was much cheaper when he bought it