Thanks for the support! I think the second half of the day was even better, with more twisties and more fun: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-duOCuon_itI.html . Cheers! 😉👍 --QM
@@QuasiMotard Hey Quasi .. just a question. Was the NCY/PCX kit you installed .. a full kit that replaced front and rear components? Did you have any reliability issues with it? How was it's top speed vs your Dr. Pulley mod on the other PCX? Once you had the problems w the Dr. Pulley I wondered if it needed matching components elsewhere in the CVT. Just curious.
👊 Thanks for the support! We had some fun during the first half of the day in this episode, but I think the second half was even better. Check out that episode when you have time: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-duOCuon_itI.html . Cheers! 😉👍 --QM
Thanks, Daniel! I think the second half of this day was better... more twisties and less talking: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-duOCuon_itI.html . I've also uploaded a RAW episode for Day 7 to my @QuasiRAW channel. It should be ready for viewing in 4K later today. Cheers! 😉👍 --QM
(47:04) did the Dragon 2 up pulling a trailer, Yamaha Venture & a Matrix Rover Trailer, overloaded, with the wife's suitcases. I still have her fingernail cuts embedded in my rib cage.
QM: Does your wife scooter with you? Sounds like you are away from home a lot. My husband and I rode mtn bikes, tandem bike, I rode on the back of his Yamaha Venture, went full time RVing, and finally tried out ebikes last year. Now at 60 he's teaching me to ride my own scooter! Best fun ever! Wish we had done this back in 1990!!!❤ Selling the ebikes, scooters are more fun!😄
Unfortunately, no... my wife detests motorcycles and scooters, and she's not a fan of camping or prolonged outdoor activities. I've tried to take her with me on a few occasions, and I even bought her a scooter as a birthday present, but she never took to it. She knows that I need the Zen of riding for my mental health, so she reluctantly supports my "hobby". I'm usually on my own for my riding adventures. My son likes to ride and motocamp (in cooler weather), so he joins me on some of the adventures. Cheers! 😉👍 --QM
Man those twisties looked greaaaat. Definitely more fun on a scooter since you don't have to worry about gear shifting. Maybe your Rebel 1100 DCT would be a hoot thru there as well.
Yeah, the Rebel 1100 DCT would have been a blast to ride through these areas. Maybe I'll have time to revisit some of this route in the spring or fall of 2024. I'll definitely skip those unscheduled dirt sections! 😉👍 --QM
Those roads look so fun. I've been thinking about planning a trip to the Ozarks this spring. Can't decide between the Cb500x or the ADV150. I was leaning toward the 500x, but watching you guys carve up those roads on the scoots makes me wonder. Maybe I'll save the bigger bike for the Smokey Mountain 500 later in the year
Every professional tester picked the CF Moto 450S over the Honda cb500x. The CF Moto 450S was faster handled better more comfort ect ect ,, shocked me also . imo worth a test ride ...ps .. Triumph speed 400 4995$ great bike inexpensive and as reliable as an anvil
Yep, that's a smart approach. If I could rewind the clock, I would revert my PCX to an almost stock configuration: OEM variator, Dr.Pulley 12g sliders, and a new OEM torque drive assembly. The failing OEM torque drive and the Dr.Pulley variator were the problem children during this adventure. That configuration is how I ran the PCX for a few thousand miles (before the variator upgrade), and I had zero issues. It gave me a modest bump in top speed (67-68 mph) and a ~10% bump in fuel efficiency at 60 mph. Cheers! 😉👍 --QM
I did the Tail of the Dragon in 2019 on my Suzuki TU250. I am not a speed demon so I rode up there super early so I wouldn't be holding up traffic going 25mph. 😂 But the most memorable rides were when I was going through other roads on the Smoky Mountains and surrounding areas. I was often the only rider on the road surrounded by beautiful scenery. It was awesome.
Agreed 💯%! Most of the famous motorcycle roads are overrated, in my opinion. After a particular route or area gains too much popularity, then the allure is destroyed because of the traffic... the risk goes up and the fun is lost. Arkansas, Missouri, and Tennessee are chock full of amazing rural highways that rival Tail of the Dragon and many other "famous" routes. Cheers! 😉👍 --QM
It could be an interesting study to press a better bushing into a Dr Pulley variator and monitor the wear. I presume you were using the lightest weights possible to reach max var cheek closure.
Yes, the ADV150's did experience belt failures. Doug's scoot killed its belt on Day 7, and Tyler's ate the belt on his return trip to Utah after the Cannonball. Normal belt life is 12-14K miles, but this sustained high-speed abuse reduces that to only ~8K miles. Cheers! 😉👍 --QM
Just picked up my 24’ Adv 160. Variator and belts are a common issue? Should I buy spares now? Seems like I see a lot of you guys on the side of the road.also plan on keeping it stock
These Honda scooters are very reliable overall, but we're dishing out some serious abuse! If you're considering taking your scooter on the Cannonball, then you should plan for at least one CVT belt replacement. Taking 2-3 spare belts, an extra set of rollers, and an spare variator would be a very Good Idea. 😉 Normal life for these components is ~12-14K miles for the belts and CVT rollers. However, sustained high speeds and long highway runs shorten belt life due to heat and stress. Doug (ADV150) killed his CVT belt on Day 7 with about 8500 total miles on the clock. Tyler, on the other ADV150, lost his CVT belt during his return trip back to Utah after the Cannonball. Lots of other riders killed CVT belts during the trip for various reasons. Heat/stress was the usual culprit, but aftermarket variators seemed to be more prone to failures than the OEM pieces. My variator failures were caused by a faulty/failing rear torque drive that placed too much stress on the belt and variator bushing. The PCX160 (#54), seen in the thumbnail of this video, also experienced a total failure of his Dr.Pulley variator, so I don't have a lot of faith in those for extended high-speed punishment anymore. Cheers! 😉👍 --QM
This 2015 PCX150 was upgraded with a Dr.Pulley performance variator and 13g Dr.Pulley sliders. Those two upgrades raised the top speed from the original 62-63 mph (rev-limited) to 72-74 mph (drag-limited). The economy also improved about 12-15% for highway cruising at a sustained 60 mph, from the original ~96 MPG up to ~115 MPG average. However, the Dr.Pulley variator and the OEM torque drive (rear pulleys and clutch assembly) failed earlier in this trip, so I had to revert to all OEM parts. The PCX150 and ADV150 reach 62-64 mph in stock form, and that's where the engine rev-limiter kicks in. These little engines can sit happily at redline all day long for multiple days at a time, yet not suffer any damage from the abuse. Honda makes amazing machines! Cheers! 😉👍 --QM
@QuasiMotard I have Suzuki Dr200 and I don't like riding it at 50mph since I don't like hearing the buzzing and I'm so paranoid about it blowing up. By the way I know someone who has a little over 100,000 miles on their Yamaha Zuma and I couldn't believe it!!
@@periloustimez These scooters are tough little machines! My buddy, Neil (riding the silver 2016 Yamaha SMAX 155 with a trailer in these videos), has a 2013 Yamaha Zuma 125 with over 50K HARD highway touring miles on it... while pulling a trailer behind it: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hHFtwXVzc30.html . 😉👍 --QM
Seems to me that the only way Cannon Ball could even possibly acquire a manufacturer sponsorship is that everyone would have to be running oem parts which means Dr Pulley would be out. My humble opinion anyway...
I talked about it in a few previous vlogs. One of my friends was killed in a head-on accident, and I rode through the carnage. I was riding hard & fast with some of my track buddies on some Oklahoma back roads... we were pushing too hard and taking too many chances. My buddy was riding ahead of me about 70-100 yards through the twisties when we rounded a blind left corner at 90+ mph. He was knee-dragging and hanging just over the yellow line (tires inside, but his bike and body were over the line). An 18-wheeler, also speeding AND over the double-yellow, was coming in the opposite direction. Neither of them had time to react or correct. It was an instant explosion of bike and body parts. My buddy was bisected by a vertical marker post on the truck's front bumper... his head and left arm/shoulder were severed on impact. The truck panicked, locked his brakes, and slid into my lane while I straightened up and panic-braked to avoid the impacts. The bike and body cartwheeled toward the outside of the corner while I rode through the middle... between the sliding truck and his remains. It wasn't pretty. A couple of other riders behind me dropped their bikes while trying to avoid the incident, but they managed to escape without major injury. It's a formative moment in life that can't be erased from memory. That was the last time I rode sport bikes hard on public roads, especially in a group scenario. Public roads are NOT race tracks... you can't control the variables, and there are no safety barriers or emergency crews. It's a hard lesson that most sport bike riders never learn until it's too late. 😞 --QM
Oh, yes... this video was recorded on June 23, 2023, during the Scooter Cannonball event. I'm just now getting around to editing my ride series to share the event. Cheers! 😉👍 --QM
Yessir... I concur! However, I wasn't worried about the belt drive because that's enclosed. It was the washboards and loose gravel on those skinny little street tires that worried me. They have ZERO traction off-road, so it's like high-speed ice skating! 😲 --QM
@@QuasiMotard Washboards are just whoop-de-doos on the right ride... Tough to walk the tightrope between safety and winning a race. Do they make an enduro-style tire for your scooters? Probably wouldn't last very long on pavement.
@peteremig6244 Washboards... true, but that also assumes decent suspension travel and damping to absorb the oscillations. You also need the ability to STAND UP! These scooters have neither of those amenities. 😉 I haven't seen any decent 70/30 or 60/40 tires in these scooter sizes. It would be nice to find some cheap tires like the IRC GP-110/GP-210 or Shinko 244's that would fit these scoots. That would allow at least a modicum of traction for the off-road stages. 🤔 --QM
@@QuasiMotard Many moons ago, I had an '80 P200E Vespa. It was a hoot to ride (maybe the most fun I've had on 2 wheels - eventually 3 with a sidecar) but a real bear to get parts and service on.
Surprisingly, these PCX's don't perform any better on premium (91-93) compared to mid-grade (89). I've tested the fuel economy several times over 10K+ miles, and the increase using premium fuel is only between 0-3 MPG. This PCX150's engine has a 10.6:1 compression ratio, so it can't make effective use of higher octane fuels for better power/efficiency. So, the minor improvement in efficiency doesn't justify the 20% increase in cost, IMO. "Premium" fuels sometimes have better additive/detergent packages to keep the fuel system and combustion chamber cleaner than lower-grade fuels. To offset that minor difference, I run 1-2 consecutive tanks of fuel (every 1000-1500 miles) with a strong concentration of Techron or SeaFoam fuel system cleaner. That provides a known dose of detergent/cleaner in the system vs trusting what the fuel distributor might be giving you at each fill-up... and it's MUCH cheaper in the long run. 😉👍 --QM
