Planning to buy a 2nd hand bike as a alternative to driving

1. mainly to save some cost when balik kampung (Johor) from KL & reduce the travel time due to jam on PLUS highway.
2. travel during peak hours after work.

Balik kampung trip is ~450km/ round trip with 50/50 trunk road & highway.
*Driving will still be my main transport going to work unless im going other place after work.

Plan to look for a PCX at 1st with a budget of not more than RM6k.
But the mostly PCX within that budget range will be ard 2015/2016, anything that I should be aware for when buying these bike (major servicing etc) especially those wtih high mileage >60/70k KM?

I have not own any scooter before. Has no idea with scooter maintenance. If major service is require, what is the range of the major service cost typically, so i can put it into my budget.

Open to any other bike suggestion too. My priority will be
1. Safety
2. Comfort

Speed is not a main priority, as long as it can maintain at 100km & with some power left to overtake is fine for me.

Am looking for PCX due to its CBS. My guess is that it will be useful when emergency.
Any PCX rider can provide feedback on this?

If you just want a lay back ride. Any bike will do.
I'm not to sure about scooter. But I do know scooter maintenance is a bit more expensive than a regular kapchai.
If you want a 2nd hand bike.. make sure to properly check it.

Also long distance travelling with scooter and moped need to be slow and steady. Do regular pit stop to rest the engine and reset your fatigue.

So travelling with this type of bike usually takes longer time then usual. But if your goal is to breeze through traffic jam. It sure can do that. But at highway. You will be wishing you got a bigger CC bikes

This post has been edited by Dreadlock13: Jan 5 2023, 11:55 AM

For long distance highway, a big bike is the only way to go, in terms of safety and comfort.

On the safety aspect, higher powered bikes allows you to comfortably cruise at 130 on the fast lane well clear of the big trucks and busses. Bigger heavier bikes are also less affected by wind turbulence thrown by big trucks.

Smaller scooters are primarily best for city commuting. Not to say you cant go long distances with a small bike. You just need to ride slow and take multiple stops to fuel up, and rest yourself and the bike. They are just not designed to be run constantly at highway speeds for long duration.

The PCX would be a good choice for a small scoot given it's big practical underseat storage, reliability and frugality. However, I would still favour real ABS over Honda's CBS. CBS doesn't prevent wheel lockup and the front tyre slipping but it does increase a measure of stability when braking...given that it automatically engages the rear brake to stabilize the bike.

Not saying you can't do it but PCX for that kind of trips, especially solo, is really not a good idea from safety point. Maintain 100km/h also not easy. PCX has CBS means you press the rear brake, it activates front brake. It is not ABS. It's combined brake system. There's also a hydraulic fluid level you need to maintain for the rear brake that's on top of the existing rear brake. If without a B-full, look for a sub 250cc motorcycle or scooter instead. There's another thread the TS just got FZ150i. You can consider RS150R or along those lines.







This post has been edited by alexei: Jan 5 2023, 12:32 PM

PCX 150cc when new can reach 120kmh, older bike will probably lose some speed. I don't think it's enough for relaxing highway riding. 100kmh to 120kmh will be at a snails pace so probably only over taking in the emergency lane.

IMO for scooter 250cc is a minimum for highway duty with average top speed around 130kmh to 140 kmh. Enough power to overtake at a safe pace. 250cc are also heavier and wider so less wind buffeting from high speed and when passing lorries. Major service for scooter can be around RM500-600 for replacing all the fluids, oil brake, shocks coolant. All filters and new pads plus new spark plugs and cvt belting.

THIS!

yes its doable on a PCX but like others have said itll be longer and lotsa stops etc. it will also be quite exhausting.

the time n fatigue will probably end up causing u to go back to driving back to ur hometown.

id recommend to top up a lil bit and get a bigger bike like the older ninja 250s which can be had for around 8k these days. itll be more comfortable and wont be as tiring as a pcx.

plus its also quite useable in peak hour traffic once u get the hang of it.

100 km/h speedometer speed in small displacements bike/scooter usually does not = 100 km/h car speed.. its way too optimistic.

even higher cc motorcycle can be misleading the meter reading, so do take into the consideration if the purpose of buying the kapchai/scooter is for long-distance highway travel

Thanks for the suggestions.
Has been travelling with Pulsar Ns200 previously. ~220km 1 way.
Feel OK with it. Just that a bit of vibration & I prefer something vertical riding posture.

Main purpose is to save the cost of travelling. I do dream of having an big cc ADV bike, but currently it is out of my budget.

Do prefer a bike with vertical sitting position for better ergonomic. Thus have put Pcx as my 1st choice due to its CBS & under seat storage.

But I just found out RSX do have ABS which is a plus point in term of safety and higher top speed for more comfortable cruising at highway?

This post has been edited by TanJy1814: Jan 5 2023, 07:40 PM

Myself a noob rider, i'd prefer two cyl than one when on a highway. I always feel tired when on a cub doing 100km daily. But on 2 cyl abit less.

I travel frequently on my Dominar. Although it can do 130 rather comfortably and top out at 160, the big single is a vibe fest and adds to fatigue very quickly. Twins will do much better . There are cheap big cc alternatives.

You don't need an ADV to get that upright riding position. ER6F or the naked ER6 or Vulcan 650. Both can be found on the used market from 10k to 20k. All you need are handlebar risers on the ER6 to get your upright riding position. Just add a windshield on both for comfort against wind. The other option would be the dominar like I have, easily found used low mileage examples frequently around the 8k mark or less. I did 40k in just 20 months (including 3 MTHS of MCO)...so that's a fair bit of longer distance highway rides. There are options for the smaller 250 twins from Kawasaki. Just get the naked z250, add a windshield and handlebar risers to it

You really need a lot of patience to do longer distances on a smaller bike. Extended travel times will be similarly trying and tiring. Take frequent breaks. Low speed long distance travel can be boring and may affect your concentration.

Honestly, I don't consider anything smaller than 250cc to be "highway capable"...it's not what top speed the bike can do, but how long can you keep running it at 100kmh+ max rpm for extended periods of time. On a small bike, you are pushing the bike nearly 100% for the entirety of that 5hr ride to JB.

Your 450km mix balik kampung is similar to my recent trip to Betong. With only 3 stops ,(for fuel) .it isn't what I call a comfortable ride.

If you already have a pulsar and fine with it, why not use taller handlebars or risers, and angle your handle bar closer for that more upright riding position? Assuming you have enough cable slack. Adding a windshield makes a huge difference in highway comfort.

This post has been edited by jaycee1: Jan 5 2023, 11:19 PM

Sorry for not being clear enough. 450km is a round trip. Its ~220km one way and it take about 3 hrs. Its somewhere north of JB.

Had sold my pulsar last year as I'm driving and under utilised. Part of the reason I was working at my hometown at that moment.

Appreciate your reminder and I do agree on taking the bike durability for it to max out most of the time into consideration.

You mentioned at pcx, adv. Might want to check out modenas elegan 250.

i just got a used PCX few weeks ago.
2017 7k mileage at RM6k
its only 150cc so im not really sure if its suitable for you to go on highway and it doesnt have ABS so it can be quite dangerous
but i can say its very comfortable for santai ride (around 80~90kmh)
as for parts its not hard to find, i ordered from thailand myself cause a lot cheaper compared to buying from local seller

I have been riding 2018 Honda PCX 150 since new, now clocking more than 40,000 km.

Maintenance can be cheaper than a similar sized kapchai - see here for compilation of 2 years maintenance / 24,000 km.

PCX can do highway but comfortable speed are around 90-100 km/h. It can do up to 113 km/h but the engine is in stressed out working condition thus no longer enjoyable. I sometime do day trip from JB to KL for meal tapau - yes can do.

For your purposes, I would suggest going for used Modenas Elegan 250 (without ABS) that are available for around RM8k. Highway cruising should be more enjoyable.

wow day trip jb to kl on pcx
not tiring cruising on highway around 90-100kmh?

if you're used to it, it's quite enjoyable

I've been using PCX 2015 for ages. Comfortable scooter, but for a long distance travel, it's not economical to ride above 100km/h. The sweet spot would be 80-90km/h.

If you're looking for one, just check the belting & pulleys. It needs to be changed every 20k km. Else the performance would suffer.

For the engine, just stick to 5k km oil change interval.

minimum would be Z250.
Since ADV is expensive, I assume you have budget for a good used 250cc bike