Honda scooters - to service or not to service?
Discussion
Honda scooters - to service or not to service? (& don’t even mention valve checks)
With my main workplace in the city centre now restricting parking, and not particularly wanting to use the bus service with the local junkies, benefits scroungers & drunks, I was thinking of buying another scooter for commuting, shopping & general mucking about on. Would do 8,000 miles a year and I’d either buy another PCX125 like I had a few years ago or something bigger like the Forza or ADV 350.
I’m soon to be moving house and whilst I’ll be able to safely keep the scooter outside around the back, a lack of space will make self-servicing harder so I’ll likely get it dealer serviced. I had a look online for fixed-price Honda servicing and nearly had a heart attack. It’s extortionate in relation to the price of the new cost of the vehicle....
Youles in Manchester list servicing costs (as at 6/6/25) on a PCX 125 as:
600 miles - £154.83
4,000 miles - £385.83
8,000 miles - £398.53
12,000 miles - £405.33
16,000 miles - £596.78
20,000 miles - £385.83
24,000 miles - £405.33
+ Brake Fluid at 2 Yrs - £75
+ Coolant Change at 3 Yrs - £175
TOTAL (for 8k miles a year over 3 yrs) = £2,982.46 (pure servicing costs excluding tyres, brakes etc)
And on a Forza 350 servicing costs would be:
600 miles - £220.10
8,000 miles - £318.68
16,000 miles - £832.20
24,000 miles - £318.68
32,000 miles - £832.20
+ Brake Fluid at 2 Yrs - £75
+ Coolant Change at 3 Yrs - £175
TOTAL (8k miles pa over 3 yrs) = £2,771.86 (pure servicing costs excluding tyres, brakes etc)
I get that I wouldn’t need to have the final service done at 3 years if I traded it in for something new but a dealer would price accordingly anyway, and selling privately is a struggle if a bike is due an immediate service so I’ve included the price of that service in the running costs above. I also get that an indy would be cheaper but I’m basing servicing costs on available figures.
The (23MY) PCX is currently available for £3,199 OTR so dealer servicing over 3 yrs & 24k miles would cost 93% of the vehicle’s new value (& probably 100%+ when consumables like tyres & brakes are added).
The Forza 350 is currently available for £4,700 OTR so dealer servicing over 3 yrs & 24k miles would cost 59% of the vehicle’s new value (before consumables like tyres & brakes are added).
Honestly, looking at more recent entrants into the electric commuter motorcycle market (e.g. Zero, Vmoto/Super-Soco etc), I ask where are the big-4 Japanese manufacturers? Other than punting a few electric mopeds out, they seem to be seriously lagging behind.
£2,982.46+ in dealer servicing costs for a 125cc PCX over 24k miles?
Madness! An owner with an ounce of common-sense would be crazy to do any servicing beyond basic oil & filters. Buy it, forget about checking valves etc, run it into the ground & when it breaks just buy another.
The future of commuting motorcycles is electric. Online sales direct from the manufacturer to your door and minimal to zero dealer servicing department involvement.
With my main workplace in the city centre now restricting parking, and not particularly wanting to use the bus service with the local junkies, benefits scroungers & drunks, I was thinking of buying another scooter for commuting, shopping & general mucking about on. Would do 8,000 miles a year and I’d either buy another PCX125 like I had a few years ago or something bigger like the Forza or ADV 350.
I’m soon to be moving house and whilst I’ll be able to safely keep the scooter outside around the back, a lack of space will make self-servicing harder so I’ll likely get it dealer serviced. I had a look online for fixed-price Honda servicing and nearly had a heart attack. It’s extortionate in relation to the price of the new cost of the vehicle....
Youles in Manchester list servicing costs (as at 6/6/25) on a PCX 125 as:
600 miles - £154.83
4,000 miles - £385.83
8,000 miles - £398.53
12,000 miles - £405.33
16,000 miles - £596.78
20,000 miles - £385.83
24,000 miles - £405.33
+ Brake Fluid at 2 Yrs - £75
+ Coolant Change at 3 Yrs - £175
TOTAL (for 8k miles a year over 3 yrs) = £2,982.46 (pure servicing costs excluding tyres, brakes etc)
And on a Forza 350 servicing costs would be:
600 miles - £220.10
8,000 miles - £318.68
16,000 miles - £832.20
24,000 miles - £318.68
32,000 miles - £832.20
+ Brake Fluid at 2 Yrs - £75
+ Coolant Change at 3 Yrs - £175
TOTAL (8k miles pa over 3 yrs) = £2,771.86 (pure servicing costs excluding tyres, brakes etc)
I get that I wouldn’t need to have the final service done at 3 years if I traded it in for something new but a dealer would price accordingly anyway, and selling privately is a struggle if a bike is due an immediate service so I’ve included the price of that service in the running costs above. I also get that an indy would be cheaper but I’m basing servicing costs on available figures.
The (23MY) PCX is currently available for £3,199 OTR so dealer servicing over 3 yrs & 24k miles would cost 93% of the vehicle’s new value (& probably 100%+ when consumables like tyres & brakes are added).
The Forza 350 is currently available for £4,700 OTR so dealer servicing over 3 yrs & 24k miles would cost 59% of the vehicle’s new value (before consumables like tyres & brakes are added).
Honestly, looking at more recent entrants into the electric commuter motorcycle market (e.g. Zero, Vmoto/Super-Soco etc), I ask where are the big-4 Japanese manufacturers? Other than punting a few electric mopeds out, they seem to be seriously lagging behind.
£2,982.46+ in dealer servicing costs for a 125cc PCX over 24k miles?
Madness! An owner with an ounce of common-sense would be crazy to do any servicing beyond basic oil & filters. Buy it, forget about checking valves etc, run it into the ground & when it breaks just buy another.The future of commuting motorcycles is electric. Online sales direct from the manufacturer to your door and minimal to zero dealer servicing department involvement.
Simon_GH said:
Service it yourself and take a small hit on the p/x price in a few years because it ll be nothing compared to the cost of the main dealer service.
Plan B would be servicing at an independent garage - an annual or 2 yearly oil change would probably suffice.
Yeah, that's what I did with my last one. I tend to buy new because the discounts on previous year models or pre-reg, for me anyway, make it worthwhile. Self-service & forget the warranty. On my last scooter I did regular oil & filter changes with top quality oils but nothing else. Belt & rollers & tyres & brakes if/when required. When sold, it still ran as sweetly as the day I bought it. Eventually sold it to an independent dealer, took a bit of a hit in price but this was a fraction of what I'd have spent on Honda servicing. I've paid for valve checks in the past & know for a fact that they were never done. Being young & naive & changing my bikes regularly, I wasn't bothered beyond getting the dealer stamp in my service book. Plan B would be servicing at an independent garage - an annual or 2 yearly oil change would probably suffice.
Now older & wiser, to me there's far too many variables than can affect the accuracy of a dealer doing a valve check & adjustment. How long has the dealer left the bike to cool down? You can get slightly different measurements checking in winter in a freezing cold workshop versus a hot summer one. In a survey a few years ago of the accuracy of feeler gauges bought from a big chain automotive parts shop in the US they found inaccuracies between four different brands of feeler gauges. My local main dealer employs 'Service Assistants' who have no formal training or mechanical qualifications whatsoever. Between them & the two 'real' technicians & the apprentice, & from past experience, I don't trust them to competently do any work on my bike/scooter. My DIY method on my last scoot was to use my ears. If the ticking was too loud them the clearances had likely opened up. Then use the metal tyre iron like a stethocope against the cylinder-head.... I listened for the regular ticking of the valves operating. Too quiet then they've likely closed up. To my mind, you could have 3 different dealers check the clearances on 3 consecutive days & one would tell you they're fine; another would tell you the exhausts had closed up; the third could tell you the inlets were running loose. I don't bother these days. If it's running fine them it probably is fine!
lancslad58 said:
Why not get a used C90 ,CC110, C125 or CT125, then you can probably do your own servicing as there's very little to do.
They are exceptionally easy to service but a PCX or Forza or ADV is also very straightforward. The only time-consuming and fiddly part is getting the bodywork off & into the valves (which I didn't bother doing, & from experience neither do the dealers despite what they claim..... & charge for!).Biker9090 said:
Why not go independant if you really can't do it?
Those prices are absolutely insane.
'Insane' is how I'd describe it! I'd happily use an indy for some jobs like steering head bearings etc but think I would continue to forego the warranty & do most routine stuff myself. It's just that I won't have a good work area for more in-depth things like pulling bodywork off, valve cover off, etc. That's the attraction of going electric though I've been waiting 5+ years for Honda & Yamaha to bring out a few decent electric commuters & all they've delivered so far are a couple of slightly oddball mopeds. Those prices are absolutely insane.
A500leroy said:
Your missing a trick, they really need to sell bike at the moment, get 2 services thrown in with the bike.
Definitely no free services available with the scooter prices I mentioned earlier. Could wangle a service or two if I bought elsewhere but then they're looking for full or near to full retail price so you end up paying one way or another.stang65 said:
You don't have a friend that would let you use their garage/tools on a Saturday morning to service it yourself? (Note: other times are available).
Unfortunately not. Completely new area so will take a while to get to know a few people. I have enough of a toolkit to do basic servicing ok. In the absence of any decent 'leccy scooters/motorcycles from the Jap-4 I think I'll have to buy an ICE one for now but bugger forking out silly money on servicing. I'll self-service it, forget the nonsense like valve checks, & run it until either there's a decent 'leccy alternative for me to trade it in for or until it breaks! Any other Honda dealers near you?
I've just had a three-year service plus brake fluid done at Blackpool Honda on a '22 Goldwing DCT and it came to £318 (the bike had last been serviced at 18 months with its previous owner so missed the brake fluid change). I'm sure a PCX or ADV will be cheaper!
I agree with you about electric - but are you aware Honda are bringing out a 125 equivalent called the CUV:E? Don't know when it will be on sale unfortunately but it's on the Honda website.
I've just had a three-year service plus brake fluid done at Blackpool Honda on a '22 Goldwing DCT and it came to £318 (the bike had last been serviced at 18 months with its previous owner so missed the brake fluid change). I'm sure a PCX or ADV will be cheaper!
I agree with you about electric - but are you aware Honda are bringing out a 125 equivalent called the CUV:E? Don't know when it will be on sale unfortunately but it's on the Honda website.
Edited by HalfManHalfJaffaCake on Friday 6th June 21:37
Strangely I was looking at the same bikes last year and had the same thoughts. The bikes also don't depreciate much so there isn't much to save second hand either.
Do you buy new, forgo the warranty and hope for the best? Or go second hand, save a couple quid and hope the miles that have been done by someone else means the bike was put together right?
In the end I decided not to bother.
Do you buy new, forgo the warranty and hope for the best? Or go second hand, save a couple quid and hope the miles that have been done by someone else means the bike was put together right?
In the end I decided not to bother.
HalfManHalfJaffaCake said:
Any other Honda dealers near you?
I've just had a three-year service plus brake fluid done at Blackpool Honda on a '22 Goldwing DCT and it came to £318 (the bike had last been serviced at 18 months with its previous owner so missed the brake fluid change). I'm sure a PCX or ADV will be cheaper!
I agree with you about electric - but are you aware Honda are bringing out a 125 equivalent called the CUV:E? Don't know when it will be on sale unfortunately but it's on the Honda website.
I can't believe anyone buying a 125cc scooter would actually pay those servicing costs. I'll 99.999% guarantee that the millions of 125cc scooter owners in Spain, Greece, Italy, Thailand, Vietnam etc don't do the required 'by-the-book' servicing unless there's symptoms of poor running. I've heard it said that these little 125 engines will still run absolutely fine even with clearances well out of Honda's tolerances. If an exhaust valve has a clearance of .24mm +/- .02mm, is it going to burn out if the clearance goes to say .06mm out of whack? Anyway, AFAIC there's far too much scope for operator error in doing valve checks & if it sounds & performs right then it probably is right. I don't think the service schedule in Japan even includes valve checks at all. If I buy another scooter I'll do the basic oil/filters & run it until it breaks!I've just had a three-year service plus brake fluid done at Blackpool Honda on a '22 Goldwing DCT and it came to £318 (the bike had last been serviced at 18 months with its previous owner so missed the brake fluid change). I'm sure a PCX or ADV will be cheaper!
I agree with you about electric - but are you aware Honda are bringing out a 125 equivalent called the CUV:E? Don't know when it will be on sale unfortunately but it's on the Honda website.
Edited by HalfManHalfJaffaCake on Friday 6th June 21:37
Honda's CUV:E is, they say, a 110cc equivalent... bit like a Honda Vision 110 I suppose, but with a 50mph top speed & 45 mile range, it's still nowhere near good enough for my needs. Come on Honda; even the Chinese have been making decent electric scooters for decades now!
Donbot said:
Strangely I was looking at the same bikes last year and had the same thoughts. The bikes also don't depreciate much so there isn't much to save second hand either.
Do you buy new, forgo the warranty and hope for the best? Or go second hand, save a couple quid and hope the miles that have been done by someone else means the bike was put together right?
In the end I decided not to bother.
For the past few years I decided not to bother either. With parking at work now an issue, a scooter or low capacity commuter bike now makes a lot of sense. Just couldn't believe the dealer's quoted servicing costs that make a 125cc scooter more expensive to run than my car! Do you buy new, forgo the warranty and hope for the best? Or go second hand, save a couple quid and hope the miles that have been done by someone else means the bike was put together right?
In the end I decided not to bother.
Hugo Stiglitz said:
Manchester thieves love scooters.
You mean there's dishonest people in Manchester?! Jakey123 said:
Id scrap the scooter idea and get an old CB500 or similair.
Cheaper, better built, just as easy to service but no PX or Valuation worries.
Thieves dont love them..
Cheaper, better built, just as easy to service but no PX or Valuation worries.
Thieves dont love them..
I thought the dinosaurs died out years ago! I've got a soft-spot the CB500 as I learned to ride on one 20 years ago. Great commuters but haven't seen one that isn't a rusty old heap for a long time. A modern twist 'n go scooter with storage & better security is a bit more 21st century IMO.EasternBlocGeek said:
Honda's CUV:E is, they say, a 110cc equivalent... bit like a Honda Vision 110 I suppose, but with a 50mph top speed & 45 mile range, it's still nowhere near good enough for my needs. Come on Honda; even the Chinese have been making decent electric scooters for decades now!
I recently bought an ADV350 for commuting- I have a part time bus driving job that means I leave at 5:30 every morning, and wanted something quiet to replace my RE Hunter. Ideally I wanted electric, but the choice new seemed to be 50cc to 125cc equivalents, usually from Chinese brands where support long term isn't a given, or the overpriced and style-over-substance BMW CE04. A used C.Evolution was a possibility but again concerns over support and parts costs put me off. All I want is an electric equivalent of a Forza or XMax in terms of performance, size and support, but there doesn't seem to be anything out there yet.
I'm pretty sure most 125s are run on a shoestring from the day they leave the showroom, it just doesn't make sense to spend silly money on servicing.
Don’t have it serviced at a dealer. They charge and they don’t care. While not a scooter we had a 2004 Honda CG125 that we took to 51000 miles over the next nine years. I changed the oil every 1000 miles (it only uses a teaspoonful and had no oil filter) and only ever else changed the air filter, plug, tyres and chain and sprockets. Oh yes and two clutch cables. I still sold it for more than I paid for it. It kept on regardless - just give it a bit of love and it will keep on going. For the scooters the same although you will not be able to avoid belt replacement at around 12000 miles. I do this with special tools on my tmax but it’s a faff. It would have to be an independent for you.
That's a crazy servicing schedule and would make a Ducati dealer blush. This scooter requires valve clearance checks every 4,000 miles!
https://boonsiewhonda.com.my/wp-content/uploads/20...
https://boonsiewhonda.com.my/wp-content/uploads/20...
I didn't know that you were supposed to service scooters 
Bought a 2009 Vespa 300 in 2015 and sold it for no loss last year.
Never serviced it, did some big repairs myself when I got it back after a year, having been stolen.
Some more repairs after another theft attempt.
Also had to strip the bodywork right down to replace the rectifier.
I didn't replace the oil in all that time. It just ran and ran.
Bought a 2009 Vespa 300 in 2015 and sold it for no loss last year.
Never serviced it, did some big repairs myself when I got it back after a year, having been stolen.
Some more repairs after another theft attempt.
Also had to strip the bodywork right down to replace the rectifier.
I didn't replace the oil in all that time. It just ran and ran.
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