I’m Going to Have to Test Ride One Soon
I’m a fan of adventures and small bikes and scooters, so I was excited when Honda announced the ADV150 adventure scooter for the U.S. market. I wanted one right away. The bike is based on the PCX, which is ugly as sin but a reliable, practical, and easy-to-ride scooter. With some minor upgrades, Honda has taken the PCX, made it look tough (ish) and added some suspension travel and power outlets. Now the first ride reviews are coming in.
I’m sad I wasn’t one of the first to ride this bike, but I do have to say that I want to ride one now more than before. Folks seem to like this bike a lot, but it’s not all praise. Here’s what they had to say:
“If you’re going to ride around town, why not have a machine that could hit a jump if it wanted to? I don’t think the ADV150 is going to change the world of two wheels, but I do prefer to see it as the best of both worlds rather than the worst. That’s why I want one.” — Zack Courts of Revzilla
“The ADV 150 isn’t just about stunning looks. It might not live up to the promise of being as capable off the road as it is on the tarmac, but the ADV 150 will not fail you in the crazy urban adventure that we face on a daily basis in the metro.” — Adris Ilagan of Top Gear Philippines
“The styling, the extra suspension travel, the ADV moniker, they’ll do little more than the preceding PCX when the pavement runs out. That’s not to say it’s not a blast – like most scooters are – to rip around on.” – Joeseph McKimmy of Motorcycle.com
“It’s cool for a scooter and it’s got a great suspension – but in America, scooters aren’t that cool. I applaud Honda for bringing it here and I hope people are open-minded enough to give it a shot because the grand majority of people I know who say scooters aren’t fun haven’t tried them for themselves.” — Abhi of Bike-urious
The reviews that I’ve read have only solidified my thinking about the ADV150. It sounds like an excellent on-road bike, and also a scooter that can take on a dirt road or low-level trial if needed. That said, anything tougher than some low-level dirt is out of the question. It’s an interesting idea.
It’s kind of like the SUV of scooters. You can do some mild off-roading, you have good storage, and you get good performance and ease-of-use. Zack Courts compared it in a way to the first GS from BMW. The GS was weird and didn’ really seem to make sense. The same could be said here. I think if you have an open mind about what a bike can be and want something that’s very easy to ride, the ADV150 makes a ton of sense. Of course, I still need to ride it to be 100 percent sure.