Vehicles & Servicing Choosing motorcycle

Hey all you knowledgeable people,

I'm going to be spending about half the year in Tanjay area and am looking for a new motorcycle/scooter around the 100k mark. It will be mainly be used for going backwards and forwards to the shops but will also be used for trips to Dumaguete, Siquijor and maybe a few trips further afield. I was thinking about a Honda XR 150l but was also wondering if it would be annoying having a manual bike moving around Duma in the traffic. Any thoughts or recommendations?

Thanks in advance!

 

It's difficult to give recommendations.

Personally I would go for a scooter due to automatic transmission and storage capacity.

Especially for shopping in Dumaguete it worked out perfectly for me.

Yamaha Nmax or Aerox, or Honda PCX, might be the given models although there are not available for 100.000. Both got 160 cc and are quite comfortable to ride and well enough motorized.

A 125 cc bike is working out fine for short rides and shopping but if you want to go on longer tours they are not giving you the best seating comfort especially if you are travelling with 2 persons.

 

Thanks, the only concern I have with a scooter is that I may go into the mountains occasionally (marginally off road) and want to do longer trips where the pillion seat may not be very comfortable. Also, although I will visit Duma I won't be living there do won't have to deal with traffic all the time.

 

Driving a scooter in the mountains is no problem at all.
The 150 or 160 cc models, Nmax and PCX, are strong enough to carry yourself and your asawa even through steep roads.

Riding off road is a different story. In this case a Honda XR or similar model would be definitely the better choice.

I personally prefer scooters, as said.
Next buy will be a Kymco DTX 360 or Kymco 400 Xciting.

But that's just my choice.

 

Thanks, can't justify a car only living in Phil temporarily at the moment so motorcycle it is. We are building a small place and have family to stay with if necessary so will be sorted for accommodation.

 

Thanks for the tips.

Thats for the replies. I think if I was going to spend the money on a DTX 360 or above I'd get a motorcycle. At the moment it's weighing up between a Click 160 (or equivalent) and the XR150. I've just never riden smaller engined dual sports bikes and they don't have them in stock at the moment so hard to make an informed choice. I also want something that will be comfortable for my wife as pillion and I've heard Aerox's and some of the newer, larger scoots aren't great for the pillion. The XR has a comfortable seat out of the factory so I've heard.

 

Honda XR is definitely a very good bike. I was thinking as well to get one, but for me and my preferences under seat storage is very important. That's why I prefer scooter.

Maybe it would be an option to spend one day in Cebu. You find all dealerships of all brands and can check various models on the spot.

Not sure whether seating comfort would be better on a XR than on a Honda PCX. Just give it a check before you buy.

 

The XR150 is really an agricultural targeted bike, Honda reliability but its carburetor and not fuel injected. If you can afford the step up to the CRF150 it has fuel injection and still has great service intervals. I have the Honda CRF300 and love it, super reliable, great service intervals for a dual sport, enough power on road (for Negros) and reasonable off road capability to go most places on the island. Just did a great ride through Ayungon to Mabinay (excellent mountain road) then to Siaton and back to Dumaguete and would not do that on a scooter unless its perhaps a larger one, then I would just be disappointed having a scooter with the other bikes on the ride.

Also did some great riding on the north side of Canlaon Mountain via Don Salvador Benedicto, a scooter would just be a let down on those roads, maybe the XRM150 would be as low as I would want as it has a clutchless 4 speed.

Scooters are practical. I am not yet retirement age or mentality so practical can wait another 20 years but if you can properly ride then a bigger manual bike is always more fun and tight traffic doesn't bother me one bit on the CRF300 and having the power to get ahead of a Ceres bus beats any scooter any day of the week. I still crave some 1100cc power and torque but its a happy middle ground.

 

Goi

Good info, thanks. I was looking at a CRF 300 as well. May have to break the bank and splash out. I kind of know I'll regret getting the XR over a CRF.