Honda PC800 - Pacific Coast riders - opinions and pics please

[gasandasphalt]

To all of you that have a PC,, don't ever think of selling it,,, if you need the money, get a second job At one time I owned Two of them,, a fellow heard this and called to ask if I would be intrested in selling,,, He stoped by, I set out both of them from the garage,, he ask how much for bike #1 I told him,,, he asked the price of the other,, I told him,,, He said,,"Ill take both of them".. So what's a man to do?? I told him the prices. He loaded them up, paid me and I have been looking for another ever sense....word to the wise

[drtbkmic]

You can have mine for $3500. Low miles and all. I'm waiting 'til spring to put it on Craigslist again. If I can sell it, I'm buying a scooter.

[CatsKill Mike]

This is quite a site, a little sumpin' for every taste. For me when I first saw
a PC I was curious as I have never seen a bike with a trunk before. WORKS for ME as the saying goes. The owner really talked up the bike, let me sit on it, and it "fit". I've owned dirt bikes as a kid but was never compelled to compete with "cagers" (I love that term) on the road so always passed. When gas got to 4.25/gal I threw in the towel and made the decision to
go for (2) wheels. I made a pact with the wife and myself to NOT consume while riding, went to a beginner riding class, and left the protection up to
the textile and The Lord. A little eBay searching had me bidding on a cherry 97 Red beauty from the wife of a Winger on Long Island. Her name is Clare and so...... is named the bike. Really great folks, brought the bike from LI to Albany for me on their way to Americade in June of 08'. " You meet the nicest people on a Honda" sure worked for me. I trucked it home and went about getting it on the road. I never rode once with a mentor on my permit staying close to home, ridin' the hood, learning balance, shifting, and just getting the feel for it. Many told me it was too much bike for a novice to which I say BUNK. A PC is very forgiving once you ride a little and have a 6'1" frame. The riding course taught me much and was well worth the expense and I spent the summer getting miles in and was getting my confidense about mid Fall. Rode to Nov 15th that year and couldn't wait for 09'. 09 started not to well as I put "Clare" on the ground with me under it
in early May. STUPID!! Normally I like the woman on top but not in this case. No biggie really , elevation diff between front wheel on pavement and rear on gravel and too shallow a angle and to quick with the wrist. ( What??
I'm not an expert after a half a year of riding) The crack in the Tupperware
is a constant reminder to THINK DUMBASS. Not so cherry anymore. Any tips on repairing ABS?. 09's weather didn't let me get the miles in I wanted but did get in a few good runs with some buds. Did a real nice ride in the Catkills last year thus the nickname. I love those mountains, bike or not.

Best story yet..... Caught 2 20 something "rocket" dudes jawing at a red traffic light and I coasted down to them just as the light turned. They're stopped and I still had about 8 mph left and I went up hard from second, third , fourth crouching down under my Clearview and hoped they took the bait. They did....... smoked my ass .......zooooom one on each side as they
blew past. I laughed for 1/2 hour after that. God that was too easy.

I love pulling into the drive-inns and landing Clare right in the middle of the
chrome and black leather set. Bright red bike, red textile and floresent white
modular full face.......and an open trunk.( Hey Mike!!... you always been a non conformist? ........yes). Really, the H/D crowd are mostly good folks as are most bikers I've met but it's funny as I don't consider myself a biker, or enthusiast or....? I'm just a guy who likes riding a Honda Pacific Coast. But... I don't care. No "uniforn" for me. Looking forward to 10'. Going to take the "advanced" course this year and due some charity rides.

If your in the area between Utica and Syracuse NY this year and see a geeky
looking goof on a red 97 it's me. (can't be another) Thanks for the welcome(s).
Cat Mike

[RTinNC]

Originally Posted by drtbkmic

You can have mine for $3500. Low miles and all. I'm waiting 'til spring to put it on Craigslist again. If I can sell it, I'm buying a scooter.

What year ? Got pix? Send them along ... rstarrider@carolina.rr.com

[longjt]

I bought my '90 new in '92 for $4995 and it now has 108k miles on it. It needs a new stator says the dealer (Hollywood Honda) which they say costs $700 not including labor. Also needs new heads as these leak. Yes I over heated it a couple of times when the radiator hoses blew. I'm 6'3" and a little too big for the bike, even w/a tall Rifle on it, but I commuted on it for 17 years. Great commuting bike with outstanding weather protection. Very low maintenance too. Sad to say that I gave up joy riding on it for the past decade or so. I recommend changing out the hoses at 60k at least. The shop has had it for a year while they "searched" for a used engine. I need to dispose of it or get it fixed. In the meantime I bought a '05 1200 rt w/low miles. I love my new machine and find joy riding a real joy again. Just went up and down Mt Palomar this weekend., and toured Death Valley with a group in Jan., and did Yosemite last Sep.

As far as cruising speed goes, the manual says don't exceed 85 mph iirc., not that it started getting all hinky at that speed.

[sprale]

Originally Posted by longjt

I bought my '90 new in '92 for $4995 and it now has 108k miles on it. It needs a new stator says the dealer (Hollywood Honda) which they say costs $700 not including labor. Also needs new heads as these leak. Yes I over heated it a couple of times when the radiator hoses blew. I'm 6'3" and a little too big for the bike, even w/a tall Rifle on it, but I commuted on it for 17 years. Great commuting bike with outstanding weather protection. Very low maintenance too. Sad to say that I gave up joy riding on it for the past decade or so. I recommend changing out the hoses at 60k at least. The shop has had it for a year while they "searched" for a used engine. I need to dispose of it or get it fixed. In the meantime I bought a '05 1200 rt w/low miles. I love my new machine and find joy riding a real joy again. Just went up and down Mt Palomar this weekend., and toured Death Valley with a group in Jan., and did Yosemite last Sep.

As far as cruising speed goes, the manual says don't exceed 85 mph iirc., not that it started getting all hinky at that speed.

I think you got your money's worth out of it. Maybe time to look at the Dullville?

[RapidRobert]

About time I piped in here. Last Thanksgiving I sold my R1150R BMW (which I had for six and a half years, and put 65k miles on it) and picked up a pristine low-mileage '98 PC800 - my third one. Back in the 90's I owned two PC's, a black '94 and later a candy red '90. Both great bikes, but I was younger then and quickly grew tired of the PC's rather mellow power delivery. And since my riding buddies were all riding sport and sport touring bikes, I wanted something to keep up with them. In my mind, at least.

I'm older now and less interested in keeping up than in riding my own ride. The PC just flat out works as a commuter and as a light-duty tourer. "PC" should stand for "Perfect Choice" (if not "Pretty Cool"...)




A recent snowstorm in Texas didn't stop me from wanting to get out and ride.

[drtbkmic]

Originally Posted by RapidRobert

A recent snowstorm in Texas didn't stop me from wanting to get out and ride.

What kind of seat is that and do you like it?

[McJamie]

Originally Posted by RapidRobert

About time I piped in here. Last Thanksgiving I sold my R1150R BMW (which I had for six and a half years, and put 65k miles on it) and picked up a pristine low-mileage '98 PC800 - my third one. Back in the 90's I owned two PC's, a black '94 and later a candy red '90. Both great bikes, but I was younger then and quickly grew tired of the PC's rather mellow power delivery. And since my riding buddies were all riding sport and sport touring bikes, I wanted something to keep up with them. In my mind, at least.

I'm older now and less interested in keeping up than in riding my own ride. The PC just flat out works as a commuter and as a light-duty tourer. "PC" should stand for "Perfect Choice" (if not "Pretty Cool"...)




A recent snowstorm in Texas didn't stop me from wanting to get out and ride.

Lets see it off road!

[RapidRobert]

Originally Posted by drtbkmic

What kind of seat is that and do you like it?

That is a re-worked Sargent seat on the stock seat pan. I had Sargent add their "Atomic foam" and re-cover it in their Carbon FX vinyl. Also had them add 1" of foam to the rider portion. I've only had that seat for two weeks, weather has kept me from enjoying it more. So far, so good. On the one hour-long ride I was able to manage, I could tell the firmer foam was to my liking, and some 500-mile days are definetly in the future for this bike.

[RapidRobert]

Originally Posted by McJamie

Lets see it off road!

Hey, that is off-road - it's in my driveway, does that count?

[DouglasVB]

I picked up an '89 PC800 at the end of last Fall. Have already put 1 or 2 k on it just puttering around within 100 miles of home. Am getting ready for a week-long spring break trip to destination: unknown.

Call me a strange 20-something but after having learned to ride on a mid 80's big metric cruiser and tried out a variety of newer cruisers, sport bikes, dual sports, etc, the PC800 is the best fit for me. It is an incredibly pleasurable bike to ride. And at 6'2" it is one of the few bikes I'm actually comfortable on for more than 30 minutes at a time.

For those of you who like beer, the trunk is the PERFECT size to hold three half racks with ice. And there's enough room on the passenger seat to bring a tent/sleeping bag/snacks so once you and your buddies have finished off all that beer, you don't have to worry about riding home. If that isn't the best bike ever, I don't know what is.

As for taking a PC800 off the pavement, sure it's no dual sport but I have taken mine on plenty of gravel roads and a few muddy slick logging tracks without incident. And that was on street tires. A few people have found passenger car tires that fit on the rims well and give the bike enough knobby tread to do more serious off-roading. Although I think if you're going to get into the off-road realm, it'd be better to get a dirt bike or some sort of dual sport.

This bike is certainly not for everyone. If you like conforming to the Harlie crowd or the Stromtroopers, move along. But if you don't mind being different and having a lot of people give you WTF looks as you drive by, then give the PC800 a shot. The worst that can happen is someone makes fun of you for being comfortable and having enough room to pick up groceries.

In case anyone on here doesn't know about it, there is a wonderful community of PC800 riders over at pc800.net. They're a great bunch of people who have helped me out a lot as I've been working on upgrading and fixing up my PC.

[tjhess74]

a friend of mine is selling his red 96 if anyone is interested-suburbs of charleston, sc. we met years ago back when i had my 89. his is in great shape with 36k miles and has the audiovox cruise control. he and i just finished a nearly 8k mile trip to yellowstone/western u.s. last september ('round the u.s.-yellowstone and back' ride report if you wanna see it) and his pc was flawless the entire trip. he also has one of the rare metal tail trunk racks that were made by a pc'er years ago and arent available anymore!

he hardly ever rides it anymore and has recently decided to sell it. he has other bikes, so is wanting to pass it on to some one who will ride it more.

steve is a good guy, and id be willing to put you in contact with him if anyone is interested.

[Barnone]

Originally Posted by RapidRobert

Hey, that is off-road - it's in my driveway, does that count?

Yea, I love it when someone posts a photo of them riding "off road" on a gravel road. GS riders are bad about that.
I had two 1990 PCs. Good bikes. Was 98 the last year?

[RedRocket]

I've had my PC for about 6 years, and it took the first couple of them for me foster an appreciation for the machine. 15 or so bikes later, the PC is the only one that I seem to never sell, yet it never gets me very excited either.


Last week I was picking up some parts for a GS1150 Suzuki. As this drag racer and I were discussing bikes and favorites, when he asked me if there was any bike that I ever keep for any length of time, I had completely forgot to mention my Pacific Coast.

YEs, 98 was the last year.