Pacific Coast 800

Now that I have been bitten by the riding bug I seem to be spending all of my money on upgrades to my Magna and Silverwing in addition to looking at other potential bikes to own. Enter the later 90s version of the Honda Pacific Coast 800cc Touring bike/super scooter with gears.

I really have begun to like the look of the PC and I was doing a little dyno chart comparison and notice that it puts down around 46 to 52 Horsepower stock. It makes the quarter mile in about 14.42 seconds with a sprint to 60mph in around 5.3 seconds.

It seems that the storage is excellent and some bikes had an optional stereo system with some other goodies. The bikes often go for around $3,000 on average and they have a rock solid reputation for running over 100,000 miles with very little maintenance requirements. Low points are that it is carbed and has to be shifted but it appears to be an extremely comfy touring bike with some other very good qualities. Top speed should be right in line with the Silverwing or even a little better.

I wanted to hear some opinions on whether this would be a good bike to add to the stable if touring is one's cup of tea.

Would you take one over the Silverwing? Why or why not?

Something to ponder while I troubleshoot my swing to try and get her started.

x

if you are talking newer Gold Wing I definitely agree but there is something about the older GW's looks that I am not totally on board with. If I had the money to pick up a newer 1800 it would be my #1 choice. For $3,000 a PC800 can be had. I was kind of thinking about value for the money. Granted the Gold Wing is the ultimate cross country touring bike ever made.

PC800 has a good rep for reliability. It was marketed as a low maintenance bike for the white collar professional and targeted specifically for the US market. Production stopped in 1998. Approximately 14000 were sold in the USA.
It's an interesting bike.
I almost bought one in 1990, but seat height it was a little to big for me.

I would be wary of purchasing a bike that hasn't been made in 13 years.
Sounds like a parts acquisition nightmare for repairs to bodywork, etc.

I can't think of anything you could add to a PC to make it a better touring bike than the Silverwing, whatever you're thinking of adding, could be added to the Silverwing too.

With all I've added to my Silverwing, I like to think of it as a budget Goldiwing. There isn't too much more other than space that a goldwing has and I don't.

If you want more bike for touring but don't want a GW, how about an ST1300?


Dan

Check this site on availability and pricing for a used Pacific Coast.

Many of these bikes look like they spent more time sitting in a garage than being enjoyed on the road.

http://www.directcon.net/lcshepp/PC800BuySell.html

Or do a search on yakaz.com, great site to narrow search criteria.

dspevack wrote:

If you want more bike for touring but don't want a GW, how about an ST1300?
Dan

The ST1300 is over 650 LBS wet, suffers from high-speed instability issues and feels VERY top heavy at parking lot speed.

bigbird wrote:

If touring is one's cup of tea, especially 2 up, the Gold Wing is the only way to go.

Two up works for these guys .............

(I had to work a picture of the new puppy in here somehow)

x

Oh boy Oh boy. When I no longer have commitments, work, wife so forth, that is exactly what I want. It is beautiful!

john123 wrote:

Oh boy Oh boy. When I no longer have commitments, work, wife so forth, that is exactly what I want. It is beautiful!

You want two cute dogs?

I had a PC800 prior to the Silverwing. It was a fine bike. Mine had a drivers and passenger backrest and a "wing" on the top of the trunk. It was a great "touring" bike and attracted lots of attention with its storage.
It was "HEAVY" steering on local rides around the neighborhood and tended to slightly overheat on short slow rides. It waacus quiet and powerful and the speedo and tach were indentical to Honda Accord or Acura. I really liked it "at the time".
BUT, When I got the Swing, it fit my needs better. More storage (with top box). LIGHTER, Auto (no shift) , lower seat and just more useful for me for trips and around town. I would NOT go back to a PC800 but it is a very striking bike. It was one of the first bikes with the motor completely enclosed in fiberglass.

When I think of someone buying a bike for something like "touring", especially if they have one like the Silverwing, it reminds me of those people who buy RVs or boats.

In the first year, they are used a lot. Every available weekend, you can find them out in their RV or boat. The second year...not so much. The third year...maybe once or twice. The fourth year...nope.

IMHO, the dreaming over the other bikes is more fun than the actual experience of owning most of them. I'd spend your money on making your Silverwing the best touring bike..and then tour.

Most scooter owners I read about on the forums that have multiple bikes, generally keep finding themselves picking out one bike to ride while the others sit collecting dust in the garage. And that bike is usually their scooter.

Chris

Daboo wrote:

When I think of someone buying a bike for something like "touring", especially if they have one like the Silverwing, it reminds me of those people who buy RVs or boats.

In the first year, they are used a lot. Every available weekend, you can find them out in their RV or boat. The second year...not so much. The third year...maybe once or twice. The fourth year...nope.

IMHO, the dreaming over the other bikes is more fun than the actual experience of owning most of them. I'd spend your money on making your Silverwing the best touring bike..and then tour.

Most scooter owners I read about on the forums that have multiple bikes, generally keep finding themselves picking out one bike to ride while the others sit collecting dust in the garage. And that bike is usually their scooter.

Chris

I can see your point. I just picked up my 95 Honda Magna 750 V4 deluxe back in July and the Silverwing is the one I jump on every day to ride to work. I do so mostly because of the wind protection because I don't like wearing a helmet on short commutes. My Magna does get out every other day or so in order to get the thrill of explosive acceleration. Now that I have the Dr Pulley 24 gram sliders that gap has narrowed but there just isn't anything I can do to make the Silverwing handle or run with a bike like the Magna. If only I had picked up a Super Magna it would have been even better. I like both for what they are though. Once I get the Cruise Tour fairing from Rifle I will probably ride the Magna 50% of the time.

ThePPH wrote:

Now that I have the Dr Pulley 24 gram sliders that gap has narrowed but there just isn't anything I can do to make the Silverwing handle or run with a bike like the Magna.

You can always turbocharge the Silverwing.....

That's true and I have talked about that possibility from day one. I have a race team in Fountain Hills where I live and they do all sorts of custom fabricating. The mechanic did tell me to leave him $2,000 and he would get double the horsepower out of that motor and keep reliability. Something tells me that's never going to come to fruition but if I come into large sums of money I'll give it a shot. Phoenix Craigslist has Silverwings popping up all the time for around $2,000 with under 30k miles.

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/cph/mcy/2565397427.html

I've thought about building some automatic go kart or a street legal 4 wheeled driving machine using the drive assembly from the Silverwing scooter. I've been seeing those motors and drive assemblies on ebay for $200 to $400. I thought about picking up a spare to build for serious turbo usage.

I should qualify my statements some...

• I have only room in the garage for one bike. To put two bikes in it, would require I clean it.
  
• My wife would never let me have more than one bike. She's more comfortable to sleep with and feeds me. The garage is a cold place to sleep, even if it is with a stable of cool motorcycles.
  
• My "touring" is pretty much within the state because of time constraints and on a "lesser" bike than either of yours. Nonetheless, my tours are often 10-12 hours in the saddle.

Something like a PC800 would be fun for the nostalgic factor, but would duplicate too much of what I'd find on either your Silverwing or the "lesser" bike I own.

The turbo idea sounds great. Nitro is always an option.

Chris

Daboo wrote:

The turbo idea sounds great. Nitro is always an option.
Chris

Nitro has been done.
Doesn't increase the top end, but gets you there a hell of a lot faster.
Really expensive way to pass some one in traffic.
And they're gonna pass you again when you lose control and paint the sidewalk red.
Turbo at least is controllable and relatively reliable and predictable.

Dan

x

bigbird wrote:

If touring is one's cup of tea, especially 2 up, the Gold Wing is the only way to go.

You can tour on just about anything, you usually just think you need a serious touring bike. In the 80's I toured a lot on 250cc and 300cc MZ two-strokes, a bike rubbished in the UK as nothing more than a cheap commuter. I went off to France, Spain, Andorra, Belgium, Holland, West Germany and Austria. I also toured East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary when they were behind the Iron Curtain. I'm really glad I did this on a small capacity bike. I had a Helix from 1996 to 2004, which was another great little mini Euro tourer.

x

I read an article once about Ed Otto who completed the 1995 Iron Butt Rally on a Honda Helix. http://www.ironbuttrally.com/IBR/1995.cfm?DocID=3 As they wrote in the last paragraph...

Quote :

After I checked in, Mike looked at my odometer reading and burst out laughing. I had earned a Silver Medal and bagged position number 22 out of a starting field of 54 riders and 37 finishers! Mike said, "Not too bad, Ed. You managed to finish ahead of Honda Gold Wings, ST1100s, a Yamaha Venture, BMWs, Harleys, an FJ1200 and a GSX-R1100. Heck, you even beat a ZX-11."

Didiki, an owner of a Yamaha Majesty rode his 400cc scooter from British Columbia down across the southern half of the USA, then back up along the upper half and home. After a week, he took it from BC to California, and back.

I am contemplating a trip from the Seattle area to my brother in Anchorage next summer. I've thought about things like tires and what I'd bring...but I never considered a "touring" motorcycle. It never occurred to me to ride anything but my Burgman 400. Like Meldrew wrote, "You can tour on just about anything..."

If my 400cc scooter can bring a smile to my face...or an "oh-my-gosh" when I realized just how fast the bike is going...I would imagine a Silverwing would do that even more.

Have you thought of an FJR? It has the explosive power you're looking for (the freeway speed limit in first gear), plus excellent touring capabilities. You'd probably spend less money in the end, and have excellent resale value.

Chris

I'm fine using my silverwing to do those trips. I still want a big goldwing or something with all the bells and whistles eventually.

bigbird wrote:

Meldrew wrote:

In the 80's I toured a lot on 250cc and 300cc MZ two-strokes

That explains a lot. :lol!:

It didn't explain I also rode MZ's as all year round everyday transport from 1976-97, until I lost interest in them and bought a car, I still don't have a 'riding season'.