The Honda PCX 160 is the default answer to “what should I commute on?” It has been the best-selling small scooter in the world for a decade, and for good reason. But in 2026 the question is no longer just which scooter — it is whether you still want an engine at all. We put the PCX 160 head to head with the HMP FLASH, a 75 mph street-legal electric motorcycle that costs about the same money.
The short answer
Buy the Honda PCX 160 if you regularly ride more than 60 miles in a day without stopping, you take long highway trips, or you want a dealer on every corner and strong resale value.
Buy the HMP FLASH if your commute is under 40 miles a day, you park in an apartment or on the street, and you would rather have ABS, traction control, a dashcam, tyre-pressure monitoring and Apple CarPlay as standard than pay for oil changes and CVT belts for the next five years.
Spec-by-spec: FLASH vs Honda PCX 160
Honda figures are from Honda’s 2026 PCX product and newsroom pages; FLASH figures are HMP’s published specifications. Both accurate as of August 2026.
| HMP FLASH | Honda PCX 160 (2026) | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4,799 single battery $5,799 dual battery |
$4,349 MSRP + $600 destination = $4,949 |
| Dealer prep & setup | $0 | Set by dealer |
| Powertrain | 6 kW rated rear hub motor 7.2 kW peak (single) / 15 kW peak (dual) |
156.9cc liquid-cooled single ~15.8 hp, V-Matic CVT |
| Top speed | 60 mph single · 75 mph dual (GPS) | ~65 mph |
| Range per charge / tank | ~40 mi city (single) 70–85 mi city (dual) |
~190 mi (2.1 gal) |
| Refuel / recharge | ~4.5 hr per pack on a 110V outlet ~1 hr 20–80% with optional 2 kW onboard charger |
~3 minutes |
| Curb weight | 299 lb | 291 lb |
| Seat height | 31.0 in | 30.1 in |
| Payload | 377 lb (676 lb GVWR) | Not published |
| Brakes | Front & rear disc, ABS standard | 220mm front disc with ABS, 130mm rear drum |
| Traction control | Standard | Not offered |
| Tyre-pressure monitoring | Standard | Not offered |
| Dashcam | Built in | Not offered |
| Display | 7″ TFT with Apple CarPlay & Android Auto | LCD instrument panel |
| Underseat storage | ~20 L with dual batteries fitted | Full-size helmet bay |
| Warranty | 1 yr / 10,000 mi, bike and battery (battery covered below 70% capacity) |
1 yr, unlimited miles, transferable |
| Routine servicing | Tyres, brake pads, inspections | Oil, filter, plugs, valve clearance, CVT belt |
Green shading marks the stronger figure in that row. Range and top speed vary with rider weight, terrain and temperature.
Performance: 15.8 hp versus 15 kW
On paper this looks close. In traffic it is not. The PCX 160 makes about 15.8 horsepower at 8,500 rpm, and like every CVT scooter it needs a moment to spin up before it delivers. The FLASH makes peak torque from zero rpm, which is the difference between merging into a gap and waiting for one.
The bigger separation is at the top. A PCX 160 will hold about 65 mph, which is fine for a 45 mph arterial and stressful on a 65 mph freeway. A dual-battery FLASH is GPS-verified to 75 mph, so a short freeway hop is a normal part of the commute rather than an event. If your route includes any stretch of interstate, that gap matters more than any other number in the table.
Where the Honda wins the performance argument outright is endurance. Two point one gallons and roughly 90 mpg gives it about 190 miles between stops, and the stop takes three minutes. The FLASH answers with 40 miles on a single pack or 70–85 real-world city miles on two — genuinely enough for the overwhelming majority of commutes, and genuinely not enough for a 200-mile Saturday.
Running costs: where the decision actually gets made
Both bikes cost roughly $5,000 to put in your garage. The interesting money is what happens afterwards. Here is five years at 80 miles a week — 20,800 miles — with every assumption stated so you can argue with it.
| 5 years / 20,800 miles | Honda PCX 160 | HMP FLASH |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel / electricity | 231 gal @ $4.80 = $1,109 | ~1,730 kWh @ $0.32 = $554 |
| Oil & filter (6 services) | $510 | $0 |
| Air filter & spark plugs | $275 | $0 |
| Valve clearance check | $280 | $0 |
| CVT belt & rollers | $410 | $0 |
| Tyres, pads, inspections | ~$450 | ~$450 |
| Five-year total | $3,034 | $1,004 |
Assumptions: 90 mpg real-world for the PCX; $4.80/gal and $0.32/kWh (California averages — both numbers drop outside CA); shop labour at $130/hr; Honda’s published service intervals of oil every ~3,700 mi, plugs and air filter every ~7,500 mi, valve check every ~15,000 mi. Tyres and pads are treated as a wash because they are.
California energy prices, shop labour at $130/hr
The orange block is the one that simply does not exist on an electric motorcycle: $1,475 of oil, filters, spark plugs, valve clearance checks and CVT belts. Tyres and brake pads (green) are identical on both.
Difference over five years: roughly $2,000 — about 40% of the purchase price, handed back to you in instalments.
Two honest caveats. First, these are California energy prices; in a cheap-electricity, cheap-petrol state the gap narrows to something closer to $1,200. Second, this assumes you pay a shop. If you do your own oil and belts, the Honda’s maintenance column shrinks a lot — though the hours do not disappear, they just stop being billable.
There is also a line item that never appears on a spec sheet: the FLASH ships with $0 dealer prep and $0 setup fee. Ask any dealer what their setup charge is before you compare out-the-door numbers, because on a $4,349 scooter it is not a rounding error.
What $4,799 buys that $4,949 does not
The PCX 160 is a well-built scooter, but its equipment list is a 2015 equipment list. Front-wheel ABS, an LCD panel and a USB socket is where it stops. The rear brake is still a drum.
The FLASH includes, as standard:
- ABS on both wheels plus traction control. On a wet painted crosswalk, at the exact moment a scooter is most likely to hurt you, this is the single most valuable thing on the bike.
- Live tyre-pressure monitoring. Small-wheeled two-wheelers are unforgiving about pressure and almost nobody checks it weekly.
- A built-in dashcam. Anyone who has argued with an insurer about who changed lanes understands the value immediately.
- A 7″ TFT running Apple CarPlay and Android Auto — turn-by-turn navigation on the dash instead of a phone clamped to the bars in the rain.
- Removable 3.33 kWh battery packs, about 40 lb each. This is the one that decides it for apartment riders: the pack comes off the bike and charges from any household outlet, so you do not need a garage, a wall box, or a landlord’s permission.
That last point deserves emphasis, because it inverts the usual EV objection. The standard argument against electric is “where do I charge it?” The answer here is: in your kitchen, in roughly four and a half hours, for about a dollar.
Where the Honda PCX 160 still wins
Range and refuelling. 190 miles per tank and a three-minute fill. Nothing electric at this price matches that, and if you ride long distances on unpredictable schedules, this alone should decide it.
Dealer network. There is a Honda dealer near you. There are Honda technicians who have worked on this exact engine for a decade, and parts on the shelf. That is worth real money when something goes wrong far from home.
Resale value. Small Hondas hold their value stubbornly well. The electric two-wheeler market is younger and residuals are less certain — be honest with yourself about that when you compare five-year costs.
Underseat storage. The PCX swallows a full-size helmet. On the FLASH, dual batteries occupy most of that space and leave you about 20 litres.
Cold weather and long-term battery health. An engine does not lose 20% of its tank in February. Lithium does, temporarily, and any honest EV comparison should say so.
We are not going to pretend the PCX 160 is a bad motorcycle. It is one of the best-engineered small vehicles on the market and it will still be running in fifteen years. The question is whether the things it does better are the things you actually do.
So which one should you buy?
Your commute is under 40 miles a day and you park outside or in an apartment. The FLASH, single battery, $4,799. You will charge indoors, never visit a petrol station, and keep roughly $2,000 over five years.
Your commute includes freeway. The FLASH with dual batteries, $5,799. 75 mph and 70–85 real city miles make a freeway segment routine; the PCX at 65 mph does not.
You ride 100+ miles in a day, or tour on weekends. Buy the Honda. This is not a close call and no amount of running-cost arithmetic changes it.
You want the cheapest possible way onto two wheels legally. Look at the Lightning MK.II at $3,999 — 56 mph, a 30.7″ seat and the same removable-battery trick, for less than a PCX after destination charges.
75 mph. Removable batteries. No oil changes.
The HMP FLASH starts at $4,799 with $0 dealer prep and $0 setup fees.
Configure your FLASH →Frequently asked questions
Is the HMP FLASH highway legal?
Yes. The FLASH is a DOT-approved, street-legal motorcycle and ships registration-ready with a VIN, EPA label and MCO. With dual batteries it is GPS-verified to 75 mph, which is genuine freeway capability rather than a technicality.
Do I need a motorcycle licence?
Yes. Both the FLASH and the PCX 160 are registered motorcycles, so you need a motorcycle endorsement — an M1 in California. Requirements vary by state, so check your DMV before you buy.
How long does the FLASH take to charge?
About 4.5 hours per battery pack using the 840W portable charger included with the bike, on a standard 110V household outlet. The optional 2 kW onboard J1772 charger takes a single pack from 20–80% in roughly an hour on a 200–240V supply.
What happens when the battery wears out?
The battery is covered by the same 1 year / 10,000 mile warranty as the motorcycle, and that cover includes capacity dropping below 70%. Packs are removable and individually replaceable, so degradation is a serviceable part rather than the end of the vehicle.
Can I carry a passenger?
Yes. The FLASH is a two-seater with 377 lb of payload and a 676 lb GVWR, so two adults plus a backpack is well within specification.
Is the FLASH faster than a Honda PCX 160?
With dual batteries, yes — 75 mph against roughly 65 mph, with a much stronger launch because electric motors make peak torque from a standstill. A single-battery FLASH tops out at 60 mph, slightly below the PCX, but still accelerates harder away from lights.
Honda® and PCX® are trademarks of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Yamaha® is a trademark of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. HMP Bikes is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by either company. Comparisons are provided for information only. Honda specifications and pricing are taken from Honda’s official 2026 PCX product and newsroom pages and were accurate as of August 2026; dealer pricing, destination charges and setup fees vary. HMP specifications are our own published figures. Range, top speed and running costs depend on rider weight, terrain, temperature, riding style and local energy prices — treat all estimates as estimates.