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New 2014 Honda Forza 300 Scooter

51K views 100 replies 40 participants last post by  300cc Forza owner 
#1 ·
#33 ·
And somewhere in Japan, an engineer has lost his wings... :D
 
#34 ·
My first reaction was "wow, that old Reflex is in really good shape!"

It's a Honda so I'm sure the ownership experience will be quite satisfactory, and should appeal to many 50cc and Chinese scooter riders who warn to move up in class.
 
#41 ·
When the Forza first came out I had a testride on one.
I previously owned a Honda SH300 which was a sit up and beg scooter which the Forza is based upon
It was a great scoot for its size, but the riding position was cramped for my 5' 10" frame.
Not quite in the same league as the Burgman 400 but it is a lot cheaper :)

Andy
 
#42 · (Edited)
Frankly I think the guy is right that says the Forza is boring. I have a Burgman 400 and love it. We went to a dealer showroom to look at the new models out. Beside the new B400 was the new B650, and then the Forza 300, followed by he little Honda PCX 150. My wife has a 150 and loves it, but she wants more horsepower. We looked at the Forza for about a minute and moved on to the Burgman. Their styling was eye catching as apposed to the Forza. They were much more comfortable to sit on too. To add to that, the seat was very wide which made it impossible for her to touch the ground. She went over to the 650 and just fell in love with it. I had to remind her that she is small and could not handle the weight if she got in trouble on it. Still, style wise, Burgmans have it hands down.
 
#45 ·
The Honda Forza NSS300/A is a very nice looking and running Machine.
I bought one. The biggest difference between the Burgmans is the Seating position. I am 5'8" and can't put my feet up on the slant. I can put my feet flat no problem, and also put my heel on the flat and toes up on the slant, which is also comfortable. I also have a 2005 Burgman AN650 which I Love! These are two different Bikes. But the Honda is a real nice scooter and I will use it for commuting to work once I get my GIVI windshield installed.:p
 
#46 ·
MPH right on!

Way to go Honda!
I checked my speed today on the 2014 Honda Forza 300 via a Garmin GPS.
25mph -Good
45mph - Good
55mph - Good
65mph - good
75mph - Good.

The Speedometer was right the whole time. Maybe Honda could teach Suzuki how to do this, as it is important to know what speed your going. :p:p
 
#48 ·
Tell me about it, Doug. When I was young, a 350 was a big honkin' motorcycle and anyone who needed more was just compensating for a small penis. We rode those bikes all over the country and it never occurred to us that they were "too small" for long distance touring.
 
#50 ·
I agree with you all here.
I commute on my two scooters to work every day. I ride the Honda Forza 300 every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and Ride my Burgman 650 every tuesday and Thursday. Although I have the Burgman Grin every time I ride it, The Honda Forza is catching up and is a very good scooter that is very much freeway legal and could easily cross the USA in comfort and style.
I ride the Forza more because of the better MPG, and I am also worried about having CVT trouble at anytime with 16,000 miles on it. I know I should not worry about it, but I do.
 
#54 · (Edited)
http://www.ironbuttrally.com/IBR/1995.cfm?DocID=3

Great article on a Ed Otto who rode a very overloaded helix in the Iron Butt rally, 10k miles in 10 days. Okay, its no speed demon, but This article got me to buy one.

My buddy, who has 100k in his, and counting, just loves it. He's got other bikes, like a Burgman 650, BMW and others, but he loves riding the little Helix, in town or cross country. To each his own.
 
#57 ·
I saw the Forza last week at the dealership, and thought it looked kind of generic - not bad, but certainly not distinctive. I rode with one last weekend, and it definitely looks better in the wild. The rider had it two days and was thrilled with it. (I think he traded in a 250 Piaggio for it).

It's only about 65 lbs lighter than the Burgman 400, but seem smaller. The MSRP of $6100 (w/ABS) vs. $7999 for the 400 is it's primary advantage.
 
#60 ·
I think he traded in a BV 350... It's good looking scoot in person, to be sure. I'd like to try it in heavy freeway traffic. I LOVED my Helix lane splitting. Sportbikers had a hard time keeping up. Had I a serious freeway commute, It might be my bike of choice for city riding.

But then again I loath such traffic. If I had to do it, the Forza seems a good choice. But since I don't, I'll stick to the Burgmans.
 
#58 ·
I saw a forza at the dealer. Looked smaller than i expected and didnt excite me. Just kinda of honda civic looking. Probably love it if i took it for i ride but i would rather a kymco owntown or sym citicom based on looks. Ive owned a few scooters all 250 or bigger.. and none of them looked good to me. Well my yamaha morphous was cool in a jetson kind of way but what a dog it was in terms of power. Less pep than my helix and pathetic on steep hills or two up.
 
#79 ·
Way bigger than I expected. The wheelbase is 2" longer than the BMW R1200RT! Side by side with a Burgman 400? A little narrower and a little lower. At 5'8" with a 32" inseam, it fits me far better too. And I always loved the Burgman and figured I'd get one. Funny thing for me, but the 650 fits me better than the 400.

I like the dash on the Forza more, the storage is close, but you can put a bottle of wine in the glovebox on the Forza ;). The Forza looks bigger on the road to me. The backrest is in the perfect spot, and it feels lighter by a lot when it comes to pushing it into/out of parking, and at low speeds. I'm coming from a 220lb 50cc Vespa so I know a thing or two about HEAVY feeling bikes!

They both accelerate well, deal with traffic well (lane splitting doesn't matter - it's illegal here, and I have my own views on it. No need to start that fight). They both feel solid and stable on the highway at speeds far higher than I have any desire to go. More importantly, they both stop very well. Dual disc vs single disc doesn't matter, it's the rest of the system that really makes it happen.

Styling between the two is nothing exceptional. They are both modern, spacey, superbike-y looking. Coming from a modern Vespa which despite being modern still shows it's heritage, most new bikes in this style are nothing special. I like them, but they're nothing special.

In my mind, the Forza and the Burgman are virtually the same in every regard save one... price. For only 100cc's more, I simply can't justify the price of the Burgman. However much I might want to. At that price range, I might as well buy the NC700 or CTS700. Were they the same price, I would have a very hard time deciding between the two.

Some will say "used ones are far less expensive", and they're right. Depending on what the previous owner might have done to it. We're looking strictly at new. period. For our own reasons.

Just my thoughts as I look for a new, larger scoot.
 
#76 ·
Absolutely hideous! Even the dealer couldn't figure out what they were thinking with it. Saddle bags look okay until you open them and find they can only carry maybe a can of coke and a pair of gloves. There's considerably more storage on the nc700. Great if you like live action anime or cosplay. Nowhere near as practical as a scooter. The dash is the only cool part.
 
#63 ·
The only small displacement Honda scooter I ever liked was the Honda Big Ruckus , but that scooter like the Reflex was a dog . In order to make it run right you had to
re-jet the carb , install a Jcosta variator and replace the piece of crap single rear shock . Grand total $800.00 . For some reason or other , Honda was never able to figure out the horse power to weight ratio in scooters . IMO the Silverwing is the only scooter they make with enough power for my taste . I sold a super low mileage Silverwing rolling chassis to a friend in Canada to put in his Big Ruckus . I was going to do it but in the end I decided not to , I gave him a great deal on just to see it done . In retrospect I'm glad I decided not to do it , he pretty much did all the labor so he didn't have a lot of money in it , but in the end he said he had about $25,000 worth of his own labor in it . I think he said he had it up 140MPH ?TheReaper!


Started like this



Ended like this



 
#64 ·
I have to laugh when folks think a 400 is a bit porky. After selling my 400 and buying a Goldwing, it has given me a much different perspective. Now I have moved back to a 650 which feels like a moped to me. And yes I commuted into town on the GW. It's all so relative.
 
#65 ·
I had a choice due to medical problems. I was having problems getting on and off of my V-Strom and I was reaching the point to where I couldn't pull the clutch due to hand pain. I saw that it was time to stop riding motorcycles OR maybe I could go to a big scooter and continue riding something with two wheels. I had lived for a while in Italy when I was younger so the bias against scooters wasn't strong for me. I already had a Honda Helix for city riding and traded it in on a Burgman 650. After riding the Burgman for the summer last year, I feel that the only thing I did wrong with the whole deal is that I should have traded the V-Strom on the Burgam and kept the Helix. I really like my Burgman and am glad I bought it. The Burgman 650 does all my riding on the highways and slab riding without effort, even two up. Great bike.

Now all I have to do is sell my V-Strom.

Doug from Kentucky
 
#68 ·
Honda Forza Vs Burgman 400

While riding the Honda Forza, the performance reminds me of the Burgman 400.
I had a 2009 Suzuki 400 and put 8000 mile on it before I sold it.

I like the Honda Forza better than the Burgman 400, but the Honda Forza is not even close to the Burgman 650, which in my opinion is the KING of maxi-scooters.
 
#69 ·
Better how? Spec-wise, the Burg400 pretty much dominates - 400cc vs. 279; front dual brakes vs. single; more rear tire contact; storage; passenger position. The Forza's plusses are its lighter and less expensive. Fit & Finish/build quality?

The proof is in the riding - freeway? in-town? hills & canyons? solo/2-up?

I can see how a Forza could supplement my 650. But I don't think it could replace my 400 if that was my only ride.
 
#70 ·
As stated the Performance reminds me of the Burgman 400.
I realize that the Burgman 400 is a 400cc class machine, but I can't tell the difference between the forza 279cc and 400cc scooters. The RPM's are the same at doing the same speeds, but the forza starts up quicker at a lower RPM. I remember on my 2009 Burgman 400 having to raise the RPM up over 4000RPM just to get the clutch engaged. The Forza starts up just over 3000 RPM.
 
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