2015 Forza vs 2014 Suzuki Burgman 200

[flavioguy]

I'm considering replacing my current scoot and wondered if anyone had any experience with both the 2015 Forza and the Burgman 200? I've read here a bit here about the Forza's reliability issues and wonder if I should swing towards the Burgman.

Opinions?

[gn2]

Reliability issues are pretty much a non problem for a Forza manufactured in 2015.
As is normal with Hondas, the bulk of the problems were with the first ones, never an early adopter be...

Much depends on what you want from a scooter and how you will use it.
The Forza is faster, more economical and has much longer service intervals.

Or how about a Kymco Downtown 300...?
They are better suited to home servicing.

[flavioguy]

Good point. I just want to scoot around town and hop on the freeway for VERY short runs. I have looked at the Downtown 300 but they are hard to find used. I like the fact that the Burgman is lighter......I'd really like a 2015 PCX 150 (I had a 2013 once before) but those aren't available used either. I try to never buy new an pay all those ridiculous fees (plus taxes).
Thx!

[gn2]

Vespa GTS300...?

[flavioguy]

GN2.....I've considered them especially the new models with ABS and traction control but yowee zowee.....Vespas are just so expensive and I've never seen that value played out. Plus I've never cared for the design.

Thanks for throwing that out!!!

[beegmouse]

Vespas tend to hold their value better and longer, but are over priced.

[chicaboo]

The TGB Bellavita is the poor man's Vespa GTS300, it you can find one.

[gn2]

The TGB Bellavita is the poor man's Vespa GTS300, it you can find one.

The engine in that thing is really good, far better than the Vespa engine.

[DailyRider]

I would be surprised if they sell the Bellavista in Arizona
and I'm jealous that they sell Bergman 200s there

[davenowherejones]

Suzuki Demo day today and tomorrow around here. Forget the 200 and spend the $15,000 CDN for the Burgman 650 I am going to try.

[flavioguy]

Have fun Dave.....I used to covet the Burg 650 but then the reality of their size and weight overwhelmed me. I'll stick to something smaller!! :-)

Never heard of a Bellavista.

[flavioguy]

Oh BTW - the new 2014 Burg OTD price is $4400 and the 2015 Forza (with 1500 miles) is OTD $4200.

[Mel46]

I haven't tried the Forza 300, though I was interested in it when it first came out. However I didn't like the width of the seat when I sat on it, and the dash setup was a bit low for me, if that makes any sense. I guess that was because I was so use to the Burgman 400. I tried the Burgman 200 and was disappointed, though I really, really tried to like it. The tail end sat too high, so carrying a passenger would have been cumbersome for the passenger. Also, when I put it on the side stand I thought it was going to fall over because it leaned so much. Still, it would have been nice to have a 200cc bike.

I had a Burgman 400 and it was a beauty. It was so comfortable and I could travel long distances without tiring myself or my passenger out. Unfortunately, it was a bit bulky for local travel, like it's big brother the 650 (which is really, really nice). The pcx 150 is a tad too light for travelling on freeways for any distance, but we have taken them on the freeways for a couple of exits and they did ok, especially now since I changed out the variator and drive face, plus changed the weights to 13 gram.

My suggestion would be to see if you can try them. If you can't then go to the showroom and sit on each. You know that the horsepower will be there, so the next thing you would want to do is see how comfortable it feels. Ideally, riding it would be your best bet, but sometimes you just can't do that.

[flavioguy]

Thanks for the wise input Mel.

I owned a Silverwing and currently the MP3 500. Just too big and too heavy for me (5'8", 150 lbs) so I understand the Burg 400 and 650 dilemma. I just have more fun on smaller scoots anyway.

Not being able to test ride scoots/motorcycles is really a drag. At least most scoots have a center stand so you can sit on them in a normal riding position and get a better feeling for them (I just have to be careful and not make engine noises.....SO embarrasing! LOL).

[chicaboo]

Never heard of a Bellavista.

Neither have I. But TGB make a Bellavita 125 and "300".

[E. Foster Salsbury]

Piaggio BV350....?
justgottascoot.com says it's the the King of do-everything scooters! Just beat the Kymco People 300GTi
Check out his review here.... http://www.justgottascoot.com/bv350.htm
I could see gn2 owning one after his Forza300. Maybe me too.

[gn2]

I will never buy one.

[davenowherejones]

I tried the Burgman 650 yesterday. Too big for me, too many gadgets to break & fix. Power folding mirrors???? Power moving screen??? Too many controls on the handlebars. Too expensive!!!

I then tried a used older Burgman 400. A lot cheaper & simpler. Fast enough for the highway. Solid. The ergos fit my short body. Kind of heavy to push up the ramp into the shed. The one I rode was a 2009 with only 700 km. I would do those km in a weekend.

Suzuki brought about 25 bikes and there was almost nobody there to test ride them. Kind of embarrassing.

Harley Davidson was giving away $10 clothing coupons if you would test ride their Street 750. It was a really awkward motorcycle. Bits banging against my legs all over the place. A long reach to the bars. No screen so the wind hit you hard in the chest. Interesting to ride but it would get difficult before I got very far.

I bought a Honda because the Chinese Geely was forcing me to wrench too much. Too bad the expensive Forza is no better than a cheap Chinese scooter.

[gn2]

Too bad the expensive Forza is no better than a cheap Chinese scooter.

In terms of home servicing the Forza is far from ideal.
What's the point of an 8000 mile service interval if critical braking components don't last that long.
I am by no means hard on brakes and simply can't get rear pads to last long enough.
The exhaust and rear caliper location is far from ideal, maybe switching to an aftermarket exhaust might help, but I'm loathe to spend the money on one to find out.
The cheapest one I can find that looks any way half reasonable quality is the Gianelli G4 and its nearly £200

[flavioguy]

I considered the BV350 in the past but I didn't like the riding position but I've heard good things about the scoot.

Yep...I've heard about the Forza reliability issues. I wonder if the 2015 model (anyone here have one?) is any better?