One Year Living with the Honda Forza 2018: the Bottom Line

[smoothOperator]

Now it's exactly one year that I own the Honda Forza 2018. It has 13.000 km on the clock and as a conclusion I must say: it is really a good bike that makes a lot of fun.

The only downsides/defects I have to attest after 12 months are:
- a rattling windshield when driving over slightly uneven road surface
- recently very jerky start after parking in the rain (cold start)

Wish list for the next model:
- even more power, of course
- a more sofa feeling that eats all those little bumps and potholes

Only better alternatives:
- Honda x-adv (but no storage space, wide handlebar and therefore not suitable for city)
- TMax (but unfortunately just too expensive)

So I'm looking forward to another year with the Forza 300 (2018) and many nice tours.

[OldGuywhoTinkers]

I stopped by a Honda Motorcycle dealership in Deland Fla on the way to Disney in Orlando. They had advertised a number of scooters on their website last year, and I just wanted to look at what was there. The original advertised used scooters were all gone.

That stock had sold out. But the person I talked to said that Honda was discontinuing the Forza. According to him it wasn't selling and didn't seem to create more interest than the original Suzuki Burgmans. He did not feel there was anything wrong with the Forzas. But he did say they were not selling, and therefore not worth continuing for Honda right now.

[davenowherejones]

The only scooter Honda lists for Canada now is the 49cc Ruckus. Forza, PCX, SH150 and everything else is gone.

[Oldie]

My 2018 Forza 300 is also a year old and remains a joy to ride. It still looks like it did on Day 1, but is a bit quicker now. Really is a lovely piece of engineering.

[OldGuywhoTinkers]

Can anyone help me compare the recent Forza to the Burgmans ?

[Jge64]

If you are in the United States doesn’t do any good to compare the “recent Forza” to the Bergman’s because the Forza is not available here until they sell out of the old 2016 stock that they been carrying in the United States for the last few years.

[Old Grinner]

If you are in the United States doesn’t do any good to compare the “recent Forza” to the Bergman’s because the Forza is not available here until they sell out of the old 2016 stock that they been carrying in the United States for the last few years.

FWIW I wish I had the opportunity to compare first hand the "new" Forza with the XMax 300 when I was in the market.

That said, I couldn't be happier with my XMax.

The more I ride it the more I like it. And for I . . . being a bit heavy . . . to put it mildly . . . it does a great job of providing comfort. The stock seat has, IMHO, a nice amount of padding and the suspension is good for a stock suspension. Power is plenty for it's intended use.

I noticed that Yamaha isn't listing a 2020 XMax 300 on their web page for the U.S. yet. They are listing stuff like the YZF R3 or VStar 250 but no XMax. Note that the Zuma 125 and SMax are also listed for 2020 here but no Zuma 50F. The market seems to be at a cross roads. If things get crazy again with oil prices all that could change.

The question is what is humanity ready for . . ..

[gn2]

Can anyone help me compare the recent Forza to the Burgmans ?

It doesn't compare, Burgmans are 200, 400, 650.
Forza is 300.
Burgman is either less, more or a lot more than a Forza.

[big bear]

the larger scooters arent selling for some reason i drive a bus in pittsburgh during the week there are those buddy scooters everywhere. You can even rent little electric scooters.Ive never seen a forza or an x max but i have seen a few burghman 400s There is 1 pcx a guy rides with bald tires

[smoothOperator]

the larger scooters arent selling for some reason

i guess the biggest reason is the pricing. You can buy 3 Honda Forza 300 for the price of 1 TMax or BMW 650, and 2,5 Forza for the burgman 650. The gap beetween these classes are simply too wide for the most people.

Only in France and Italy the maxi scooters sell extremly well. There, on one hand you have to beat the crazy traffic in the city, on the other hand you have nice weather conditions to ride a bike for almost all year seasons. For many people there the maxi scooter is the one and only vehicle they use in their daily life.

[Arguz]

Now it's exactly one year that I own the Honda Forza 2018. It has 13.000 km on the clock and as a conclusion I must say: it is really a good bike that makes a lot of fun.

The only downsides/defects I have to attest after 12 months are:
- a rattling windshield when driving over slightly uneven road surface
- recently very jerky start after parking in the rain (cold start)

Wish list for the next model:
- even more power, of course
- a more sofa feeling that eats all those little bumps and potholes

Only better alternatives:
- Honda x-adv (but no storage space, wide handlebar and therefore not suitable for city)
- TMax (but unfortunately just too expensive)

So I'm looking forward to another year with the Forza 300 (2018) and many nice tours.

I had that jerking start on my 2018 Forza first time after 3000 km. Just took it to my dealer and explained the problem. Its a known problem. They removed the driving belt and all parts around it, cleaned everything and the bike was like new after that. This cleaning needs to be done again after a while or when its start jerking again....

[davenowherejones]

That sounds like total bs. There is no way it needs cleaning after every 3000 km. I have over 120,000 km on my 2014. It has never had to be "cleaned."

Ride it harder.

[Yorkie150]

but is the OP riding in very dusty conditions ??

[easyrider]

.The jerkiness could be caused by glazed clutch pads.They may have cleaned up everything and didnt mention taking the glaze off the clutch pads.Is it driveline jerkiness or perhaps engine stumble.?Thats a whole nother story.

[davenowherejones]

Glazed clutch pads are probably caused by not riding hard enough.

Twist hard and GO!

[halluinoid]

wow that looks exactly like my new bike!!

[smoothOperator]

After it got more and more jerking, i was in the service station 2 weeks ago. But they only cleaned the inside of the variomatic housing and said that this solved the problem.
Of course this was not the case. Already after a few days the jerking was stronger than before. So today I went to another service for the due inspection and the order to repair this meanwhile strong jerking.

So, oil change, oil filter, air filter, front brake pads and spark plug and so on renewed. Then the problem with the jerky starting is tackled.

Variomatik housing opened, with this finding in the pics below:

-------------
Are there experts here who can judge that by the pictures? Would really interest me.

The serviceman says that the grooves on the clutch disc would cause the jerking. The box was full of oily dust/abrasion, but this would be normal.

Also the blue colouring would be completely normal, he says. He didn't want to know anything about the warranty. Clutch, belt etc. is not a guarantee thing.

The belt itself still looks like new.
So the clutch discs and the blue part are renewed. Now it runs smooth as new again.

[smoothOperator]

Postscript:
I think the problem is very much due to the type of use. Here in the mountainous country, I drive up very steep serpentines at full throttle. That's a lot of fun, but it probably also leads to a higher load on the clutch.
People who drive mostly flat country roads may not have the problem at all.

[gn2]

Postscript:
I think the problem is very much due to the type of use. Here in the mountainous country, I drive up very steep serpentines at full throttle. That's a lot of fun, but it probably also leads to a higher load on the clutch.
People who drive mostly flat country roads may not have the problem at all.

Won't make any difference to the clutch unless the speed drops below the (low) speed at which the return springs on the shoes can defeat the force throwing them out.
If you stay above this fixed drop-out speed the clutch stays engaged.

[you you]

Postscript:
I think the problem is very much due to the type of use. Here in the mountainous country, I drive up very steep serpentines at full throttle. That's a lot of fun, but it probably also leads to a higher load on the clutch.
People who drive mostly flat country roads may not have the problem at all.

Won't make any difference to the clutch unless the speed drops below the (low) speed at which the return springs on the shoes can defeat the force throwing them out.
If you stay above this fixed drop-out speed the clutch stays engaged.

x2. Once the clutch is locked up it’s locked up. On the flat or uphill.