Hello from Thailand

[Linnets]

Just wanted to say hi from over here in Thailand, I've just sold my 18 month old red PCX150i and upgraded to a new 2016 Forza. Pictures of the new steed below, I've only done 200 Km so will save my thoughts about it until I have a few more Km's under my belt but my initial impression is very satisfied with my choice.

[WhiteNoise]

Woohoo! Orange! NICE!
We do not have color choices for the Forza. It's RED or RED in the United States.
Congrats on the move up. Have Fun and Keep us posted on yer likes/dislikes
Oh, and double check your profile, it's time for an "happy" update

[you you]

Looks good in orange

[Linnets]

Woohoo! Orange! NICE!
We do not have color choices for the Forza. It's RED or RED in the United States.
Congrats on the move up. Have Fun and Keep us posted on yer likes/dislikes
Oh, and double check your profile, it's time for an "happy" update

We have 4 colour choices over here in Thailand for the 2016 model, Gloss White, Matt Black, Metallic Blue and Orange. Personally I would have liked Metallic Red with Gold wheels the same as my PCX but it's not an option.

[JetPilot]

Woohoo! Orange! NICE!
We do not have color choices for the Forza. It's RED or RED in the United States.
Congrats on the move up. Have Fun and Keep us posted on yer likes/dislikes
Oh, and double check your profile, it's time for an "happy" update

We have 4 colour choices over here in Thailand for the 2016 model, Gloss White, Matt Black, Metallic Blue and Orange. Personally I would have liked Metallic Red with Gold wheels the same as my PCX but it's not an option.

I agree, the Metallic RED of the PCX is just awesome. But I will live with the plain red we get in the USA, the performance, handling, and rideability of the scooter is far more important than the color ever will be.

So what do you think about the FORZA compared to the PCX ??? Being that you have owned both, your impressions are more valuable and will be much appreciated !!!

Mike

[davenowherejones]

Do you know if they are making any 2017 Forza's?

[davenowherejones]

I find it strange that English is used around the key on a scooter made in Thailand.

I was watching a Russian program on the Dakar Rally. They were talking in Russian and then a word or two in English and then back to Russian. Dakar is basically French in Spanish speaking Argentina but the English words keep popping up.

[PingGam]

We have 4 colour choices over here in Thailand for the 2016 model, Gloss White, Matt Black, Metallic Blue and Orange. Personally I would have liked Metallic Red with Gold wheels the same as my PCX but it's not an option.

You forgot Lemon Ice Yellow

[alx123]

Nice scoot..

Welcome to the forums..

Saw this beauty a few months ago at Lumpini Park

[Linnets]

Thanks guys,

I've done another 200 Kms and have some observations and comparisons between this and the PCX.

The first thing you notice is that this is a big scooter and appears somewhat lardy (fat) however it's really no wider across the mirrors/handlebars than the PCX. Also you very much sit in the Forza rather than sit on it like you do a PCX and the footboards are about 1" higher up from the road surface than the PCX, the weight and therefore the center of gravity is very low down which makes low speed filtering and lane splitting easy peasy and where I live in Thailand where traffic is very busy it's a joy to ride.

The cheapo suspension really lets this bike down though (same as PCX to be honest) there is virtually no compression or rebound damping to speak of and as a result the ride can be very harsh even over minor ripples and bumps in the road surface. More so when you ride with a pillion which I do 60% of the time. I've already rectified one aspect of this which I will detail in my next post. On smooth tarmac the ride is acceptable and the scoot actually handles reasonably well.

The engine is much much quieter and smoother than the PCX with plenty of acceleration to get you away from the lights and any trouble, the CVT is also much smoother with a more linear spool up in my opinion than the PCX. ABS works a treat and has already saved me a couple of times on roads covered in sand and loose dirt so this is a definite + over the PCX on which I had more than a few scary moments.

I like the low screen because living where I do with daytime temperarures between 80 and 105F the constant flow of air against the upper body and head is very welcome and I will not be fitting a taller screen anytime soon. I love the fact that I no longer have the idle stop feature of the PCX because I never saw the point or benefit of it, instead all I could see it doing was draining the battery and increased wear on the starting system. The headlights being like normal car and motorcycle headlights are in my opinion better than the PCX LED ones and give a much better pattern spread, but thats just my preference.

I dislike the black chrome finish on the handlebars and handlebar center bezel, I would have preferred either normal chrome or matt black but thats just nitpicking.
My biggest dislike however is the seat, specifically the hump, it's just too high and it doesn't need to be, you could lose an inch off the height and not notice the difference in terms of rider backrest but it would make a huge difference to the pillion's comfort. My wife hates it because if she tries to sit close to me she ends up sitting partly on the hump which is uncomfortable and when she sits back there is too big a gap between us which makes it awkward for her to grab hold of me when accelerating. This is something I WILL be changing very soon, luckily there are lots of aftermarket options here in Thailand and I shall be going for something very similar in design to the PCX which I think Honda got spot on.
The other thing about the seat which is very annoying is the fact that it only opens about 45 degrees making access to the front portion of the underseat storage a long stretch indeed (PCX opened near vertical). Not sure if there is a mod available to improve this or not?
As a bonus though I have no problems at all with my seat not staying open which is maybe a benefit of living somewhere warm instead of cold.

That just about covers my initial impressions.

[Linnets]

So as I alluded to in my previous post I decided to do something about the rear suspension on the Forza so off i went to my local scooter tuning store and purchased some YSS piggyback reservoir shocks part No.TC302-400T-04O @ 6200 baht ($175) and a set of milled alloy extenders/height reducers @ 2500 baht ($70).

The idea behind the extenders is that you move the bottom mounting point of the shock absorber rearwards by about 60mm which for the same length shock reduces ride height and increases the trail of the rear suspension and very much improves the ride quality. I was persuaded to do this by the guys in my local shop who really seem to know their stuff and have been tuning Forzas since they were first introduced. They have also suggested that the front end can also be improved by fitting YSS valve cartridges into the front legs, might get that done later.

Removal and installation took me about 30 minutes with a 14mm combination spanner and a 14mm socket, extension bar and ratchet. Unlike the PCX no plastic panel removal needed as the top bolts can be accessed easily enough.

I set the spring preload so that there is a 20mm gap between the adjusting collar and the top casting and I've only tested it for a few Km's but I can tell already that the ride whilst still being firm is much more compliant and comfortable over uneven road surfaces than stock.
Also its much easier to reach the ground with the reduced ride height and in my opinion the increased trail improves the looks of the bike too, I've always thought the Forza stock upright position of the shocks looks naff.

Anyway this post is not much use without pictures so here goes.

[Linnets]

Something I neglected to mention in my initial post was actually how much it cost me to purchase my Forza here in Thailand and I know people are always interested so...

Purchase cost of Forza 300 ABS 156,000 baht ($4,389)

OTR Costs including Compulsory Gvt Insurance, optional 2 year warranty and theft Insurance, Road Tax and number plates = 7,700 baht ($215)

So total cost OTR = 163,700 baht ($4,604).

How does that compare to the rest of the world?

[davenowherejones]

I presume that is US dollars. I like the shocks but they would be substantially more in Canada. I hate my front end.

-5C and snowing, the Forza starts but too much ice to ride.

[montliz44]

Oooo Linnets I like those rear shock extenders. I would like a set. Can you give me a link to the manufacturer or dealer?

Johnny

[Andreas]

Wow you just solved a big mystery for me! I had seen that bracket over at a bikerzbits store. I couldn't make heads or tails of how it mounted. I figured I'd lower my forza at some point and figure it out then.
Here's a link to the one I saw.
https://bikerzbits.co.th/forza-lowering-bracket.html

How much did it reduce ride height? I was thinking of going a little lower than that but I'm sure it would cost way over the 2900thb of that part.

Get that seat replaced already!

Andreas

[JetPilot]

So total cost OTR = 163,700 baht ($4,604).

How does that compare to the rest of the world?

That is a great deal !!! I got quoted about 7000.00 dollars out the door for the Forza from the Honda dealer here. That is why I do not have one yet...

One question, was there no option to turn off the system that shuts down the engine of the PCX when stopped ??? I HATE those systems, more wear on the engine to constantly start and stop it, and fuel savings is almost ZERO. It makes no sense at all to shut down the engine when stopped for 10 seconds, stupid " feel good " solutions do not solve problems or benefit anyone. It is a totally stupid system designed to make liberal governments happy...

Mike

[alx123]

So total cost OTR = 163,700 baht ($4,604).

How does that compare to the rest of the world?

That is a great deal !!! I got quoted about 7000.00 dollars out the door for the Forza from the Honda dealer here. That is why I do not have one yet...

One question, was there no option to turn off the system that shuts down the engine of the PCX when stopped ??? I HATE those systems, more wear on the engine to constantly start and stop it, and fuel savings is almost ZERO. It makes no sense at all to shut down the engine when stopped for 10 seconds, stupid " feel good " solutions do not solve problems or benefit anyone. It is a totally stupid system designed to make liberal governments happy...

Mike

On the contrary, I find the idle stop feature very useful. It's one of my favorite feature of the scoot. Sitting for minutes on an idling engine on a traffic light is hot and it absolutely saves fuel. Never used it in a moving traffic though, no matter how slow the flow is.

To answer your question, you have the option to turn it off.

[Linnets]

Wow you just solved a big mystery for me! I had seen that bracket over at a bikerzbits store. I couldn't make heads or tails of how it mounted. I figured I'd lower my forza at some point and figure it out then.
Here's a link to the one I saw.
https://bikerzbits.co.th/forza-lowering-bracket.html

How much did it reduce ride height? I was thinking of going a little lower than that but I'm sure it would cost way over the 2900thb of that part.

Get that seat replaced already!

Andreas

Those are the same Lowering brackets, just a different colour anodizing...It actually only lowers the front seat height by 1/2-3/4" but when you only have a 30" inside leg measurement every little helps lol.

[montliz44]

Thanks for the pics and link, Andreas and Linnets. I'm going to buy a set from Bikerzbits as soon as we get the shipping figured out. According to their website, they're having a problem shipping to the US now. I sent a "contact us" message to them and I'm waiting to hear from them.

Johnny

[you you]

So total cost OTR = 163,700 baht ($4,604).

How does that compare to the rest of the world?

That is a great deal !!! I got quoted about 7000.00 dollars out the door for the Forza from the Honda dealer here. That is why I do not have one yet...

One question, was there no option to turn off the system that shuts down the engine of the PCX when stopped ??? I HATE those systems, more wear on the engine to constantly start and stop it, and fuel savings is almost ZERO. It makes no sense at all to shut down the engine when stopped for 10 seconds, stupid " feel good " solutions do not solve problems or benefit anyone. It is a totally stupid system designed to make liberal governments happy...

Mike

There's no extra wear. It's a useful and ingenious system that you can choose to use or not.

I'm not sure it is designed for any government let alone liberal.

Do you only open your mouth to fasten your shoelaces?