The Honda PCX / Forza / ADV150 / SH Forums

Anyone have a Forza w/o ABS brakes.. How is it? any problems etc / comments appreciated.

easyrider wrote:Anyone have a Forza w/o ABS brakes.. How is it? any problems etc / comments appreciated.

Rode one for a year and 6,000 miles.
No problems.
But, would rather have had the ABS model. None avail. local.
Save a bit more and go with the ABS.....you'll be very glad you did some day down the road.
Fish

Mine is non-ABS and no problems so far. But then, as far as I know, ABS is usually only activated during full-on, emergency stops, so unless you find yourself in this situation there's no way of knowing how well the system works.

Not having ABS is certainly not a deal-breaker for me, but ever since ABS absolutely saved my butt during a high-speed emergency stop on my old BMW K1200 you won't find me trash-talking the setup as a waste of money.

BTW, does anyone know if the Forza's ABS is linked to the Honda Combined Braking System during normal use or is it independent and for emergencies only, like everyone else's ABS?

Johnny

I've got a non-ABS model and so far 8000 miles and trouble free. Only thing I've done is added the taller windshield and
better rear shocks, but that has nothing to do with ABS. No performance problems whatsoever. Only problem I have is
my back starts giving me problems on long rides. I may try to sell it this spring though because my car is getting high in
miles and may need the money for a new car.

Can't comment on a non-ABS version because mine has it. However I can say that in 9k miles I have never activated it in need. I did activate the front once on wet pavement deliberately so I know it works. As noted earlier you'll only be glad when you need it. I still have the original tires and honestly have been very impressed with the ability of the bike to stop and not slip. I don't regret paying the extra money for it but my opinion is that today I would not consider it a deal breaker if I was in the market for one and a good deal without ABS came up.

I have done about 40,000 km on my ABS Forza 300. I like the ABS. I test it out in a parking lot regularly. It works.

I tested it out coming down a 2000 ft steep gravel road. I think it stopped my front end from washing out over the cliff. Scary but I lived to tell the tale.

I used to skid my rear tires a lot on other motorcycles. I don't think the Forza skids. The tires don't have flat spots.

I like the ABS.

The Forza has a combined brake, left lever does rear caliper and one piston of front caliper.
Right lever does two pistons of front caliper.
The ABS is independent on each wheel.

I have a 2015 with no ABS. No problems other than the guy who pulled in front of me and having ABS would not have made a difference. I look at this way....If I'm locking it up then I'm in the dire straights. With or without ABS at this point becomes a relative point. In my case I was lucky that I had time to lay it over.....course now I can afford any scoot that I want but I'm staying with my nonABS Forza. I still like it.

tjlayden wrote:I look at this way....If I'm locking it up then I'm in the dire straights. With or without ABS at this point becomes a relative point. In my case I was lucky that I had time to lay it over.

You're looking at it exactly the wrong way.
ABS would have meant you stayed upright with unlocked wheels and this may well have prevented the crash.
Because that's what happened, you crashed, you didn't choose to "lay it over", you crashed.

Um no. I chose to lay it over. The choices were simple -- hit the car or roll it over without hitting the car. Lawyer has the video from a Dollar General security cam. I rolled it. Insurance says no accident because two vehicles didn't touch each other. Whatever. My no ABS scoot has served me well.

ABS would have served you better.

gn2 wrote:The Forza has a combined brake, left lever does rear caliper and one piston of front caliper.
Right lever does two pistons of front caliper.
The ABS is independent on each wheel.

Thanks for that clarification, gn2. I had assumed that the two systems were kept separate.

Johnny

gn2 wrote:ABS would have served you better.

Most likely. Agreed.

For me ABS has become an essential requiremement for any bike I buy now.
I have a real hankering for the air cooled 2009 Triumph Bonneville in black and was all set to buy a mint condition used one a few weeks back, but in the end I decided I simply couldn't forego ABS and opted for a new SV650 instead..



Really really gorgeous bike imo, but no ABS is a deal breaker.

gn2 wrote:For me ABS has become an essential requiremement for any bike I buy now.
I have a real hankering for the air cooled 2009 Triumph Bonneville in black and was all set to buy a mint condition used one a few weeks back, but in the end I decided I simply couldn't forego ABS and opted for a new SV650 instead..



Really really gorgeous bike imo, but no ABS is a deal breaker.

Hmmm. It looks podgy and badly drawn compared to the original bonneville to me. The originals could be stunning.

The "Norton" exhausts are particularly jarring on a triumph.

The current me looks podgy and badly drawn compared to the original, so we would have been a good match

Do the Forza's without ABS wear out tires faster than ABS riders?

It would depend on the rider. Too many variables to get a real answer.

7.5 degrees C. Time to ride to Tim Hortons and Roll Up The Rim! And then dirt track it to Othello. Followed by Garlic French Fries at White Spot in Hope.

I find that the FORZA without ABS brakes is exceptionally good. Much better and smoother than the PCX. Haven't had to make any panic stops yet and that may make the difference, however the lack of ABS so far has been immaterial..

gn2 wrote:The current me looks podgy and badly drawn compared to the original, so we would have been a good match

Ditto

easyrider wrote:I find that the FORZA without ABS brakes is exceptionally good. Much better and smoother than the PCX. Haven't had to make any panic stops yet and that may make the difference, however the lack of ABS so far has been immaterial..

The weight balance of the Forza is different than most motorcycles so the ABS is not as critical I think.

The Forza is fairly heavy and the front brakes aren't really that good so they probably don't lock up like a sport bike would. I think the Forza almost needs dual disks on the front due to its weight.

Hard braking on the sport bike would cause the rear wheel to lift giving no rear braking. I really doubt the non-ABS Forza SCOOTER could do a "Stoppie." The ABS would make a Stoppie impossible (?).

The engine attached to the rear swing arm also puts more weight than usual on the rear tire. Rear only hard braking on the Sport Bike would lock up the rear tire and cause skidding. I bet the non-ABS Forza would not skid as much as the Sport bike. Also the linked brakes make it impossible to do rear only braking.

When I first got my Forza I went to an empty parking lot and hit the brakes hard to see what the ABS would do. The brake levers felt crunchy and the Forza stopped very quickly. In normal riding I have felt the ABS a few times so I guess it is good to have. My DR650 some times would misbehave on the brakes (rider errors) and things got scary a few times. I think I like ABS.