Honda 2021 SH350i

Europe scores again:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y4fnPzpUC8&feature=youtu.be

It's already on the Honda motorcycles UK website.

That stuff does not come to US Market because too few buyers in dead scooter market.

Nice looking scoot but a little low in cc's .John Grinsel is right about the dead scooter market in the US. To bad that we here in the US with our mostly young power and noise hungry squids think the Silverwing is an old folks bike. The Silverwing suits me fine.

These new smaller capacity scooters are a hoot.

So much lighter than the Swing by about 60 kilos they are the way forward.

Swing still an awesome scoot though.

There's seven new or improved models in Honda UK's scooter range for 2021. There's YouTube clips of the new SYM scooters they've just announced for 2021, there's new Kymco models as well.

So lightweight is the way to go, unless you're carrying the extra weight of a passenger all the time, the new generation of fully loaded 300cc, 350cc, and 400cc are all you need for solo touring. 

The Forza 300 I bought new in 2018 has now been joined by the 350 version, and as nice as it looks it doesn't pique my interest in the slightest, because the 300 version already has all the performance for my needs.

That's a nice looking scooter. I'd be tempted to get one to go along with my SWing trike if they were sold here in the States. Bummer.

Why do people in US want/like big displacement bikes/scooters? Most do not ride much regardless of what they have/buy.

john grinsel wrote:

Why do people in US want/like big displacement bikes/scooters?  Most do not ride much regardless of what they have/buy.

Yup, US wants speed and power.

Fantastic new Honda 350cc. Right now in US, there are few 300cc range scoots to compete (Kymco, Forza, Yamaha XMAX 300). My personal choice so far is the XMAX 300 for overall delivery, but this 350 could easily change my mind. It seems to have everything the xmax has, and maybe even more. (Hard to beat the unbelievable mpg of the xmax). If Honda 350 could approach the mpg of the xmax, I'm in.

The XMax 300 has been rightly praised by UK owners for the fuel efficiency of it's Bluecore engine, and roundly criticised for it's feeble and pathetic droopy eyed LED headlights.

My Forza's engine has an extensively reworked and modified Honda SH 300 engine, and while it can't quite achieve the mpg of the XMax, it still manages a 200 miles range from the 11.5 litre tank. It's been upped slightly on the new Forza 350 to 11.7 litres.

A new UK buyer can of course opt for either version of the Forza, I'm happy to have another year on the 300 before I change, and the only advantage the 350 would have for me over the 300, is my Givi tall screen, hand guards, rear rack and carrier would fit straight onto it.

The Forza's wide awake eyes LED headlights are much better than those on the XMax 300 too.

Speaking as someone from the US of A all I can say is that it’s a big country with lots of empty space in between cities. I honestly can say that a big scooter is the way to go out here, especially out in the west. There are honest to goodness 100 miles between gas stations places and I just feel that something that displaced at least 500cc is what’s required out here. Just my opinion.

PeteP wrote:

Speaking as someone from the US of A all I can say is that it’s a big country with lots of empty space in between cities. I honestly can say that a big scooter is the way to go out here, especially out in the west. There are honest to goodness 100 miles between gas stations places and I just feel that something that displaced at least 500cc is what’s required out here. Just my opinion.

Good point Pete! Most people have no clue the distances we traverse out here in the West. Even those that live on the East coast don't get it.  My Forza is a great scoot but it is a bit small for me and tends to lag down a bit on uphill treks. On the other hand my Silver Wing is bigger, smoother and has been up over 11000 feet above sea level without a problem. I have done many solo tours on the SWing and it is fantastic.  I am ready to take another week or two trip now that my wife's vision problems seem to be solved. I couldn't leave her without a means of getting around!

john grinsel wrote:

Why do people in US want/like big displacement bikes/scooters?  Most do not ride much regardless of what they have/buy.

If you think our bikes are big try our newer pick up trucks, one needs a boarding ladder on the 4x4's and at minimum a " step " and grab bar for entry on the 2WD. The older cars / trucks called them running boards.

Rolling Coal  diesel power P/U  tuned they make big HP.

Not saying it's good but they are out there .

No doubt they stink as bad as they look, MFG forced to make them greener and quiet and something like this comes along, we have a couple around here seems their favorite is to get in front of you load up and stomp it just to show the idiocy they posses.

You don't need a large capacity motorcycle or maxi scooter to cover large distances at all, it's just this rider mindset that bigger is better. I've often mentioned that the 300cc scooter I ride now is as fast and a lot more fuel efficient than the Silver Wing. The fuel tank is 3.03 US gallons which has a range of almost 200 miles even when the majority of that is motorway/interstate miles. I could probably get that 200 miles easily now if I made the effort, I'd be on reserve but it's doable.

If I was planning a trip where petrol/gas stations were 100 miles apart as someone mentioned and was worried about it, I'd pack my 5 litre fuel canister and pouring spout valve contraption and using that would extend the range considerably. Of course in reality we're not all clocking up hundreds of miles all day, every day. So if you've got the time and more importantly the mindset, it doesn't really matter what size your bike or scooter is, as long as you do it.

I occasionally look on a forum which is really more of a cliquey mutual admiration group, more out of amused curiosity than actual interest. They're always on about retirement and riding large capacity touring motorcycles. It's all style over substance though, as there's more photos and info about the meals they've stopped to eat than anything about the riding they've done.

I don't  think anyone was maligning you for riding a 300 cc Forza, Meldrew. Certainly not me, as I have one. My statement was simply that for me at 6'0 and 250 lbs the Silver Wing is MUCH better for a 2000 mile trip. As to fuel economy, my SWing can get 58 MPG on the road and my Forza about 75 or so.  Gasoline is much cheaper here so not as big an issue for us in the US.

My thought is what works for the individual is OK by me. I have ridden everything from a Honda 50 Cub (and Metropolitan) up to 1800 cc behemoths. I love my scooters!  Cao.

The point I was trying to get across was simply that the 250cc to 400cc scooters are just as capable of covering long daily distances as the Silver Wing or the 650 Burgman, the two maxi scooters that were for many years the heavy hitters in the maxi world.

They've both been discontinued for a few years now and neither Honda or Suzuki have brought out replacements. The Kymco MyRoad 700 was short lived, and BMW's C650 GT seems to be the only larger capacity maxi still on sale.

Meanwhile the choice of new comprehensively equipped 300cc to 400cc maxi scooters is growing all the time. Which is a good thing for the now ageing and elderly Boomer generation riders that are the core buyers of Silver Wings and big Burgmans.

Most people who complain and feel they need big displacement scooters,probably have never ridden long distances----I know being married/working can cut into riding, but.... I am on 11th new maxi scooter since 1990, 400,000 miles plus with them---be 82 in spring, as you age lighter is better----for scooters, I liked my 4 Vespa 2 strokes, really liked Honda Helix, had 4 new ones for over 175,000 miles----Current, 2019 Kymco XTown 300i, heavy, really stretched 250--performs well and does not seem to break....price was right,too. Whole deal with scooters, no need to hurry, ride them like scooter, internal storage nice, drive belts better than open chains, dry feet thing nice----buffeting sucks.....they can be expensive to keep in US, ridden a lot.

I am coming more and more to the view that I should replace Silverwing with Forza.
Arguments 'for' are very persuasive, coupled with the delights of having a scooter which I can actually pick up, are making me think very hard.

The frustrating thing, though, is that I have failed in my on line quest to find any prices!

I spend much time Googling and so on and usually manage to winkle out the facts I want but I've drawn a blank.

I shall be reduced to making phone-calls.

As buyer of over 75 new bikes/scooters since 1955, selling price is not everything, back up by dealer/importer means a lot, warranty, etc. Hondas can be expensive, but do not seem to break. I have bought new in Japan, Korea, Germany, US, Italy----usually deal gets serious when you show up with your money.

Understood, John, and I agree with you but as a pensioner myself I need to have some idea before I look too closely.
I've been fortunate with all my maxiscooter purchases to have had good, long-term support both in Belgium and England.

When I bought my used 2015 Forza they were exceedingly rare. It was to be a 2nd scooter and only ridden for 3-4 months a year hence the search for a clean, used model. Anyway, while I was searching there were only TWO used 300 Forzas online in the US!  People must hang on to them, I called on one and it was gone already, the other one was in Las Vegas and I made a deal over the phone then had to take my trailer 240 miles to pick it up!!! Beautiful scoot and it rides flawlessly. But as I said elsewhere it is a bit smaller for me. Certainly does a great job for small to medium jaunts though!

There's low mileage used 2018 Forza 300's starting to appear on UK dealers websites and one or two are discounting new ones in favour of stocking the 2021 350 version.

As for John saying deals get serious when you show up with the money, I doubt if that now has much influence these days in UK dealerships. A salesman makes his commission signing you up to a finance package, a PCP plan, and buying an extended warranty or service package.

Have a look on the Autotrader website Mike, that will give a good idea as to what people are asking.

Thanks, Steve, I will.

I have it in mind to buy 'new', though, as it may well be my last maxi.

I was looking at what thelatest style used Forza's were selling for on Autotrader before I posted earlier today. There's also a dozen used Silver Wings, including a 2015 model.

Just for the halibut I looked at Cycletrader today. Searched for a used Honda Forza 300 within 500 miles of me. Amazing there were 4 units, most in California. So they are hitting the market but I am still happy with the price I paid for mine