Honda 350 Forza 500 miles in.

Just thought I would give a little update, just hit 500 miles so going in shortly for the first service.

Seat height is low at 780mm, just puts me on tippy toes a little compared to the wing.

Weight difference is phenomenal so much lighter, I do notice buffeting a little more due to the lower weight but popping onto the centre stand is so much easier.

Great turn of speed even when gently running the engine in, you do notice the slight down in power compared to the Wings two cylinder engine but still a very swift scooter.

Electric windshield is great just press the switch to suit your riding, great in the hot weather to get a face full of cool air, couple of inch taller would suit me better, Givi do a taller option.

Currently averaging 88mpg knocking around town which seems good.

Very happy with it indeed, great alternative to the Silverwing, but having two previously even though the design is getting on a bit the Silverwing is still one hell of a scoot.

It's nice to know you're enjoying your new Forza. As I've waffled on about in previous posts about my 300, I didn't notice any drop in performance at all when I downsized. Are Pirelli Scorpions the OE tyres on the 350? They're shed loads better than the Bridgestone Hoops that were OE tyres on my Silver Wing.

Apart from the short stem on the mirrors, the only other minor gripe on the Forza is the seat latch. The push button opening works fine, it's just the latch can sometimes become temperamental if you try and cram in too much under seat junk.

Thanks for the insight on the 350! I have a 300 and it runs fine but the wind does push it around more than the SWing. An amazing thing is that Honda can give you a bigger engine AND increase the fuel mileage over the 300.  Keep us posted, sadly I doubt we shall ever see it on this side of the pond.

Hi, yes Pirelli standard fit meant.

Only problem I have found is the fuel filler cover does not always pop open when switch pressed but easy to sort until the first service when I will ask them to sort.

Yes those short mirror stems are a pain but I have added a small blind spot mirror to each which has improved things.

The Silverwing mirrors were great with the small bolt on extenders.

Strange.... was looking at a short ..tube video yesterday showing a solution to the fuel lid problem. I've had 2400 miles of no-problem fueling up yet coincidentally today I had the same issue, had to pull lid up with my finger. The solution was to remove the top cover of the flap, 4 screws underneath, and use a needle file to remove some plastic where it rubbing near the catch. Will try tomorrow.

Looks like I need to catch up a bit looks like I am lagging a bit on putting the miles on.

Yes, even when you hold the release button to keep the latch back it still stays down on the odd occasion so must need a bit of a file to sort.

Just applied a very small smear of grease around the catch area not enough to cause any faces to stick together.

Seems ok now, fingers crossed

Removed lid cover (4 screws) filed this edge, works perfectly now.

Has anyone tried fitting a sat nav to the Forza 350 yet? Unless your set up is very light I wouldn't try using a RAM ball plate on the brake fluid reservoirs as even longer screws will work loose like they did on my Silver Wng.

With the 300 and probably the 350 you can’t use the threaded hole used for mirrors on the left handlebar to fit a RAM Stem and RAM Ball as the switch column is too broad to screw in the stem with all the multi-function switches. Even though that looks ideal because the 12v socket is in the glovebox.

Using the right handlebar threaded hole would work but looks unbalanced and untidy because you need a couple of feet of sat nav lead going across to the handlebars.


Central mounting is the way to go. Pop off that silver plastic cover between the handlebars and use the threaded hole there with a RAM Ball mirror mount. The hexagon screw I used was about 2” long and along with a small lockable RAM Mount keeps my Garmin Zūmo sat nav in it's Touratech holder far more securely than the DennisB sat nav mount ever did.

No drooping on the move as my heavy Garmin/Touratech set up used to on the Silver Wing, and none of the instrument displays are obscured when using it. When not using the Garmin I can leave the RAM arm in place and pop the plastic cover back on again.

The only disadvantage over the Silver Wing is the Forza's glove box isn't wide enough for the sat nav in it's holder to store in there.

Hi Meldrew, no not tried fitting sat Nav but thanks for the info, good to know.

It'd be nice if Honda brought this to the States, but I'm not gonna hold my breath...

I'm watching this thread with interest.
I visited the local Honda dealer earlier in the week to sit on a 350 and have a chat with one of the salesmen.
I have booked a test ride for next Wednesday.
The Silverwing is proving too heavy for me to wheel around now but I shall miss it when it's gone.

Even popping onto the centre stand, effortless.

You will love it!

MikeO wrote:

The Silverwing is proving too heavy for me to wheel around now but I shall miss it when it's gone.

I can assure you that within a few days you won't.

Thanks, Meldrew.

Hi Mike, hope it goes well for you, pretty sure you will want to buy it after that test ride.

Thanks, Jamie.

I'm 99% certain it's for me.

It's nice that a demo Forza 350 is available for Michael. Neither my Forza friend Brubaker or myself were offered demo rides when we bought our Forza 300’s in September and October 2018, as our dealersthere had no Forza customer demonstrators at the time. Not that it's that important, I knew within a couple of miles of riding away from the dealership I'd like the Forza.

In the past I've had demo rides and didn't like like the bike or scooter, and I've bought others after a test ride and got rid of them in a matter of months. I've yet to spot a Forza 350 on the road round my area.

I count myself fortunate.
Although I sensed mild indifference at first from the saleman, I was comforted by the fact that there was a good mix of bikes, inculding scooters, in the showroom.
When I asked if they could get me a blue one easily, the man pointed to one in a row down one side of the shop. A good omen, perhaps.

Incidentally, I wasn't given a test ride on my first Silverwing but the first ride, from Ostend to Bruges, convinced me I'd done the right thing.

The next 'Steve' rideout will be advertised so that interested parties can watch as we go past even if joining-in doesn't appeal.

Infamy, infamy, they've all got it in for me

I had a ride up to County Durham and Teesside today on the Forza. As it was it was another 30°C day I dug out my HG mesh vented suit and tipped half a litre of water into my cooling vest before suiting up and setting off.

I also set up my Garmin sat nav between the handlebars of my Forza, not because I didn't know the way to my destination today,  I'll be using it again in a couple of days and hopefully it'll plot a shorter route than me relying on roadsigns. In hindsight I should have put the Glare Buster on the sat nav as today it was hard to see the screen in any great detail. Not helped by me wearing my cycling specs and choosing the  dark reflective lenses.

A rather curious thing happened on the ride back home, riding along at 60-65 I noticed the key symbol on the dash started flashing, it might have been lit for a couple of miles, I knew it was to do with the keyless ignition. Luckily there was a lay-by up ahead and I pulled in and switched the engine off, I noticed the switch locked in that position and the hazard lights had started flashing.

I suspected the flashing key symbol was something to do with the Smart Key in my jacket pocket and somehow I'd switched it off. I'm a bit OCD and I'd probably patted the pocket earlier when road traffic had slowed to a walking pace because of a road traffic accident.

Anyway a press of the Smart Key button and it flashed from red to green, the  surround round the switch lit up to blue, switched the ignition on, pressed the starter and away I went.

Very interesting!

I took the Dealer's demonstrator for a test ride this morning.
I felt very comfortable on the bike from the outset.
I was out for 70 minutes.
Roads of all types; 30 - 70 MPH limits.
Varied surfaces.
Less buffetting than I expected.

Pros: too numerous to mention.
Cons: I'm on the cusp of the screen being tall enough.
The mirrors are crap!

I have already chatted with the salesman about the accessories:
Givi Rack and Box
Givi Hand guards/wind deflectors (he didn't realise Givi did them)
Givi Screen

I was most impressed by acceleration, maintained high speeds, ease of handling both on the road and man-handling.

I have done a deal on the Silverwing - private sale to an excellent home.

Here's the rub: Forza 350s are in very short supply so I may have to wait several months before one becomes available. Paul (the salesmen) started trawling the Dealer Network while I was sitting at his desk. For that reason, I have said I will take whatever comes along in terms of colour - I really don't mind.
I must say also that Paul was a bit distant at first but clearly realises I am serious and really seems to be making the effort; to give him his due he did admit to wanting a sale!

I'm happy to answer questions and I will probably have a few to ask, especially regarding the particular blind-spot mirrors which work. I recall having to fit them on the X9500 but I'd value a more up-to-date view (no pun intended)

This is posted also on MM and X9OC

Could you not use extenders to kick out the mirror & stems?

How did you mount that Cortech super mini tank/tunnel bag?

Sadly not, Tim. Honda had decided to dispense with the usual stems and made posh but unnecessay plastic faired things which are attached to the body, not the handlebars. The indicators are included so if one has a prang, they cost rather a lot to replace.

At one time, I had a set of photos in my album showing ste-by-step how I mounted the bag. I'll have a look and see if they are still there.
If not, I could post them again

Yes, the pictures are still there.
I used wooden dowel and drawing-pins to show how I did it but used aluminium tube and pop-rivits for the real thing.

I am not 100% set on my blind spot mirrors due to the small size of viewing behind but they do help.

The forza 350 does still have the threaded portion on the handle bars where standard bike mirrors could be screwed into but would have to look at clashing with the bodywork plus DONT think they would look that good but worth a look into me thinks.

Maybe the reason why the short stemmed mirrors are the same on the Forza 350 and 300 are due to Honda's target buyers are for this compact Forza are mainly in South East Asia where riders are usually slimmer, and aren't wearing bulky riding gear like we do in the Northern Hemisphere.
I sat on my Forza this evening wearing a t shirt instead of the armoured textile jackets I usually wear and I had less of a view of myself than usual.

Honda didn't get the mirrors right on the Silver Wing either, like loads of other owners I fitted mirror extenders. They improved things but weren't perfect, my OE mirrors tended to work loose if I brushed against them or moved the mirrors to adjust.them. I was constantly tightening them and using Threadlock.. In fact I was only totally satisfied when I changed the Honda mirrors to a pair of Magazzi mirrors that were far superior and had am adjustable and lockable elbow joint. I removed them and put the Honda mirrors back on when I sold the Silver Wing.

Why has this topic gone to a wide screen format?

After the mention of skinny Asians it's most likely to accommodate fat Westerners

Having trouble posting, not ignoring anyone.

I wonder if it's because of the link in an earlier post; I've noticed similar before but not so dramatic.

Ah ha! Thanks Mike. Your suggestion that the wide format might have been triggered by that lengthy (~9 lines) eBay link I posted regarding mirror extenders was spot on. I deleted that link and we are back to normal.

Now we know.

It's interesting that Old Limey's SYM Cruisym 300 has the same style of bodywork mounted mirrors as the Forza 300 and 350 but without turn signals/running lights on them. He has never mentioned the mirror stems being too short.

Right, rehydration break over, it's back to refitting the front wheel on my Dutch Workcycles GR8 outside in the sun again. The front tyre which was due for replacing punctured on my evening ride yesterday evening and I had to push a heavy 55lb bike about three miles back home. Luckily I already had a new front tyre and inner tube which I've just installed.

Result!

Thanks, Tim.

Just been looking at the 180 degree mirrors that attach to the inside of the windshield.

Don’t know if anyone has any knowledge on them?

You mean the Riderscan 180° mirror, I think one of the UK members on here buying one a few years ago. It may have been Old Limey but I could be wrong, and if it was, he tried it for a time and then removed it.

I remember a topic on Riderscan mirrors on some random biker forum I stumbled upon and the few posts I read were on the lines of 'it'll never replace lifesavers' etc.

Certainly an alternative, albeit more expensive, to that Riderscan mirror would be the SAENG Quick Scan windshield mount blind spot mirrors.

https://saeng.com/product/quick-scans/

Cosmic_Jumper wrote:

Certainly an alternative, albeit more expensive, to that Riderscan mirror would be the SAENG Quick Scan windshield mount blind spot mirrors.

https://saeng.com/product/quick-scans/

G'day Timothy, I bought a couple of those Quickscan mirrors back in the Nineties from SAENG, pre internet sales and all that. I also used their Stealth screen edging.

I fitted them to both sides of the Sprint Manufacturing two piece screen I had on to my Helix, and very good they were too. They complimented the frame mounted mirrors.

Back then I'd airmail my order to SAENG with US dollars in cash and they're send me the stuff.

Years later I sold the Sprint screen complete with Quickscan mirrors to a Helix obsessive on another maxi forum which I regret now as I later found out he was a complete and utter tool.

JamieB wrote:

Just been looking at the 180 degree mirrors that attach to the inside of the windshield.

Don’t know if anyone has any knowledge on them?

I'm not sure how they would work with the 6" movement of the electric screen, requiring their adjustment at different heights. My opinion is the mirrors work ok for me, took a while to adapt from the Swing's mirrors tho'.

Just came across this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9EX_VHpj3w
Might be of interest to any member who has or is thinking of getting a Forza.

I'm trying to curb my impatience in having to wait months for my Forza by planning and experimenting in my mind how to mount my satnav on the bike and rereading and watching all the reviews.

In the light of what's been said here I took the train up to Newcastle to visit the Dealer's and take a few pictures of the back side of the handlebars; I did phone in advance to check that it was okay.

I have to say that the chaps and chapesses there are very welcoming and Paul, my man, spent considerable and valuable time looking on line at and discussing the various options.

I think he's actually quite interested and has assured me I can visit as often as I want. I know there's an element of 'good business' for him, especially finding out all about mounts and things, but I know I talk too much on occasions and am not surpirised if people have to cut me off!
He even prised off the central panel and we investigated, noting especially (for me) the threaded hole to which Meldrew referred earlier in this thread. I noted just now when re-reading the thread that to use this hole will not block the view of the dash.

I won't post the picture but reckon that if I do use the unused mirror holes on the bars, a pair of mirror risers - a straight 'bar' with a threaded hole in one end and a screw thread cut on the other should just fit on the LH end where the clearance is very restricted. One thought is to have a bar fixed between them on which I can hang the satnav.
If you go to Amazon and search for 'mirror risers' you should find them amongst all the 'mirror extenders'.*

I value observations, as you know.

There are several possibilities and I will keep looking at them to see the one I like best.

* https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B097K35VQ1/?coliid=IGEREXU0O2GXV&colid=3GSGGSZHYKZUF&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

I've decided that it's more or less time to move on from my fairly rough 2004 SW. It's too hard on fuel at motorway speeds and too short ranged. Engaging warp drive for full motorway speeds leaves me always needing to fuel up on a fairy regular 100 mile / 160 Km trip I make.

Unfortunately the decision comes just after I've gotten the major bugs out of the old cow and fitted tires, brake pads, front brake pistons and seals and another new Givi screen. The clutch improved itself without me doing anything to it. Nice and all as it is to ride, it's rough as and I won't get much/anythng for it.

I won't rush into it but I think a late type Forza 300 will fit my pocket.

I have just received a telephone call from Paul of Newcastle Motorcycles. The call is good news and a precursor of even better news to come!

The arrival of my Forza is imminent!

I have deliberalty not phoned him since my last visit two weeks ago, not least because he said he'd phone me as soon as he had any news. The upshot is that I might have to wait for a couple more weeks but I will be able to contain my renewed excitement, knowing things are under way.

The next call should be to give me a registration number for the bike and so on and the Givi box and rack have to be bought and fitted.
Paul said 'October' and even if I have to wait it will still be October!

O frabjous day!

Incidentally, after discussion with Paul, I've gone off hand-guards. Much to my surprise, when we were discussing the matter two weeks ago, he suggested muffs. I was a bit surprised as I know many riders are rather scornful of them. I have always found them to my liking and, quite by chance, have a brand new pair of Givi Universal ones still in the box.

(I'll copy and paste this post on my other scooter forums, too)

Hi Mike,

Great news on the scooter you will really enjoy it.

You have got me thinking now about bar muffs, I will be looking at the Givi universals you have mentioned.

Thanks, Jamie.

Muffs take a bit of getting used to but if you can, I'm sure you'll be pleased.
They cut out wind-chill completely, allowing me to wear summer gloves all year round.
The Givi muffs aren't totally waterproof but it's only in ridiculous downpours that water gets through after a while and again, in the unlikely event of gloves getting wet, hands stay warm because the gloves/hands are out of the wind.

How awkward is it to reach the headlight dip switch or horn? Or, dare I ask, scratch your nose? 

The muffs I have might be described as capacious, Tim.
As I said: one has to get used to them but they don't obstruct any of the controls.
I should have said in my previous post that itis important to have the strap connecting the two muffs quite slack so each one has freedom to flop about a bit. This means that it's the wrists/arms which keep them in place apart, that is, from the laces at the inner end.
It occurs to me that I will have to experiment a bit as usually the laces tie round the wing mirrors ... which are too far away on the 350.

Watch this space!

I received a phonecall just now from Paul at Newcastle Motorcycles to tell me the Forza will be ready for collection this time next week. It won't have all the extra bits on as they take a while to come (from Italy, probably) but he's going away for a week and wants to make sure I have the bike before he goes. (Top box and taller screen).
I will arrange to go up again in due course to have them fitted.

Hurrah!

Nice to know you're finally getting your Forza. You can very easily fit the taller Givi screen yourself as it's very simple. Unlike that fiasco when fitting an Airflow to the Silver Wing, you don't have to ease off the windscreen garnish with a plastic card and hope you don’t break any of those brittle plastic tabs doing it.

Neither are they any captured nuts hidden under the plastic , or wondering “should I or shouldn’t I use the metal brackets”, because there aren't any. Just undo the four screws holding on the OE screen, take off the Honda screen, and replace it with the Givi, and slip the screen garnish back on.

I had my higher screen fitted installed and went out for a ride within a couple of hours of getting it delivered from Italy.

Thank you very much indeed!

I did have a look at the DIY video for the screen and realised it was still within my DIY envelope but it's good to have it confirmed by someone who's done it.
I fitted the Airflow to my first Silverwing; as you suggest, it was a PITA although worth the effort.

I think my first outings on the Forza will be in the wet - a pity but that's life. I'm going through all the stuff in my mind about wearing-in the tyres and so on; reminders welcome.