Honda Forza 300 Review (2018-2021)

Ride Quality: The word "quality" is subjective and I'm always a bit sceptical about reviews, but they are absolutely right. Even though I'm a very tolerant rider, accepting the fact that all bikes are a compromise, please make no mistake; the ride quality is APPALLING on anything other than near-perfectly smooth surfaces. The front-end is very heavy and EVERY little bump seems to be mountainously over-exaggerated – to the point that even lightly worn surfaces "ripple" the bike. Virtually nothing gets absorbed, and it frequently bumps you forward on the seat or slams the handlebars. Even the most innocuous dips-n-bumps can catch you out and almost rip-out the bars from under your hands - totally unexpectedly. I'm genuinely concerned that, one day, I'll be in the middle of a corner and WALLOP - I'll be in field-munching mode; even though I have to confess that, despite everything that's been thrown at it, the bike has never succumbed to the wobblies. In the meantime, if your local roads are riddled with potholes, rubbish repairs and sunken drain covers, you'll despair at the constant thudding, thumping and bouncing. I'm sure that the designers just nabbed the front suspension from the CB125 – despite the 350 being almost 50% heavier! It just makes you wonder as to which market the scooter was aimed, as the UK certainly doesn't have the world's worst roads (although it doesn't seem too far away). The solid (crap) suspension, however, is brought into its own when on smooth surfaces. The feedback is excellent and really instils confidence, with the OEM tyres providing a sure-footedness that belies the FORZA's warbling-whale, visual profile. Even in the soaking wet - which is when I had the test ride - I was on bumpy-ish B-roads and STILL doing overtakes that I wouldn't ordinarily contemplate; a testament to its confidence-inducing character. Mind you, I was forced to put the bike through its paces, as there was limited time and opportunity – also assuming that any difficulty in using the controls was merely due to lack of familiarity. After two hours, I found that there was no substantive reason to NOT buy it. Bit of advice though: test the Forza on the WORST roads you can find!For me, the seat hump is juuust a bit too far forward (why they put such massive humps on these seats is beyond me – as all it does is limit the rider's comfort and positioning). The seat itself is wide, quite plush, and is actually the first bike to have never given me a numb-bum. In contrast, though, and despite having 33-inch legs, thick-soled boots and a low seat height, it's surprisingly awkward to get your feet properly on the ground when stationary – unless you're sitting quite far forward on the seat (which – in town - then makes it a merry dance of shuffling back-and-forth). Despite everything, I've never yet felt physically depleted, even after a three-hour sojourn under pretty high-workload conditions. My knees and ankles suffered not one iota (which is what I was seeking in the first place). Is this because the footboards - vertical or horizontal - offer an amazing array of positions for all your lower appendages? In fact it's this flexibility which is its saving-grace because, as much as anything else, the vertical boards allow you to stretch your legs and brace yourself between the seat hump and fairing - in effect acting as part of the suspension system and allowing you to ride a rough surface. This is a pretty nutty notion and is no substitute for good suspension design, though. If I couldn't "brace", then I'd be getting rid of the bike; the ride quality is THAT bad!Slow speed manoeuvring is actually more precarious than you'd expect, and it's almost impossible to take advantage of full-lock, as your knees will get in the way - so sharp weaving in traffic is almost out of the question. Moreover, paddling the bike back and forth is akin to lugging a brick and will reaffirm its 184Kg weight - so just take care when you manhandle it for parking or other positional changes.BRAKES: Mmmm….they're HARD and pretty lifeless. For any substantial stopping-power, the levers hit a wall after the first inch of travel. You need a really determined pull on the levers in order to get them to work with any urgency - especially beyond 30Mph: too hard in my opinion, and too far a stretch - even though I have relatively long fingers. Using the brakes requires a conscious effort of the hand movement - with two-finger, sub-conscious operation only viable in town. Even then, it's easy to under-brake, and I've found myself having to snatch a bit more at the last moment. Fortunately, there's practically no front-end diving, but it still feels as though it's easy to lose control from higher-speed braking, especially if you need to steer at the same time – and that's because you're rarely properly gripping the bars. I'd definitely consider fitting dog-leg levers to bring them closer. To add further anxiety, braking on rough surfaces (in combination with slamming suspension) can easily cause accidental release of the levers (or the throttle), if not complete loss of grip on the bars during the last few feet prior to stopping. In my opinion, and to avoid these safety issues, the front should have twin discs and provide a lighter, more progressive and powerful feel.As yet, I've never triggered the ABS, but I'd hate think how heavily I'd be braking in order to reach that point. Use the engine-braking to its best advantage, though, and you'll hardly need anything more than a gentle squeeze on the levers, and that's on the assumption you PLAN your ride and pay attention. In doing this, you can thoroughly enjoy point-to-point squirting with surprising smoothness and agility.At 4,300 miles, I noticed that the front end was feeling almost disconcertingly jittery (especially at slow speeds) – to the point that I was asking myself if the suspension had finally rattled the bike into disassembly or cracked the steering mechanism. It transpired that the front tyre-tread was surprisingly worn – even though any squaring of the profile wasn't particularly obvious. I'd estimate that you'd be unlikely to get more than about 6,000 out of the front and maybe 7,000 out of the rear. I suppose that the smaller wheel sizes do contribute to a faster wear rate, even though I'm pretty gentle on the throttle.

They've got the engine characteristics absolutely spot-on, but you MUST learn how to use it. Excellent take-off from stationary, to the point where you feel that it could do a burn-out. There's constant torque and smooth acceleration from almost any speed – ultra smooth and vibration-free throughout the speed range - but this is also its flaw - in that if you're taking-off from any curve - you could easily out-accelerate the curve's radius and get the whale-like back-end to step out or cause an understeer.It's essential to understand that the throttle is the primary control point and requires a delicate touch. A surprisingly good level of engine-braking, thus giving the impression of a geared bike, allows you to sweep from one corner to another without much application of the brakes - unless you need to REALLY reduce the speed. The engine braking is, however, a double-edged sword because, in town, start / stop traffic becomes annoyingly jerky. Be warned: the clutch completely disengages at around 2K Rpm, so you suddenly get this uncontrolled freewheeling - but then reapplying the throttle almost immediately kicks-in the acceleration. Around town, this gives a yo-yo riding profile - which just gets really, really annoying after a while. On the open road, the constant torque is a delight, and you will reach legal limits very rapidly, and without much sensation of speed or acceleration. Reading the road and keeping a close eye on the speedo is, therefore, essential 'cos it's far too easy to go blatting up to a corner at an excessive velocity. Get it right, though, and the Forza can be remarkably good through the twisties.

Reliability: Having done 5,000 miles, in 18 months, I haven't encountered any reliability issues. It's always started within a couple of seconds, even having left it standing for a few weeks - although the battery does seem to be a bit weak.Build quality: The quality of materials is becoming worse, yet the prices keep rising. Nuts, bolts, connectors and some paint finishes begin corroding, literally, at the slightest exposure to moisture and road-based contaminants - and I truly mean that. The rot (excuse the pun) seemed to have begun around 2010. I've seen Hondas less than three years old that look like complete wrecks due to peeling paint, rust and general acidic corrosion - yet I've had bikes, in the 1980s, which I had ridden for over 130,000 miles - all through Winter, almost never washed - and still on the original exhausts - with hardly a speck of corrosion anywhere on them. Get a grip, Honda! There's no point in having a bullet-proof engine, glitzy presentation and tecchy-stuff if the rest of the bike just disintegrates - and NO, I'm not going to wash & blow-dry it every time it comes into contact with water; that's just ridiculous!

I opted for the FORZA because of its family history - with its smaller brethren, the 125 and the earlier versions of the 300 – plus the fact that Honda has a history of excellent reliability. The OTR price tag, at £5,900, was within my budget for a new bike, but the nearest equivalent would be the Burgman or the T-Max - both of which are over the £6K mark, with some versions nearer £7K. Even though the scheduled oil & filter changes are at 8K miles, I still do them after 3K (just habit - but nowt wrong with a clean and fresh lube).

INSTRUMENTS: The analogue speedometer and rev-counter are a delight to behold (though why you need a tacho' on a CVT is anyone's guess). It is, however, an aesthetic element that adds a pleasing level of symmetry to the instrument cluster. Very, very easy to read in all light levels and far better than any digital speedo'. The LCD-type panel, containing all the standard data is, again, very easy on the eye and can be read even in the strongest of overhead sunlight. At least, they got that bit right! The best information, though, is the indicator of "Range"; this actually being extremely useful and supplants the need for using the tripmeter and fuel gauge to estimate the remaining distance. The first time I went on a long trip, the Range indicator went right down to about 15 miles - and I was still confident in the value – even though it goes entirely blank when reaching the last 15 miles (very disconcerting). There's also an average fuel consumption indicator – and even on a "progress ride" it was hitting around 95Mpg – giving a solid range of around 230 miles.You can also adjust the back-light for ALL the instruments - but it seems a bit of a faff. The only issue is that having to figure-out which of the "Info A" and "Info B" buttons cycle through which data-set. Reading the manual is very painful – giving over more pages on instruction of how to make the "data" changes than to any other aspect of maintaining your bike – which is, unfortunately, symptomatic of the modern over-emphasis on techhy-stuff rather than the basics. Undoubtedly you will determine your preferential data-set and backlight settings which offer the best compromise and just leave them there for 99.9% of the time.LEFT-HAND BAR SWITCHES: This lot is a total and utter clusterfudge. Way too many buttons, virtually all in the wrong position, and far too close together. There's no allowance for the rider who's wearing even mildly thick gloves. Not only that but, as far as I'm concerned, the swapping of the horn / indicators location, is completely wrong. For virtually all my riding career, the horn has been at the bottom of the cluster - and for very good reason - in that, usually, you need to hit the horn instantly and in an unplanned action. Due to the very seldom need to use the horn, there is no development of muscle-memory – thus you should NOT have to think about where it is or have to make a substantial / conscious effort to move your thumb to the right location. The designers obviously don't ride bikes and, accordingly, have totally failed to realise this - both from a physical and psychological perspective. I've ridden over 9,000 miles and 3+ years on bikes with the "new" switch layout, and I'm STILL failing to instinctively hit the horn.It's very much the same with the relocation of the switches for Traction Control and Passing. Why on Earth have the Traction Control switch being operated with your left index finger (where the Passing switch used to be)? Honda designers: You are NOT constantly changing the Traction Control, so it should be entirely out of the way. The Passing switch is now part of the high / low beam switch - and you have to press it DOWNWARDs with your thumb. This also means that, when changing from high-beam to low-beam, you usually give an accidentally quick "flash" to an oncoming vehicle. Furthermore, you can't feel anything, in addition to the fact that its location requires you to effectively let go of the handlebars. The same psychological and physical elements apply to these two switches, as well as the horn and indicator switches. Once again, Honda have got it all WRONG with bad design and changing things purely for the sake of it. In all seriousness, I've had too many near-miss instances purely because of the inability to hit the horn when needed - thus switchgear layout is now almost the FIRST thing I look at – which is, quite frankly, insane. Good ergonomics and standardisation far outweigh the needs for personal expression of artistic flair & creativity – so, Honda – stop changing switchgear on each different model, thus causing us riders to re-learn everything every time we change our rides: Function over Form, every time: KISS – geddit?CUBBY-HOLE: Useful size - but dangerous, owing to the fact that it's a "push-push" open / closing mechanism - and seems to need exactly the right type of "push" to activate it - but with what also seems to be enough force to potentially push the bike off its side-stand - and maybe even its centre-stand. As yet, I haven't actually used the cubby-hole for storage because the under-seat has proved adequate. Although there is a USB charging-port inside, I'd hate to think how the phone would likely be bashed and bounced around. If you're going to use the cubby-hole to hold your phone - or any other fragile items, then get it padded.LIGHTS: The main headlight gives a goodly display on low-beam – such that on an unlit A-road you could cruise comfortably at 50+mph. On high beam, you should manage to cruise easily at 70Mph – but just watch-out for that really annoying "accidental flash" when switching down to low-beam.BLUETOOTH CLUSTER: No chance, mate. I want to ride my bike with total concentration - not be disturbed by FB notifications or phone calls from Uncle Joe. The button-cluster looks akin to a carbuncle that's just hanging-off the handlebars - and it scarcely manages to avoid interfering with your thumb – and that's when wearing only very thin gloves. Any conventional riding gloves will just cause you to jam your thumb between the grip and bluetooth binnacle – thus causing further potential safety / comfort issues when trying to properly wrap / unfurl your thumb round the bar.WINDSCREEN & FAIRING: You would think that you'd be riding in a cocoon of silence and stillness. Yes, virtually all the wind-blast, as such, is diverted around you, but there are vortices around the outer edges of your body that you don't even realise are there - until you suddenly find that the heat is instantly being sucked away. It was very disappointing to discover that you can get cold very quickly, even at temperatures as high as 14 degrees and with four layers, including a padded leather jacket. For me, at 6ft, the screen is just at the right height on its max setting, giving good visibility over the top of it, serving a bit of noise but essentially no buffeting. Lowering the screen will give a good blast of cooling air during Summer riding (only ever lowered on one occasion). However, if raining, or even just a light shower, all the water runs off the screen and straight onto your gloves. They will become soaked way before any other part of you: Yuk and very annoying! This was one of the very obvious aspects that I discovered during the test ride, yet the rest of me was only mildly wet.Under-seat storage: Nowt to say about it other than very useful and easy to use: Generous, and somewhat awkward in shape - but certainly enough for most day-to-day stuff - including enough space for a small shopping spree.Side and Centre-stands: The side-stand, although easy to deploy, doesn't really reach far enough forward to instill confidence. It's far too easy to knock it off the side-stand with just a minor nudge - and I would absolutely avoid any form of parking whilst facing downhill. Even on a so-called level surface, I get a bit jittery if there's a mild breeze: BEWARE. The centre-stand is very easy to use - even with just one hand. It feels very stable whilst operating it - and with practically zero strain on any of my appendages. You wouldn't know that the bike weighed 184Kg. Great!

Plenty of leg room. Space to stretch out. Longest journey so far 100miles, no pains or stiffness whatsoever.

Ease of use. Performance is perky, 0-60 time is 9-10 seconds.

Only done 4000miles, oil service every 8000m. So not spent anything yet!

The storage "boot" under the seat

Upgradede the suspension with yess. Best inprovment you can do. No more hard bumps.

Service evry 12000km also verry strong engine read sameone had a 150.000km So verry confident

Honda says all

Miss heated seat cruice control and hillasist. Oh and a upgrade in the dachscreen would be nice to.

Suspension needs upgrading unless it's my weight brakes work well and brings the scooter to a controlled stop even when you have to brake in a emergency

Excellent power delivery smooth even at motorway speeds flexible around town this is where honda engeneers are at there best years of experience built into this motor it will last forever

Solid build some paint missing on centre stand due to rideing through winter other than that no problems and I think it will last scooters catch road grime like a magnet underneath as they are so low to to the road surface this scooter will run for years just service as recommended by the manufacturer reliability is built into the honda DNA

Excellent 80 mpg even at motorway speeds all round good economy cheap road tax and insurance as this scooter is less than a year old has not required a service other than the the initial first service which was done before I purchased the machine

It has to be the electric powered screen with the underwear storage area I'm going to miss this on my next bike

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Could do with a few more accessories

Great storage and pillion comfort

Brilliant Engine so smooth and refined even two up with very little loss of power with the passenger

Quality is generally good but a few of the bolt holes are slightly cross threaded noticed this when fitting rear rack. Also battery needs to be fully charged for starting !

Self serviced running costs I've had at least 2 poor dealership services. One where they'd not even checked the coolant level which was very low and caused overheating

Great Storage enough for your sofa and one chair lol

DIY servicing is relatively easy

Back Box gives extra storage although already ample

i remove pads and clean each 6 mths.ride all day

very smooth, better than downtown 300i and burgman 400 also owned in past.i go with a motorcycle club and its taken some member back at its performance on motorwaysalso

6 stars it should be

retired mechanic/mot inspector. done to my standards.

Easily useful as a mini tourer on metalled roads - big generous seat, huge luggage compartment, multiple foot positions to stop the legs becoming tired, no vibrations - perfect for 20-30 miles commutes but easily capable of much longer distances.

Loads of torque, great pickup between 40-60mph - sits at 70 all day on all inclines, also useful engine braking above 15 mph - feels unburstable. The unit has been fitted to the SH 300 and has been remarkably trouble free.

No problems at all - the usual Honda reliability

Very long service intervals for the proven 300 unit

The standard screen is too low for those with long backs - Puig make a great replacement in smoked and clear variants. I have fitted a Givi rack and hand deflectors to keep the wind blast off the hands, also a hugger which keeps a lot of muck off the air box and cooling pipes exiting from the engine. Standard grip heaters work fine with deflectors, but a bit weak without assistance. Standard tyres are great and the charging port is really useful when the phone is using Google Maps, which can drain your phone battery quite badly; it should be a USB port, but the converter only costs £2 from a petrol station.

Sportier handling than my previous BMW GT650 but like most scooters, jumps a bit on rougher roads and bumps.

Engine smooth, economical (90mpg) and feels unburstable. I have used mine for touring with much bigger bikes in France and will run at legal motorway speeds unstressed albeit not much in reserve at 80mph!

Better quality manufacture than my previous BMW scooter and half the price. I would rate build so far as excellent at this price point.

Too new to comment but with enclosed drive, 90 mpg and 8000 mile service intervals it doesn’t appear expensive

Favourite features : Electric screen, 12v socket, helmet storage, light weight and day long comfortable seat. Only equipment I would have added : heated grips, tyre pressure monitors