Hello from Northern California

[TonyM]

Hi all! I'm brand new to this forum after buying a 2015 Honda Forza 300ABS a few days ago. I've been busy trying to get it "broken in" and so far I have 203 miles on it. The dealer told me that I have to "take it easy" for the first 300 miles to break in the brakes and the tires - that's a new one to me. It used to take around 100 miles in the past. Anyway, my Forza is currently absolutely stock but I do have a tall Honda windscreen on order as well as a Givi mounting plate for my Givi topcase. Those will be installed by the dealer when I take it back for the 600 mile service.

I traded in my 2008 Burg 400 when I bought the Forza. I now miss my Burg badly. I have to say that if I had known how bad the suspension is on the Forza, I would not have bought it. It's probably not a big deal to most riders but I have a really bad low back that really feels the jolts and bumps that go right up my spine.

Also, riding home from the dealer last Friday, I really thought that I was not going to make it over the very tall Antioch Bridge. The strong Delta Breeze was blowing like a hurricane and it felt that the scooter was going to be swept out from under me. I had never had that type of unsettling experience with my motorcycles or previous scooters when crossing the bridge.

The scooter has some positives that include being lightweight; peppy; quiet; and very agile, especially in town and the local roads.

I knew that it would have less storage space than the Burg so I won't comment on that.

I look forward to reading this forum!

[tbln930]

Welcome! Why did you swtich to a Forza from a Burg?

[TonyM]

I switched from my Burg to the Forza for two main reasons: One reason is that I was looking for a lighter scooter or motorcycle with ABS. As I said, I have a really bad low back (two surgeries so far) and I was beginning to hurt worse whenever I pushed it around in and out of the garage, parking spaces, etc.

Secondly, I no longer trusted the dealer that had been doing my service and repair needs and there are no other Suzuki dealers within a reasonable distance. My Burg was getting "old" and racking up miles. It was going to need a number of new parts and work which would have cost me quite a bit of cash. And who was going to do this expensive work for me?

I did check out some motorcycles but my physical problems discouraged me from going back to a lightweight motorcycle. So I then checked out the Forza (I do not care for Kymco's and I would have needed to use the same dealer that I no longer want to go to). The Forza seemed like it would fit my needs.

Unfortunately, the dealers that had the Forzas in stock did not have any demo bikes for me to ride. I did see a new, unsold 2014 Burg 400ABS on sale. But it was quite some distance away and I still would have had the weight problem to deal with and the dealer problem. I will just try to make the Forza work for me for the time being.

[Panther]

Hi TonyM: I have/had exactly the same problem. I have a bad lower back and when I hit a pot hole etc, the resulting jolt sent a sharp pain into my lower left back area. I have just had the seat reupholstered, just got it back a couple of days ago. The ride is much better now...not perfect, but much better. I also had the seat re styled slightly so its not quite so wide and is now much easier to flat foot at stops. I too used to have a Burgman 400, several bikes back, and don't recall any harshness in the suspension.

[TonyM]

Panther, great that your seat reupholstering job has somewhat worked for you. I have a pad that I bought a couple of years ago and I dug out and have started using on my Forza. It helps alot but I still feel the sudden, sharp painful jolts up my spine. The pad does increase the seat height but I am able to handle that by wearing my old Corbin boots which have nice high soles and heels on them.

The pad is made by Butt Buffer and it is very nice but I don't know if the company is still in business. It's not a gel pad so it doesn't get cold in the winter or hot in the summer.

The light weight of the Forza helps with making it easier to hold it up at stops. I can't wait until it's broken in so that I can take it on a road trip.

[Mel46]

I do not have a Forza, just my little pcx, but i have had 6 back surgeries from an accident while I was in the military. My wife told me that I could not have another motorcycle, so the pcx is my fun ride. I started off with a beautiful Burgman 400, which was great. I rode it for about 14 months. She had a pcx 150 and we rode as a team. One day we were discussing the problem of me being able to maneuver into the small places she was able to do with little effort. As you know, the Burgman is a great scooter for freeway riding and back country roads, but when it comes to sudden turns into alley ways and making quick U-turns it is a bit bulky and sometimes can not make the turn. We decided that if most of our riding was to be local then it would be better for me to have the same type of scooter as she had. I traded down and bought a pcx 150 just like my wife's. However, the pcx is small enough that Both of Us felt the bumps. My wife had a problem with being short, so changing the shocks would only work if we could get some that would also lower the bike. Takegawa lowering shocks worked great on both bikes. I also bought a custom seat. Between these two things, my back can now handle long rides. In the end, I think changing your shocks AND your seat will make a big difference in your ride.

[TonyM]

Mel46, thanks for the info. If you don't mind, where did you purchase the Takegawa shocks and the custom seat?

When I owned the Kymco S250, I went to a motorcycle/car upholstery shop in Sacramento but they said that they couldn't do anything for that seat without adding material to it and making even higher. It was already too tall for me. But the suspension on that scooter was the worst ever so I sold it. That's the only shop for many miles that might do any work on scooter seats.

I owned my Burg 400 for about 7 yrs and practiced with it so I could make tight turns and manuever it nicely. Now, I've been practicing with my Forza so that I can do the same thing with it. The Burg was much better on Interstates & highways than the Forza. But the Forza is so much lighter and easier to push in and out of my garage and in tight parking spaces.

Glad to hear that you can still ride after six surgeries. I've only had two on my low back.

[Mel46]

Where I purchased parts for my pcx may be completely different from sites the sell Forza parts. Others within the Forza community would be a better source than me. Still, if someone has shock suggestions for your Forza, I am sure they will be glad to help you. Same with seat mods.

On the subject of my Burgman, I could handle most of the tight turns. However, one of the problems I had was when we would reach a stop sign on a hill, at a sharp angle to the right. While my wife's pcx could handle a stop at that angle, my Burgman was soo heavy that it had a desire to fall over to the right OR roll backwards while falling over. To me it was an impossible angle. Once I traded down to the pcx the hill was still difficult, but manageable. There were also some alley ways that were tight, and the turn into them was too tight for the Burgman without stopping and backing up to readjust the angle.