Touring/long trips on Forza

[ScooterMan]

I just did 240 mile round trip in a day to the NHRA drag races in Pomona, CA with my 12yr old son on the back who is 5' 0" and weighs 85lbs. Moved along at decent speeds on the freeway. 2/3 - 3/4 of the trip was spent in full race tuck with him laying down on my back behind me! I'm only 150lbs, so I feel for you guys that are heavier at 200 or 225lbs. The PCX lacks grunt for the hwy's. But in a tuck with both of us, we managed 70-75mph the whole way minus a few areas where the hills had us slowing down to no less than 60mph. Sitting up droppped speeds from 70-75mph to 60-65mph.

That was the most I've ever done in a day. Sux that I had to sacrafice riding comfort by tucking down in order to be able to achieve the speeds needed for the trip. With me solo, it's much more manageable, but even solo, I still go racer tuck up hills to get an additional 5-7mph more and achieve better mpg.

But, I'm hooked on the PCX. Any larger of a scooter, and the fuel economy drops significantly to where it makes sense to just get a motorcycle. For example, Forza vs CB300F. Not that they're that comparable, but the CB300F is capable of 100mph and rated at 72mpg while the Forza is 100lbs heavier approx and rated at only 68mpg and top speeds of 75-80mph (so I've heard).

I'm eyeing a fresh bike though...always am really, have owned 30 diff bikes. Really liking the CB300f or especially for $1k more the new KTM390 Duke coming out. Also around 70mpg, and 44hp and 306lbs. Of course it doesn't have the utility of a scooter, but me with a bad back, scooter suspensions are a major downside to me. At least our freeways are smooth out here in San Diego.

[SECoda]

I met a local guy at my Honda dealer with another 2014 Forza w/o ABS and he says his stock Forza hits the rev limiter right at 87 mph on his on level ground and he is a pretty big guy. He also said it gets up to 80 mph pretty quickly but then slowly after that. Big hills can slow things down a bit. I read some guys are changing the muffler/CVT parts to get them into the mid to upper 90s but I am sure the mileage drops accordingly. Oh - we are at 450 ft elevation.

[Monty1952]

I met a local guy at my Honda dealer with another 2014 Forza w/o ABS and he says his stock Forza hits the rev limiter right at 87 mph on his on level ground and he is a pretty big guy. He also said it gets up to 80 mph pretty quickly but then slowly after that. Big hills can slow things down a bit. I read some guys are changing the muffler/CVT parts to get them into the mid to upper 90s but I am sure the mileage drops accordingly. Oh - we are at 450 ft elevation.

I think it gets to about 65mph quite quickly but the next 20mph is much slower. Not slow period but slower.
A lot depends on your normal riding conditions. I am in Toronto so big city traffic and a massive amount of building happening which means crazy dump truck drivers paid by the load and generally speeds in the 75mph range or stop and go. For the most part the Forza has not let me down in speed but to keep up with traffic which experts say is a safety factor means I am often riding at the limits of acceleration, not so much top end speed.
I am just not sure that riding across the continent will bring about drivers that fall into the passive category too often. Anyway I will see what some longer test runs in spring show. Right now we have somewhere around 0 degrees F with the wind chill so I can only dream of trips to come!

[AKforza]

The Forza is no rocket but I've run it up Manua Kea several times that's pulling 15-18% highway grades from sea level and have passed several cars and trucks holding 60-65 MPH. Its not the fastest but its certainly not the slowest on the road. While I'm using WOT most times I'm not expecting more because I know its under 300 cc. I'm actually pretty impressed it performs as well as it does. Flat highway you can do 65-70 all day long and with touring gear all the better as I consider the bike a little light at speed. Wind can be an issue and the Trades on the island can be a lot more than a gentle breeze. Extra weight helps. Agree gas gauge on small tanks are inaccurate but when the needle is pinned on empty I know I can make 60 miles easy. Still avg 74 MPG after 2000 miles.

Would I try long distance? hell yes.

Would I like more speed? Ask that question to anyone who rides a comparable bike under 400 cc what do you think the answer will be?

What do I think of the Forza capability within its design specifications ? Spot on for what it was built for.
my 2 cents

[SECoda]

Sounds perfect for my use. Moderate range touring. These low and mid-range scooters have very low fatality rates for a reason. Not too heavy and moderate power. The folks buying them tend to be more conservative operators. 25 HP vs. 90 or 100 HP and 190 mph.

[Monty1952]

Lots of good feedback to my original post - a good friend of mine politely to me to get over any concerns and read a book Old Man On A Bike by Simon Gandolfi which I have just started. Really good so far and worth checking out folks.