VOL. 52 ISSUE 37 SEPTEMBER 15, 2015 P113
BY RENNIE SCAYSBROOK
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JASON ABBOTT
H
olding on for dear life
at 70 mph with the tiny
14-inch front wheel skat-
ing and shaking down the 405,
I seriously began to question
my sanity. And why anyone in
Southern California who travels
more than five miles in a day
would ever own this machine.
Freeways are simply not scooter
territory.
But to judge the Honda Forza
purely on its highway prowess
would be to entirely miss the
point. For despite the hair-raising
ride home, when all I had to
do was travel five miles a day
around the beaches, the Forza
made perfect sense. Its 279cc
of Honda's finest liquid-cooled,
single-cylinder, four-stroke vacu-
um cleaner—I mean, engine—and
a rangy and comfortable chassis
and seat make for a perfect café
or beach cruiser. I say vacuum
cleaner because that's what the
Honda's engine feels like. It's so
smooth, the fuelling so spot-on
you feel like you're on a magic
vacuum ride.
There's enough power to help
you sprint away from most tin-
tops in traffic, although anything
north of a Ninja 300 will blow
you away, taking you to 45 mph
quickly and ahead of the pack.
Accompanying the silky smooth
engine is the Honda continu-
ously variable automatic trans-
mission (CVT), giving light, quick
shifts to keep the engine play-
FORZING AHEAD
HONDA'S SUB-300CC FORZA MIGHT JUST BE
THE IDEAL SCOOTER FOR THE MASSES
