Honda Reveals the 2020 Forza 300

[admin]

The Maxi-Scooter for Long Distances​

Maxi-scooters are ready for more than just city streets. While most people think of smaller, city-bound machines when they think of scooters, there are larger machines built for touring, and the 2020 Honda Forza 300 is just that. Honda revealed a new version of its Forza 300 recently and the scooter looks pretty good.

The bike comes with a retractable wind visor with 140mm of adjustability, a sporty overall look with sharp features, and generous storage. You can fit two full-face helmets under its seat. There’s also a lockable storage compartment on the left side that has a 12-volt power outlet.

In terms of what moves the scooter, you get a 279cc liquid-cooled SOHC single-cylinder engine that makes 19 hp. The top speed of the scooter is about 80 miles per hour, meaning it’s easily highway capable. You won’t keep up with most motorcycles, but you’ll be able to highway cruise easily. The company has yet to announce an official price or full availability, according to RideApart. I think the bike looks good, but I know Honda doesn’t sell many of these in North America.

The post Honda Reveals the 2020 Forza 300 appeared first on webBikeWorld.

Continue reading...

 

[670cc]

I’m surprised Honda would have another go at selling the Forza 300 in the US. It didn’t sell very well the first time around.

 

[New Commuter700]

One of the commenters says it's 18.5 Kw, or about 25 hp. I was wondering how they could get 80 mph out of less than 20 hp. I am wondering how many rpm's that's running at 80 mph? This is one of the issues with these 'great mileage' scooters, they often get better mileage off the freeway than on it.

I'll keep my NC that turns about 3k rpm's at 70 and gets over 70 mpg while doing it, thank you.

 

[670cc]

One of the commenters says it's 18.5 Kw, or about 25 hp. I was wondering how they could get 80 mph out of less than 20 hp. I am wondering how many rpm's that's running at 80 mph? This is one of the issues with these 'great mileage' scooters, they often get better mileage off the freeway than on it.

I'll keep my NC that turns about 3k rpm's at 70 and gets over 70 mpg while doing it, thank you.

My wife has a Reflex 250, which is the precursor to the Forza 300. The Reflex 250 makes about 21 HP. I’ve had the Reflex up to about 79 mph on the speedo. I’d guess the actual number is fudged a little by the speedo, but it actually can keep up with highway traffic, at least what we have around here. The redline is about 8300, and if I remember right the engine runs at close to 7000 at top speed.

As with most any vehicle, mileage is better at lower speeds, say 45 mph. So yes, the scooter gets better mileage off the highway. We run our Reflex scooter on rural backroads and it averages 73.5 mpg. The Reflex is carbureted whereas the newer Forza is fuel injected, so the Forza will likely do better. The CV transmission does a good job of keeping the RPM in the best range for power, but unfortunately, being the it’s an automatic, you don’t have total control of RPM for best mpg as you would with a manual transmission. If it was a manual, I’d bet I could get over 80 mpg out of the scooter, as I can with my CRF250.

My NC700X averages around 76 mpg, and includes highway travel. The NC is more efficient than the mid sized scooters.

 

[New Commuter700]

My wife has a Reflex 250, which is the precursor to the Forza 300. The Reflex 250 makes about 21 HP. I’ve had the Reflex up to about 79 mph on the speedo. I’d guess the actual number is fudged a little by the speedo, but it actually can keep up with highway traffic, at least what we have around here. The redline is about 8300, and if I remember right the engine runs at close to 7000 at top speed.

As with most any vehicle, mileage is better at lower speeds, say 45 mph. So yes, the scooter gets better mileage off the highway. We run our Reflex scooter on rural backroads and it averages 73.5 mpg. The Reflex is carbureted whereas the newer Forza is fuel injected, so the Forza will likely do better. The CV transmission does a good job of keeping the RPM in the best range for power, but unfortunately, being the it’s an automatic, you don’t have total control of RPM for best mpg as you would with a manual transmission. If it was a manual, I’d bet I could get over 80 mpg out of the scooter, as I can with my CRF250.

My NC700X averages around 76 mpg, and includes highway travel. The NC is more efficient than the mid sized scooters.

yea, my problem with motorcycles for years was why they couldn't get better freeway mileage. Small engine cars can get over 40 hwy while making only around 25 city but it depends more on gearing than anything. This NC was the answer to my question. It definately gets better freeway mileage than city, at least if I run the speed limit. Like my little pickup, running it over 70 mph lowers the mileage signifacantly. I think the next step for Honda should be to build a low rpm 1 liter bike that is geared to run over 110 mph but gets around 80 mpg on the freeway at 75 mph. It won't be quick and comparing all the other numbers with other 1 liter bikes it will fall short but it will be a much better long commuter bike than the NC 7000 was.

 

[DirtFlier]

Is there really a demand for a 1000 cc bike that will get 80 mpg on the freeway? People who buy litre-size bikes are not concerned about fuel economy - unless the bike has a tiny gas tank!

 

[670cc]

yea, my problem with motorcycles for years was why they couldn't get better freeway mileage. Small engine cars can get over 40 hwy while making only around 25 city but it depends more on gearing than anything. This NC was the answer to my question. It definately gets better freeway mileage than city, at least if I run the speed limit. Like my little pickup, running it over 70 mph lowers the mileage signifacantly. I think the next step for Honda should be to build a low rpm 1 liter bike that is geared to run over 110 mph but gets around 80 mpg on the freeway at 75 mph. It won't be quick and comparing all the other numbers with other 1 liter bikes it will fall short but it will be a much better long commuter bike than the NC 7000 was.

Small cars get better mileage than motorcycles because they have less aerodynamic drag, and they don’t have oversized engines for their application. Motorcycle design would need to focus on reducing drag to improve on efficiency at highway speed. I don’t think the market is really interested in that.

 

[New Commuter700]

Small cars get better mileage than motorcycles because they have less aerodynamic drag, and they don’t have oversized engines for their application. Motorcycle design would need to focus on reducing drag to improve on efficiency at highway speed. I don’t think the market is really interested in that.

Aerodynamics does play a very large part in fuel economy, that's why creating a fuel efficient motorcycle that would do over 110 is a fool's errand. But that is not the only factor. I believe that we could have a bike that will cruise around 75 on the open road while sipping fuel because weight is a very large factor as well. Aerodynamics could be increased on a bike that won't go over 100 mph without compromising much else.

But you may be right in that most people don't care about a bike like that, after all we have fewer choices here in the us for small, efficient cars because our fuel prices are still relatively low. Until we are paying over $5 per gallon we are probably going to keep seeing huge SUVs, 'rolling coal' pickups and cruiser bikes that need fuel every 100 miles or so.

 

[670cc]

Except for how it affects tire heating from flex and friction on the road surface, I don’t think weight plays any role in the efficiency of a motorcycle running at a constant speed.

Depending on gas prices, for some motorcycles tire replacement costs per mile are as much as the fuel. As long as motorcycles have high priced, short lived tires, going after ultimate fuel economy to reduce overall operating costs is rather futile. When motorcycle tires cost the same as car tires and last 50,000 miles, and when frequent maintenance costs like valve adjustments and chain replacements are reduced, then we can focus more on fuel economy.

 

[ld_rider]

I'm pretty confident that all "normal" vehicles will get better efficiency at lower speeds.

If you run a tank of fuel through your NC at say, 70 mph and and then compare the MPGs with a tank run at 35 mph you will see that slower speeds are more efficient (higher MPGs).

As pointed out, wind resistance is a significant factor in why lower speeds yield higher efficiencies.

Unlike other forms of friction (and consequent efficiency losses) drag increases or decreases only relative to the velocity of the vehicle. The higher the velocity, the higher the drag, regardless of the efficiency or inefficiencies of the engine/drivetrain/ tire/ systems.

Drag = Cd * Area * .5 * air density * V^2

That V squared at the end of the drag equation is what kills efficiency at higher speed. Difference between the drag of say, a velocity of 70 mph squared and 35 mph squared is substantial.

Higher drag means more twisting of your right hand ;-)

Engines are most efficient at a particular "sweet spot" (RPM). Higher or lower RPMs and efficiency will drop. That is why ICE vehicles have multiple speed transmissions and vehicles with motors typically don't (Porsche Taycan excepted).

Typical ICE might reach 35% efficiency, a motor can easily reach 90%

I'm guessing if a vehicle is designed for predominately highway use, it will have "highway" gearing, but most vehicles are probably geared somewhere in the middle, hence their greater efficiencies at slower speeds.


I think the reason city MPGs "appear" to be measurably less than highway MPGs is because of traffic lights and other frequent stopping that keeps the engine running (and using fuel) while the vehicle is stationary. That obviously eats into overall mpg calculations: Distance / fuel burn

I live in a rural area with speed limits in towns of 35 mph or so. No traffic lights and almost no traffic. My 4x4 pickup truck will easily get 26 mpg under those conditions, When I take it on my 60 mile round trip commute to work on I-95 were the speeds are 70+ mph the mileage drops to "maybe" 20 mpg.

 

[ld_rider]

Until we are paying over $5 per gallon we are probably going to keep seeing huge SUVs, 'rolling coal' pickups and cruiser bikes that need fuel every 100 miles or so.

I think you hit the nail on the head right there ^^^^
Motivation is directly linked to most people's wallet

More wallet hurt = more motivation ;-)