Scooter Review Honda NSS250 Forza X With a Forza in the shed the last thing you need is a key in the hand. 250cc scooter Agile & urbane $8990+orc
Words by PETER COX, photography by KEVIN LING Somewhere in Japan there is a Honda designer kicking against a universal law. It isn’t the “toast lands jam-side down”, “computers crash when you haven’t saved” or “speed cameras are at the bottom of steep hills” laws, it is the “wrong pocket” law.
Like me, this designer has often walked toward a scooter with one hand full of stuff. Maybe it’s groceries, could be booze, maybe it’s a helmet and bike gear. But the necessary key is always in the pocket furthest from his free hand. If you too have this problem we could form a mutual support group, or we could all buy Honda Forza X scooters.
 So long as you have the little key card secreted about your person the Forza senses your approach and electronic doo-dads prepare for action. Need somewhere to put your phone? Hit the “BOX” button behind the fairing and a large glove box opens. Got a handful of groceries? Just stroll up and hit the “SEAT” button and the seat unlocks. Prefer a better view over the traffic? Press “BOX” and “SEAT” at the same time and the seat height raises to “box seat” position give you a better view. Okay, that last one is just my little joke. But once you come to trust the system the convenience is fantastic, even if once the ignition is on, the key ceases to have any effect, allowing you to ride
off and leave the key behind.
When you get over the gee-whizzery and get behind the controls the experience is all Honda. The Forza has a simple chrome handlebar with familiar Honda switches and controls. I like it, as I am getting jaded with scooter cockpits that have every surface shrouded in car-style plastic. The Forza look across the controls and instrument panel is clean and purposeful.
From other angles it’s a bit of a struggle as the Forza isn’t a classic maxiscooter or a familiar big wheel scooter. I liked the low screen for zipping around town on warm days but the cut down look leaves the scooter with very different proportions from its maxi-scooter competitors. With the low screen and wide fairing it looks a bit, to be honest, like a barrel. Cut the screen down on any maxi-scooter and you’d get a similar result. The wide, protective fairing combines with a deeply padded seat and bodywork that bulges around the underseat storage to create an efficient shape for its purpose. I tried out a few names for the style, such as Barrel Glide or Tubby Boy, but these are a bit too close to the names Harley-Davidson trademarks for its designs. The Forza is a chopped maxi but Maxi-Chop doesn’t do it either.
 Out on the road the Forza quickly makes style questions irrelevant as it is a delight at urban speeds in traffic. The steering, suspension and balance are simply brilliant. The low rider seating position puts all the weight low and leaves the scooter easy to control at very low speeds. Steering lock is extraordinary, with the handlebars moving smoothly from extremes of left and right turns without any extra effort. There is no sensation of cables binding the steering or extra effort near the extremes of handlebar movement, just smooth precision that allows very tight U-turns and absolute confidence at very low speeds. This light, accurate steering is no doubt helped by the relatively narrow, 110-90/13-inch front tyre.
Visually this tyre is overwhelmed by the widely spaced forks and the broad fairing , much as the rear 12-inch tyre, this time a wider 130/80, is dwarfed by the bodywork and plush seat. It’s a scooter thing. In the case of the Forza, the focus on luxury commuting means that there is almost a full size motorcycle fi t-out for the top half and scooter rigging below the knees. The seat is large, shapely and deeply padded and is as comfortable as the seats found on Honda’s Gold Wing and ST1300 tourers. The wider fairing gives good weather protection for the lower body and legs, although the short windscreen means your upper body is more exposed. Wide bodywork means there is also plenty of room for lights. Up front the dual headlights are great, offering excellent spread on low beam and good distance on high beam just in case you find a dark street in the city. Unlike big wheel scooters, which generally have their fuel under the seat, the Forza has its tank low and forward. This releases more storage space under the seat at the cost of a large hump in the middle of the floor board which separates your feet and makes it more difficult to carry cartons of beer or trays of mangos.
 There is no luggage hook on the back of the fairing as the space between the fuel tank hump and the handlebars is too short. Where will I carry the family pack of toilet rolls? They certainly won’t go under the seat despite the claimed 62 litres of storage. You can believe Honda when they say that two helmets or a briefcase can fi t under the seat, as there is plenty of room; however, it is split into two sections with space for one helmet under the front of the seat and then a larger space under the pillion seat stretching back deep into the bodywork. Access to this rear space is restricted because only the front half of the seat can be raised. The two areas of luggage space are separated by a shallower space between the top of the engine and the seat base so longer items should fit. The low, plush seat is great and cut-outs in the footboards make it easy to get your feet firmly on the ground. I wouldn’t mind a little more legroom, though, as I often felt like I was sitting on a low chair with my knees higher than my hips. My wife, who has shorter legs, had no complaints but it felt a little weird at first to me.
One surprise on the motorcycle-derived instrument panel is the tacho. It told me that the scooter didn’t redline and usually worked the engine in the 4000 to 6000rpm rev range. This is good sense as the Forza’s maximum torque is at 5500rpm and reflects the scooter’s focus on urban commuting. From a standing start at the lights or roundabout entry the Forza accelerates smoothly away. There isn’t a big push in the back from the 250cc single but 60, 80 and 90km/h come up quickly. The smooth surge of acceleration is ideal around town and provides exactly the performance a 125 or 150cc scooter doesn’t. It’s twist and go, not twist and wait.
Highway performance is less convincing, with the excellent urban dynamics finally showing their cost. While the engine is still happy to push on past 100km/h the steering, so light and responsive up to 70, starts to feel a little too light and responsive as the speedo heads past 90km/h. This, combined with cross winds pushing the large fairing and unprotected, upright rider, make the Forza feel more nervous on the highway than its slower steering, big wheel competitors. Keep the Forza in its preferred urban environment, however, and you will enjoy its luxury appointments, light steering, smooth power and the convenience of a scooter that comes alive when you are nearby.
published 1/07/2007 |