Honda Forza 350

[Greyerbeard]

What do forza 350 owners think of that addendum named Honda Smartphone Voice Control - personally I think it looks like an afterthought and surely must interfere with the riders knees - and I doubt whether the setup would be hand muff friendly

It doesn't interfere with the knees, or anything else in my experience.
I do think it's an ugly and pointless excrescence; and a luddite like me wouldn't use it anyway - why would I want to be on the phone or listening to music while enjoying riding, and I'm quite capable of reading a map thanks!
Anyway it's academic because the app won't recognise my Android phone (not compatible??) so it's all pointless.
I'll let you know when I put my muffs on - you certainly wouldn't be able to use it without taking your hand out!

[scootabout]

It hits my knee if I turn the bars fully left. Not generally a problem, but the issue is more that it is ugly, an afterthought and generally of no use to most riders. My friend suggested that it would be easy to remove (seems to be hooked on the bar and there will be a connector hidden away), anybody done this yet?

[Data]

Thats good news Mike,i guess you’ll get it serviced there,i paid the £599.00 for three services,pretty sure your 300cc falls in to the same bracket,i guess all Honda dealers are operating the same scheme,as far as I remember it includes the basic stuff needed,oil,filters but not consumables such as brake pads,tyres…..

I was just idling around the net and stumbled on details of the Honda fixed price service plan, and I found out a couple of things that don't impress me.
1) It says 3 services, but one of the three is the 600 mile service - you know that one that used to be Free apart from oil. So its £599 for 2 and a bit services, rather than 3.
2) If you sell the scoot, then that's it for you - the service plan goes with the scoot! I have a service plan for my car, and if I sell the car, or decide to cancel the plan for any reason, any outstanding money is paid back to me.
3) It appears you have to pay up front in full. You can add it to any finance agreement you might take out, but there's no mention of a pay monthly facility. My car plan is pay monthly interest free.

There are of course general restrictions you'd expect, such as parts subject to wear & tear not being covered.

So, if I ever persuade myself to by a Forza 750, I don't think I'll take out the service plan, even though the concept is quite attractive.

Grumpy, slightly off topic, but be careful with those CAR service plans. I bought a new car just a short while ago and took out the service plan over 3 years. I kept that car for 17months but ended up trading it due to severe issues with the engine and gearbox that VW couldn't fix. I got compenstion etc. But, the service plan was a nightmare. I'd paid quite a bit of money into it and found that when I asked for a refund (I could not transfer the plan to my new car as it was another make of car) they said yes that's fine but there's a £35 admin fee and other fee to come off the £185 we owe you. Not thinking much else about it I found to my horror the other fees amount to so much that I only received a £55 refund out of the £185 owed. This is something these firms don't say much about when you take out the plans. I've known other to have also fallen foul of this sharp practice too!

[Data]

They have suspended the triple lock gaurantee on state pensions or it would be triggered by sudden rise in wages with people coming off furlough .It will be pensioners out blocking the roads next lol

I think the active word there is "suspended". It's apparently just for one year. I think most folks understand the reason for this and most seem to think it's fair in these strange times.

[MrGrumpy]

[

Grumpy, slightly off topic, but be careful with those CAR service plans. I bought a new car just a short while ago and took out the service plan over 3 years. I kept that car for 17months but ended up trading it due to severe issues with the engine and gearbox that VW couldn't fix. I got compenstion etc. But, the service plan was a nightmare. I'd paid quite a bit of money into it and found that when I asked for a refund (I could not transfer the plan to my new car as it was another make of car) they said yes that's fine but there's a £35 admin fee and other fee to come off the £185 we owe you. Not thinking much else about it I found to my horror the other fees amount to so much that I only received a £55 refund out of the £185 owed. This is something these firms don't say much about when you take out the plans. I've known other to have also fallen foul of this sharp practice too!

Yes, wouldn't surprise me in the least! (And I keep hearing similar things about VW's appalling reliability and total inability to fix things as well! I'll stick to Suzuki for now!). On my plan, I think I've seen mention of an admin fee, but not other fees, though I've probably not looked carefully enough. At least as I pay monthly, the balance isn't usually a lot more than one year's service. My service plan is with the dealer (Stoneacre) rather than the manufacturer, not that Stoneacre are amateurs at sharp practice! I was originally on a Suzuki service plan which was very comprehensive, but somehow got transferred onto a Stoneacre one, which is much less comprehensive (basically only a basic service and MOT), but to be fair it is a surprisingly cheap plan. As its a dealer plan, I think it could be transferred to a new vehicle - or at least the outstanding balance would be transferred into a new plan, though of course, this would probably assume you were buying from Stoneacre and/or intended to have your new car serviced by them.

[123kajote]

I bought this bracket (for the phone, also for the camera, more space)
https://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/0.h ... 3244975507

After the first run, I find that the bracket vibrates a lot, the devices are under strong oscillations .. the cause is probably in the arm length of the bracket ..
I am not the most satisfied.

Installation, removal of the front guard and glass, then fastened to existing threads, easy.

[Waldorf]

Mm. Thanks for that.
I looked at that mount but have decided to go for either a RAM ball or the special mount, both of which fit where the centre panel of the handlebars is.
Glad I did.

[Waldorf]

The Forza has landed!
I collected it this morning from Newcastle Motorcycles; it was parked beside Paul's desk and I think he was almost as pleased as me that it was finally there.
He spent a great deal of time with me to go slowly through the paperwork and the walk-round.
The gilt on the gingerbread was that both Givi screen and topbox had arrived in time for them to be fitted.
I had a gentle ride home; drizzle was in the air, the roads looked very greasy and the tyres are new, of course.

I'm thrilled to bits and will write more in due course.

[Data]

I'm getting nearly as excited as you Waldorf! Can't wait for your first proper report. Enjoy!

[Waldorf]

Thanks, Data
Steve H is on the case and we'll have a ride very soon.
It is gorgeous!