2013 Honda NSS300 Forza

[MrGrumpy]

My S-Wing is made in Italy, so it's a proper Italian scooter made in a factory that hopefully does not have August off.

So mine And my Fiat Panda is built in Poland.

And my Suzuki Swift car is made in Hungary, whilst my Suzuki Burgman scoot is made in Spain! What an odd world we live in these days!

[StephenC]

Honda have announced prices in France for 2013 and the Forza 300 is on the list.

"The new Honda Forza 300 is advertised with a small delay and should be available in dealerships until June 2013, instead of April as originally planned. Its price is not yet set, but expect about € 5200 with ABS-CBS series.
In addition, we have learned the disappearance of certain models of the 2013:
- Honda SW-T 400 : offered at a great rate, € 7,490 with ABS-CBS series, this unique maxi-scooter 400 twin engine is no longer produced, but it remains concessions.
- Honda S-Wing 125 : This scooter launched in 2007 will not be available now with ABS-CBS to € 4,640 (€ 3,890 for official promotion). The standard version, with only CBS combined braking disappears. Damage to the extent to € 3290, it was an interesting entry level. However, at this price, Honda now offers the new SH 125 with top box and ABS as standard (without coupling), plus Stop & Start system of PCX ."

Obviously second-guessing what Honda UK will price it at is probably pointless but in France the Sh300 costs 4990euros. Here it is £4700. So by extension could the Forza come out at £5000?

How does that compare? The Piaggio X10-350 is £5090. The Sym 300 and 400 are £4299 and £4999, the Xmax 250 is £4499, Burgman 400 is £5515 and the Kymco Downtown is £3999. But all of these lack apart from the X10 lack ABS. It looks like there won't be a Satelis 300 (although the 400 seems a dead cert). I would guess this will be around £5500.

So if I guess right, it looks like the new Honda could give the Piaggio a good fight.

[bornagainbiker]

Hmm Interesting but why a near double price of the PCX 125 at currently £2600? My thoughts are the Forza 300 is basically a large PCX and not even a full 300cc?
The competition in comparison have as examples the new Sym Joymax 125efi £3499+ and the Sym Joymax 300efi £4299+, only an £800 increase for a larger engine.
Kymco Downtown 125i £3299+ and the 300i at £3999+
Aprillia SRMax 125 £3670+ and the 300 £3899+ (Although the 300 is not an official UK model but is available as a grey import as shown in T&G Issue 89?)

[StephenC]

Hmm Interesting but why a near double price of the PCX 125 at currently £2600? My thoughts are the Forza 300 is basically a large PCX and not even a full 300cc?
The competition in comparison have as examples the new Sym Joymax 125efi £3499+ and the Sym Joymax 300efi £4299+, only an £800 increase for a larger engine.
Kymco Downtown 125i £3299+ and the 300i at £3999+
Aprillia SRMax 125 £3670+ and the 300 £3899+ (Although the 300 is not an official UK model but is available as a grey import as shown in T&G Issue 89?)

I see where you're coming from but it looks to be a full maxi at (to me) the ideal commuting size. As I pointed out, the Downtown 300 lacks ABS and I suspect will be less efficient than the Honda to run (on mpg and emissions). The SRMax is more of a sports scoot and lacks storage and (again) ABS and is anyway an 8 year old scooter with a fresh paint job.

It does look to me as though 5 grand is about the right price for a modern, hi-tech mid size maxi, like it or not. For one, I don't like it, as I cannot imagine the missus giving me clearance to splash £5k when I had to work hard to find a few hundred to "upgrade" from 09 scooter with 32k miles on it to an identical 08 scooter with less than 5k miles. This money isn't all that short of what would get you a new Dacia car.

[gn2]

Honda have announced prices in France for 2013 and the Forza 300 is on the list.

"The new Honda Forza 300 is advertised with a small delay and should be available in dealerships until June 2013, instead of April as originally planned. Its price is not yet set,

Is it still panto season?

Oh yes they have...
Oh no they haven't....
Oh yes they have...
Oh no they haven't....

Back on a serious note, the Forza is to be produced in Thailand so prices should be lower than a low thing.

[MrGrumpy]

.

Back on a serious note, the Forza is to be produced in Thailand so prices should be lower than a low thing.

Ah well, the scooter itself costs pence to build, but the extra-special hi-tech gold-plated Honda badge costs an extra couple of grand to produce.....
£5K for a not especially powerful 300cc scoot is daft - compare with the Piaggio Beverly and X10 350s which are £4k and £5k (I think), both of which have 33bhp and loads of equipment.

[gn2]

Claimed peak bhp figure is entirely irrelevant.
Price is yet to be announced so no basis for comparison exists thus far.

[MrGrumpy]

Claimed peak bhp figure is entirely irrelevant.

Not entirely irrelevant - OK not something you'll use everyday - except on the smaller scoots - but it is a damn good indicator of performance, especially on dual carriageways etc. Something with a lot of torque can make the scoot accelerate a bit faster than one with less torque, but its no magic solution.

[gn2]

The Forza is reportedly optimised for acceleration rather than top speed.
Time will tell how it compares with the alternatives.

[richie the 1st]

Honda sh125i with ABS.And stop/start = More ££££££££££££