Always nice to have more riders.

I do worry when I see people viewing scooters as a poor second choice (although in darker moments it's almost satisfying to see the "anything under a litre is for girls" idiots getting their comeuppance). If you don't come at things with an open mind they'll never work.

I'm a fit (-ish)50 year old. I view my years pursuing ever bigger ADV/Unicorn bikes as wasted. The motorcycle press before the internet were a problem and I should have paid much less attention. My current "mission" is to simply try a bit of everything before I'm too old. I've built up enough knowledge to know Sportsbikes aren't me, 190mph is fun for minutes, then the lack of comfort and fear of cameras ruins the fun. I know I'll be keeping my 125, light weight never fails to impress. I'm currently stuck on the Forza because it is really good and nothing is really screaming at me to replace it. Yes, it's slightly underwhelming when the need for speed hits and my fridge has more style, but on balance (and my first scooter) it ticks too many boxes to ignore.

The other issue you seem to hit with riders coming from big bikes is "mechanical sympathy". There is still a generation out there raised on Brit Bike rubbish that think an 80 HP 1000cc spec is limited to 70 mph and anything else has to be adjusted accordingly. I've done rides where massive touring bikes have been under my feet and subsequent discussions reveal this as the issue. You don't care if your fridge is making a noise and doing 8000 rpm, why expect your scooter to be at 1500 just because that's where a Royal Oilleak 350 was happy. All part of the fun, embrace it.

Andy

capitano wrote: ↑Fri Aug 08, 2025 9:33 am

Waldorf wrote: ↑Thu Aug 07, 2025 2:08 pm Several people here know Edd, he of Nnja and BMW fame;
He's sold the BM and bought a two-year-old, low mileage Forza 350!
I'm very pleased as I've tried hard for ages to convince him it's the sensible thing to do.

Thanks, Ged
Like me and many others of our age, he was finding the big bike too heavy to push about.
I'm trying to persuade him to join Muppets; we shall see.

Well done, Mike, and to Edd for listening and taking note.

Two friends run the helmet park at the 3 bike show/jumbles at Ardingly each year.

Every event they both have to help at least one rider that has dropped their bike, either parking up, or setting off at low speed.

It's something a lot of older riders don't want to admit, nor even talk about.

I have another friend who doesn't ride any longer. He knows he isn't up to manhandling a 300kg bike, but can't face telling anyone he rides something smaller now.

Thanks, Ged.
Part of his reluctance to downsize was that he loved the BM.
I chuckled yesterday when he said he'd been able easily to turn the Forza round on his driveway so he could wheel it backwards into the garage, something he'd not been able to do with the BM.
He's taking it for a ride this morning. I'm a bit on edge; why, I don't know as he's been riding for more than 50 years!

Andym wrote: ↑Fri Aug 08, 2025 11:13 am

I do worry when I see people viewing scooters as a poor second choice (although in darker moments it's almost satisfying to see the "anything under a litre is for girls" idiots getting their comeuppance). If you don't come at things with an open mind they'll never work.

One of my pet hates is journalists who describe a 100bhp bike as 'underpowered' !!! Even my 45bhp 210kg Tmax could go faster than I even I wanted to go! (and I'm not noted for slow patient riding!)

New tyre is on. Quite painless.

I'm going to suggest cleaning out the belt case filter is important



Unless of course you want the baby birds/rats to hatch!

Not sure this is on the 8000 schedule, so maybe worth asking if using a dealer.

I opened the belt case and it's clean enough so the sponge is working.

Andy

MrGrumpy wrote: ↑Fri Aug 08, 2025 3:39 pm One of my pet hates is journalists who describe a 100bhp bike as 'underpowered' !!! Even my 45bhp 210kg Tmax could go faster than I even I wanted to go! (and I'm not noted for slow patient riding!)

Yeah, that's just idiotic. And not only that: what also matters is how well a bike can use the power it has. One thing I noticed with the Forza 350 is that it always has the 30-ish ponies on tap at any moment because of the CVT and the way they tuned it. 30 hp goes a long way if you're actually using most of it. I bet that most people riding a 100 hp bike almost never use a significant fraction of that.

Andym wrote: ↑Fri Aug 08, 2025 6:46 pm New tyre is on. Quite painless.

I'm going to suggest cleaning out the belt case filter is important

-img-

Unless of course you want the baby birds/rats to hatch!

Not sure this is on the 8000 schedule, so maybe worth asking if using a dealer.

I opened the belt case and it's clean enough so the sponge is working.

Andy

It should definitely be part of the 8000 mile service, but it really doesn't hurt do to it more often. The cleaner the filter, the more cooling your belt receives and the cooler your belt, the longer it lasts. Heat kills belts.