Forza 750 Faulty

[Gazza]

Hello everyone just had to send my Forza 750 back to Honda for a refund the DCT has gone a-wall it keeps changing gear without turning a wheel they cannot fix it been off the road for 4 weeks 650 miles on the clock, the dealership has been excellent about it and are refunding me in full. Honda UK have managed to find me a Forza 350 which I have accepted due in two weeks, I know it’s not a 750 but with the rising cost of living and fuel I think going back to a 350 makes sense, the Forza 750 is a great bike I’ve just been unlucky I mainly use it for commuting to work so small bike should be a little easier to live with .

[MrGrumpy]

Wow.....troubles with modern tech! Don't get this problem with a CVT.....

[Greyerbeard]

Sympathies - but well done the dealer.
And once run in, the 350 is ludicrously 'quick' for its engine size - and it doesn't keep changing gear in the middle of corners!

[roadster]

When I tried the Honda X-adv scooter I didn't like the DCT at all. For a car with high mass it works quite smoothly but two wheelers need predictable changes for good cornering and anything which unsettles the bike during braking or turning puts me off completely. I think with practice I could have learned to use the DCT much more smoothly but its not what I wanted from an everyday ride.

[Funkycowie]

DCT is very smooth and completely predicatable... to me its no different to CVT in general use, the only difference is I have the option of dropping a gear for deceleration or acceleration. Maybe it just suits my riding style but before my NC750X I had ridden only CVT.

[Gazza]

Thanks for your reply’s I must say I did like the DCT gearbox and speaking to other Honda dealers in pursuit of a new bike they all said they have never had any problems with the DCT gearbox I think I was just very unlucky, looking forward to my new Forza 350 coming I had a BMW C400x before the Forza 750 and I really enjoyed riding it so if the new 350 is as good as the BMW was I’m sure I’ll love it

[Symcity]

Although you say going back to a 350 makes sense - my Honda integra nc700d with the duel clutch transmission was equally as frugal as my Honda sh300i - in fact I do believe that the integra was slightly more economic - that said with the cvt 350 you won’t have the hassle of cleaning and lubricating that drive chain - I was really impressed with the dct - seems like you got a bummer

[MrGrumpy]

Still baffled by this....can't Honda just swap the entire gearbox? Though I suspect that the problem is with the computers systems that control the changing and/or the sensors ? If you replace enough stuff, you must be able to fix the problem in the end! Expensive solution yes, but surely cheaper than having a scrap bike on their hands. Its downright weird. As Gazza says, I don't think I've heard of many, if any, people having problems with the DCT. There again, I saw a review of the new Honda NT and the reviewer hated it saying that the DCT refused point blank to change down from top no matter how aggressively the throttle was twisted which doesn't sound right (even for a DCT in drive mode!).

[Data]

Gazza's Honda dealer will already have consulted Honda UK on the DCT issues, especially software related ones & will have concluded it's a mechanical issue. Most likely this is not an isolated case & will have been replicated elsewhere at various times. When this happens it can be a lot of expensive work to correct & to be fair is far beyond many dealer workshops to fix. They really are very complex & like many differing auto boxes in cars (and bikes) needs specialist attention. It's also highly unlikely Honda make many spares available to dealers for the DCT gearboxes for this very reason. For example, that's much the same as the many differing types of auto boxes in many cars. You simply cannot repair most of them as they require to be exchanged for a factory new or recon unit. This is the case for most eCVT units in cars & bikes plus many of the new torque convert type. This also applies to many DSG & DCT car boxes. Although I did strip & replace the main shaft bearings in an Audi DSG wet clutch box a few years back. Quite complex though. But doable because parts are made available, unlike for many other auto boxes.

[MrGrumpy]

If Honda don't do spares as the box is too complex, then I'd have thought they would exchange the whole box. Maybe its too deeply entwined with the rest of the bike!
Veering off topic slightly, someone elsewhere was enthused by the Honda DN-01 and was keen to buy one. Of course, that has some freaky sort of hydraulic gearbox (HFT) rather than a DCT, which needs clean-room conditions for assembly and dismantling, so if that ever goes wrong......