It was still dark when I rolled the Honda Forza 350 out of the basement. The silence of early morning in Chennai wrapped around me like a blanket. The sky was turning from grey to golden, and the idea was simple: ride down the East Coast Road to Pondicherry before the crowds woke up. Nothing fancy. Just me, the sea on my left, and a scooter that had been turning heads for all the right reasons. But I had questions, could a mid-sized scooter actually be fun? Could it handle highway cruising without feeling like a blender on wheels? Could 29 horses really be enough? Turns out, the answers were all yes.
In the test: 29 hp engine
Let’s talk about what powers this thing, because that’s where my surprise began. The Forza 350 gets a 330cc, single-cylinder, liquid-cooled engine, pushing out 29 hp and 32 Nm of torque. It sounds modest, but the moment I hit the ECR stretch past Thiruvanmiyur, I twisted the throttle and felt the difference. This isn’t your average scooter twist-and-go experience. The throttle response is clean and progressive, and the CVT doesn’t lag or drone annoyingly. From zero to 60, it’s peppy. From 60 to 100, it pulls with confidence. And when I found myself in the fast lane trying to keep pace with SUVs and sedans doing 130+ km/h, the Forza didn’t flinch. Honda claims a top speed of 139 km/h, and I was floating near it without any instability or vibrations. That’s not just quick for a scooter, it’s borderline sporty. The best part? Refinement. Even at 110 km/h, the engine was calm, no harshness, no stress. It didn’t scream for mercy. It just hummed along like it was built for this. The fuel consumption, too, was reasonable. I averaged around 4 liters per 100 km, and that included both spirited highway pulls and city crawling. Traffic light sprints in Mahabalipuram? Child’s play. Overtakes past slow-moving trucks in Kalpakkam? Effortless. It’s that mid-range grunt, 32 Nm is no joke when your machine is this well tuned, that makes highway overtakes feel surprisingly satisfying.
Comfortable chassis
A fast scooter is only fun if the ride doesn’t shake your bones loose. Thankfully, the Forza 350’s chassis is tuned for exactly this kind of mix, urban flexibility and long-distance comfort. Built on a tubular steel frame, it rides on 15-inch front and 14-inch rear wheels, both shod with grippy Pirelli Diablo scooter tires. The moment I passed the broken roads near Alamparai Fort, I realized how good the suspension tuning was. The telescopic front fork and dual rear shocks with 5-step preload swallowed potholes and bumps with ease. No spine-jarring thuds. No wobbles. Just smooth, planted progress. The handling? Surprisingly intuitive. Yes, it’s a scooter, and yes, it’s heavier than a 125cc commuter, but once you’re rolling, it carries itself like a tourer. It stays composed at high speed and remains agile in tighter village corners and beach-town traffic. Braking duties are handled by Nissin calipers, with a front disc and rear disc combo supported by dual-channel ABS. The feedback at the levers is good, the progression is natural, and the ABS doesn’t cut in too early, only when you really need it. In a surprise emergency stop near Marakkanam, when a cyclist veered into my path, the system kept the bike perfectly stable. And for the rare wet patches along the East Coast, Honda’s HSTC (traction control) made sure I didn’t have to second-guess the throttle. It cuts torque gently when traction is questionable, and it does it quietly, without fuss. Ergonomics? Absolutely sorted. The wide seat is plush, the riding triangle is neutral, and the electrically adjustable windscreen (which moves a full 18 centimeters) is more than just a gimmick. With it up, I could cruise at 120 km/h without feeling like my helmet was in a wind tunnel. With it down, the city breeze flowed in nicely when I rolled into Pondy’s French Quarter. And then there’s the tech…
Equipment: Where the Forza Just Shows Off
For a scooter, the Honda Forza 350 is fully loaded:
- Smart key for keyless ignition and seat/fuel flap access.
- USB-C charging port in the glove box.
- A digital-analog instrument cluster that gives real-time mileage, trip meters, air temperature, and more.
- LED lighting all around, including emergency brake hazard flash.
- A huge underseat compartment that swallowed two helmets and a raincoat with ease.
- Optional Smart Top Box with a remote lock, offering 45 liters more space.
It felt like riding a two-wheeled car, without the traffic drama. Only odd bit? The horn switch is placed above the indicator. I kept hitting the horn when I meant to signal. Every time I passed a pedestrian, they thought I was scolding them.
Conclusion
When I finally reached Pondicherry and parked the Forza under a neem tree facing Rock Beach, I took a moment to let the silence settle. It was warm, the ocean wind was blowing gently, and the scooter, still humming lightly from the ride, stood there looking like it belonged more in a European boulevard than an Indian coastal town. And that’s the thing about the Honda Forza 350. It isn’t trying to be brash or bold. It’s not a bike you ride to show off. But spend a day with it, and you realize how deeply competent it is. It takes on traffic like a pro. It glides over bad roads like a big cruiser. It holds high speeds like it’s powered by something twice its size. And it does all this while offering comfort, features, and refinement that are rare in the scooter world. Yes, at €7,060, it’s not cheap. It costs as much as a decent mid-sized motorcycle. But what you get in return is a machine that redefines what a scooter can do. It isn’t just for city errands. It’s built to explore, cruise, and even make you smile a little when you overtake a car on the highway. On the Chennai to Pondicherry stretch, the Forza 350 didn’t just keep up, it carved its own place on the road. And by the time I turned back toward home, I knew I wasn’t just riding a scooter. I was riding Honda’s idea of functional luxury on two wheels, and it worked. Perfectly.
