Silverwing V Forza (and TMAx 500)

Just wondered if any of you traded down for a Forza and you impressions of the bike havng lived with it for a while?

I have a TMax 500 which seems more highly strung then the SWing and for commuting 70 miles a day its not IMO as good as the SWing.

i do like havng a bit in reserve and calmly cruising to where I need to go but if it were a lap record I was after and not load carrying capacity I would take the TMax over the SWing.

Slightly tongue-in-cheek I say that my only regret about down-sizing to a Forza 350 is that I can no longer say to riders of crotch-rockets my scooter will do 115 MPH.
Of course, I miss the luxurious ride and presence of the Silverwing but the Forza ticks all the boxes; that's not to say the Forza doesn't have presence or is uncomfortable.
My reservations about acceleration and speed were dispelled during a test ride on a demo Forza.
Load-carrying is not an issue for me; I have had a few trips away in the last 12 months and as one who takes everything bar the kitchen sink have managed very well with a large bag strapped on the pillion seat in addition to a big Givi box and the underseat storage.

I cruise at around the speed-limit and have had no worry or difficulty overtaking vehicles travelling at 68 MPH - you know the ones!

There are other, far more experienced riders of Forzas here who will pass on their experiences; suffice it to say that in my opinion, the Forza is a very good substitute for the Silverwing.

I am fortunate enough to own both, a Silver Wing and a Forza. My Forza is a 2015 300 model. Power is much better on the Silver Wing as is highway cruising but the Forza is light, fun and handles better IMHO.
Both scooters are designed for different purposes and do that very well. It depends on what you need.

There's a few Brits on here that's downsized from Silver Wings to Forza’s. Not the older pre 2018 Forza 300 that GHM-PM has, but the more compact sporty styled 2018 Forza 300 and later the 350 that replaced the 2018 Forza 300 that I'm currently on my fifth winter with.


I'm happy with the 300, it's kitted out with a few accessories that suit me, and as I've often waffled on about it in previous posts since buying it I'll leave it at that.

There's a couple of current maxi scooters I may replace it with come Spring time, but I go through a similar phase every winter. I've had a nose round a few dealership’s, and there's another I want to visit when I get back home. The Yamaha TMax isn't in the running, in fact it's a maxi I've never had the slightest interest in.

I'm currently in Palermo, Sicily and over the last few days I've seen literally hundreds of maxi scooters. On Sunday I was in Genoa, and in the city centre parked up was just about every size and style of maxi you care to think of. Including half a dozen or so Honda CN250 Spazio's, the Italian version of the Helix.

Like a lot of old maxi scooters that spend their time out in the open all year round, they were showing their age. Another weird fact, there's dozens of Piaggio MP3's on the streets of Marseilles, France, and I spotted just a couple in Italy.

Having owned and ridden near 100,000 miles with 2 new SilverWings, only test rode a Forza in its very short time on US market (it rode too hard for me) and a new TMAX----TMAX really much better to ride than Forza or SilverWing....and more fun! I sold mine as the miles piled up, fearing high maintenance costs. But mine never broke before I got rid of it.

Different type of maxi scooter altogether. The TMax has been around longer than the FJS version of the Silver Wing and was marketed specifically as a sports scooter. Over the years there's been half a dozen versions of the TMax plus some limited editions. The original  version had a 500cc engine, and over the years it has increased it to 530cc and then 560cc.

All versions have the less than useful one and a half helmets under seat storage, and an upswept exhaust that means any soft luggage fitted has to be out of the way.


It's only selling point has been it's 'motorcycle type handling', which over the years has become a cliché for bike journo’s with limited vocabulary.

Love my Forza 350, so much lighter and the power is still good compared to the Silverwing.

Little bit higher due to seat width so a little tippy toe but not a problem, I have the taller screen which makes a hell of a difference.

Great little scoot.

I've ridden a TMAX 500 and really really liked it. It does have a higher seat than the Silverwing and not as much space under the seat. I thought it was probably more fun than the Swing and it certainly handled better than my Swing did at the time. My hip is not the best so seat height is important.

The Silverwing is the best two wheeler I've ever ridden on a motorway.

I had a 500 Gilera three wheeler out today. It has some very nice qualities but they need to be kept right. I put a wheel bearing in this one and the steering bearings have gotten very notchy too. It's heavy but with two wheels up front, it's very good on poorly surfaced roads and potholes and over manhole covers. Tram-lining is non-existent.