Planet Minis

dicktony

Here is a review of the Tiger "Rocket Boy" ZB inspired clone. It goes under the name Momos Forza outside of Thailand... Interesting bike, hard to find much info on.. Has some parts I wish I could get my hands on, but Asian Concepts wasn't too interested in selling them in parts...


ABOUT two years ago, we featured the Kawasaki KSR110 monkey bike, an enduro type of bike that is smaller than the typical kapchai - so small, it seats only one. Good for Kawasaki to introduce the bike here as those who are old enough will remember the old Honda Monkey, a darn good
commuter that was durable and easy to ride. The KSR targets a younger crowd, and with help from the accessories supplier, the KSR becomes a hobby to many, or a serious corner-carving machine to a few enthusiasts.

Momos, a local brand under Mofaz (Momos actually means Mofaz Motorsikal) got hooked to the idea and decided that they want to produce Malaysia's first monkey bike, the Forza Though Naza Forza is a decent small car that allows you to putter around town safely, Momos Forza is nothing but ordinary. Size wise, it is as small as the KSR, but while the KSR takes on the shape of a dirt bike, Forza goes with the sports bike design. Trellis frame made out of alloy, chunky fat tyres that promise grip, massive disc braks at both ends, monoshock at the rear and upside-down shockers for the front, underseat performance exhaust system and a clip-on handlbar, this is a serious monkey bike. The four-stroke single cylinder air-cooled 135cc engine, developed with cooperation from
Tiger Motorcycle in Thailand. If you remember well, Tiger is Cagiva's partner in Thailand not too long ago, hence you can expect some good engineering research has gone into designing this engine. The five speed manual gearbox shifts like normal clutched transmission system. The ratio allows you to reach quite a high top speed on this little devil. So how does it run?

For starters, it has proper electric starter. The engine sounded like a swarm of angry bees, coming out from that Thai-made PDK exhaust system. Clutch is light, which means even a young rider can use it. Gearshift is typical Japanese issue, smooth but there is a problem of false neutral. Thankfully it only happens when you are static.

The Forza can really accelerate. At traffic lights, you will not fail to have others staring (read laughing) at you, but turn green and they will all breathe your smoke. This Forza is quick! If you let it run until its top speed (should be around 130kph), you will be treated by a massaging effect "built" into the bike. At speeds above 110kph, the amount of vibration might even make your fillings drop. I saw a few rubber blocks around the engine but perhaps they need another way to isolate the vibrations. So bad, my hands feel numb only after an hour of riding. But buzziness aside, the Forza takes on well to the corners. Shorter wheelbase and smaller dimension helps it to reclassify your favourite sharp turn into a long sweeping curve. Roads like Kuala Kelawang will
certainly be its heaven. Unlike the Kawasaki, the Forza does indeed have the power to eat all the corners while going uphill. Brakes might look yummy, but the front one only bites at the end of the lever travel. Perhaps this problem is only reserved with the review unit

Momos plans to woo the superbiker fathers by buying the Forza for their secondary kids. A noble idea, but with such small size, I rather not advice you to go on a highway. Even at traffic lights, you have to be extra careful as you can easily be hidden from view. In fact the second night I had the bike, some idiot in a black Honda City ran the red light at Sri Petaling and missed me by an inch or less! But if a short commuting is what you are after and a weekend blast around the curvy roads of Malaysia is a bonus, step right up and buy one. But if you think size matters, you better look elsewhere.

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	MOMOS FORZA 135.jpg (231.4 KB, 39 views)

shw911

Nice.

TripleKingCrew

i like the gixxer style headlight

can you get them over here?

swheels

I've seen those on their site.I wanted one so bad.I hope they will be availible in the states.I'll track that bike to run up against the ysr's and bike along those lines.

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	145_L.jpg (91.1 KB, 22 views)

dicktony

As far as I know you can't get them here or legally import them (no DOT approval). I doubt they will ever be certified and imported legally. Since we tightened up our import laws many companies decided the expense wasn't worth it. Importing parts or grey market would be the only way I see this stuff coming in. Either way won't be easy....

-R