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The carefully-developed drive-belt material and construction
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 Double cogged
belt |
To make the Honda S Matic light in weight and compact,
Honda engineers carried out extensive researches on the
material and the shape of the drive belt. Compared to
the conventional belt-type CVT, the 2004 FORZA underwent
the following modifications:
| (1) |
The cog (tooth) shape of the cogged belt has been
modified from single type to double type. |
| (2) |
The core fabric material has been modified from
polyester to aromatic polyamide. |
| (3) |
The upper & lower rubbers are modified to a mixed
rubber having higher side force resistance |
Through fine tuning and these improvements, the slip rate
has been reduced to approximately 50% of the conventional
rubber belt, thus realizing the belt that is best-suited
for electronic control system.
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Drive belt slip
rate comparison |
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A total of three shift modes consisting of two automatic modes
and a manual mode |
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Compared to earlier scooters, the former belt-type CVT of
FORZA (Hyper V Matic system) features an improved transition
from the medium speed zone to the high speed zone to ensure
smooth acceleration by changing the shift timing in two stages.
Furthermore in the 2004 FORZA, the D and S automatic modes and
the manual M mode have been added. The added modes allow use
of wider engine revolution zones and realizes even smoother
running. |
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D
mode |
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Shift characteristics
comparison |
The shift characteristics feature a rise in the high
speed zone to keep the engine revolutions low in the shifting
zone for fuel economy, low exhaust emissions and quietness
while ensuring smooth acceleration. |
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S
mode |
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Shift characteristics comparison |
Acceleration is improved by setting the low ratio higher
than in the D mode. When in deceleration, the ratio is
set more to the low speed side for effective engine brake.
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M
mode |
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Reduction ratio in M mode |
The manual mode allows fixing of the reduction ratio
at one of the 6 speeds by rider’s choice for strong
acceleration when climbing or traveling at a high speed.
Also, by down shifting, engine braking can be used efficiently.
Also applied is the “automatic shift-down” that
shifts down to an optimum ratio to ensure comfort when
traveling at a low speed, and the “shift limiter”
that inhibits shifting in the zone where a shift operation
is deemed to cause a loss of rider comfort. |
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