New Honda Hornet revealed

[marksx]

Looks a bit spindly and angular to my eye.

I had a 2013 hornet and absolutely loved it. Not sure why I sold it really.

[stang65]

Ecosseven said:

However I think when looking at this bike objectively and looking at the price and the spec and comparing it with its competitors I can really see the appeal. If Honda hadn't used the Hornet name would you view the bike differently?

One thing I was surprised about was the 160 section rear tyre. For a 90bhp machine I assumed it would be a 180 section.

I don't recall the original Hornet competing on price with bikes like the Bandit 600 which was it's nearest competitor. So making a "price competitive bike" is another argument it's not really following in the "wheeltracks" of the original. I agree completely, if it didn't have the Hornet name then many of the naysayers would have left it alone...if it had been called the Honda Bland or Honda Meh we'd all have just nodded and moved on. It's not though and that's the crux of the problem. It's a well trodden path with VW with the Golf based Beetle, Ford with the Mustang Mach E etc. but what these do show is once you've ruined the brand it's incredibly difficult to get it back.

The 160 section tyre is a joke. Even the 180 of the original isn't good enough now. A Hornet has previous generation 'Blade wheels so surely it should have the wheels from the 2012-2017 'blade and therefore have a 190/50 rear?

Jazoli said:

It's not a great looking thing to me, I also don't understand why folk are going on about the rear tyre size, a 160 section is about right and will make the bike handle and turn way much nicer than something with a 180 section rear.

I see very few complaints about the original 250/600 Hornets being slow steering due to the large back tyre. Surely if Honda did their homework with the geometry that could remove any downside (like the original). The entire concept of a Hornet has always been top line sportsbike wheels on a naked bike hasn't it, even if they're previous generation?

Max5476 said:

You can blame the eu for it being down on power. Because the A2 license class only allows derestriction from a maximum of 70kW down to 35, this then becomes the marketing target for these entry level new bikes.

Surely you can only blame Honda for lacking imagination and punting out boring tripe then resorting to cynical marketing to try to acheive sales? No one says every bike has to be A2 and it they want that then just do large/small engines like other manufacturers (e.g. GSX-S1000 and GSX-S950). It really is a boring generic looking bike, and even Yamaha walked away from the pink frame R1s pretty quickly so I'm surprised to see that make a return - I think someone was pulling Honda's leg in the market reserch of that one.

I note, people are say 160 tyre is big enough, it's cheap, will be A2 compliant etc. but no one has yet come up with a sensible explanation of how this bike is anything that should wear the label "Hornet".....

As a Hornet owner I hope the Hornet pages/forums/etc. don't let them in as they have literally nothing in common. The Mustang pages/forums have been ruined by S550 (first RHD Mustang) and Mach E (electric SUV) owners spouting rubbish so hopefully that won't repeat.

As you can gather, it's a resounding "NO" from me. Back to the drawing board Honda, my 900 won't last forever....or maybe it will.....

[TommyBuoy]

marksx said:

Looks a bit spindly and angular to my eye.

I had a 2013 hornet and absolutely loved it. Not sure why I sold it really.

Spindly. That's the word I was looking for.

My first big bike was a 2007 Hornet (in the gold/yellow colour). It wasn't the best looking, but a lovely neutral handling bike and quite a nice revving engine.

Shame as I was looking forward to seeing this as a smaller bike to buzz about on, maybe remind me of the good old days...

Although it could look much better in the flesh so haven't discounted it yet! Will be interested to give it a ride.

[PT1984]

This was a good contender for my first big bike but they have missed the mark with the design. The spec is excellent, especially for the price, and we expect Honda to lightly reduce power for reliability. That’s fine. But there was such hope from the concept sketches. And they choose to graft the cheap looking CB500F headlight on it.

Motobob suggests this will replace the CB650R. Can anyone confirm this, as if so that’s a great shame. That’s a cracking looking bike. That bike with the Hornet’s electronics package would be perfecto.

Hopefully this will kick Triumph into touch the Trident. That bike is a set of radial brakes and a sport throttle map from being best in class.

[carinaman]

I've heard various bad reports about my local Honda dealer which is a shame, but I was in there in September and asked when it would be available and how much and the guy said he didn't have any information and thought it would be next year.

Perhaps it's a case of sell what's there to be sold and not a product that's not yet released.

I'd phoned up the dealer 40 miles down the road mid week and their Honda salesman wasn't in and said to call back tomorrow.

Yet to read the article, but I am not sure about red forks. I like gold, blingy forks.

Edited by carinaman on Tuesday 4th October 23:25

[2ndclasscitizen]

Jesus christ some people have some real rose-tinted glasses going on about old Hornets. I have a 900 and absolutely love it but come on, it's a basic roadster with a basic steel frame and basic suspension. Hell, mine is a 2006 and it still has fking manual choke! As for the styling it's a round headlight, round tank, banana seat motorcycle, classic UJM with only the underseat pipes really differentiating it from other UJMs of the time. They aren't some style icon or transformative riding experiences, the charm of the Hornets was always that they're more than the sum of their parts and just a bit of fun. This new 750 seems to be very much in line with that ethos so the proof will be in the riding. While I'm a bit disappointed that it does look like a bigger CB500F I'll be getting myself a test ride when they arrive to see if Honda has kept the fun in the new one.

stang65 said:

As a Hornet owner I hope the Hornet pages/forums/etc. don't let them in as they have literally nothing in common.

Calm down dear

[carinaman]

https://twitter.com/PreviousOwners/status/15773762...

Perhaps the guy in the showroom I spoke to in September realised I'd be disappointed as I mentioned the KTM alike hype on the Internet.

[tdm34]

What are people on? complaining about the 160 section rear tyre? It's a budget roadster in a flash suit, yes it's got 90bhp but i'm sure it'll be perfectly satisfactory, I have two bikes an '87 Yamaha FJ1200 that as standard has a 150 section tyre but I upgraded the wheels and now have a 160 section tyre on it after having a 170 section tyre on it, it steers better on the smaller tyre and and has no issues putting down its 125bhp (110 at the wheel allegedly) The other is an '82 CB750F which wears a standard 120 section tyre and that handles the 70odd BHP without any issues.

Bigger might be fashionable but in this case it's just not needed.

[Jazoli]

2ndclasscitizen said:

Jesus christ some people have some real rose-tinted glasses going on about old Hornets. I have a 900 and absolutely love it but come on, it's a basic roadster with a basic steel frame and basic suspension. Hell, mine is a 2006 and it still has fking manual choke! As for the styling it's a round headlight, round tank, banana seat motorcycle, classic UJM with only the underseat pipes really differentiating it from other UJMs of the time. They aren't some style icon or transformative riding experiences, the charm of the Hornets was always that they're more than the sum of their parts and just a bit of fun. This new 750 seems to be very much in line with that ethos so the proof will be in the riding. While I'm a bit disappointed that it does look like a bigger CB500F I'll be getting myself a test ride when they arrive to see if Honda has kept the fun in the new one.

stang65 said:

As a Hornet owner I hope the Hornet pages/forums/etc. don't let them in as they have literally nothing in common.

Calm down dear

Couldn't have put it better myself, it followed the same format as every other bike and was hardly revolutionary, I owned one, it was alright.it was as flat as a witches tit below 9000rpn and needed the bks revving off it, and I used to get 90 miles till I hit reserve, it wasn't inspiring but it was a decent bike, my Fazer 600 was better in every way (that had a 160 tyre also )

tdm34 said:

What are people on? complaining about the 160 section rear tyre? It's a budget roadster in a flash suit, yes it's got 90bhp but i'm sure it'll be perfectly satisfactory, I have two bikes an '87 Yamaha FJ1200 that as standard has a 150 section tyre but I upgraded the wheels and now have a 160 section tyre on it after having a 170 section tyre on it, it steers better on the smaller tyre and and has no issues putting down its 125bhp (110 at the wheel allegedly) The other is an '82 CB750F which wears a standard 120 section tyre and that handles the 70odd BHP without any issues.

Bigger might be fashionable but in this case it's just not needed.

Indeed, I guess they'll see it as a slight to their manhood if the tyre is only a 160, you don't see the Moto3 boys complaining because their tyres aren't wide enough.

Edited by Jazoli on Wednesday 5th October 07:39

[Ecosseven]

Looking at the images again I don't think its a bad looking bike. In my opinion it looks better than the MT-07 and Z650 and they are big sellers in Europe. The fact that it looks similar to the CB500f doesn't really bother me and other manufacturers adopt the same approach. I prefer the more traditionally looks of the CB650R, Z650RS and the Trident with their round headlights but its good to have the choice! I'm a returning biker hoping to buy a new or nearly new bike before April next year. The new Hornet will be on my shortlist.

[PT1984]

It will be brilliant, and the value is unquestionable. I was just hoping for a genuine (and reliable!) alternative to the 890 Duke R. Which is what the design sketches suggested.

[TommyBuoy]

TommyBuoy said:

marksx said:

Looks a bit spindly and angular to my eye.

I had a 2013 hornet and absolutely loved it. Not sure why I sold it really.

Spindly. That's the word I was looking for.

My first big bike was a 2007 Hornet (in the gold/yellow colour). It wasn't the best looking, but a lovely neutral handling bike and quite a nice revving engine.

Shame as I was looking forward to seeing this as a smaller bike to buzz about on, maybe remind me of the good old days...

Although it could look much better in the flesh so haven't discounted it yet! Will be interested to give it a ride.

I've changed my mind and think I actually looks better than it's competition (certainly at the price point)

I went back and looked at my old hornet (2007) and, other than the engine filing out the chassis / exhaust - engine gap, I think this looks better.

I've never ridden the 1990s - 2006 hornet so don't have an opinion on it, but starting to like this as a bimble about / winter bike.

[Cakey_]

As someone above has already pointed out there's no issue with the bike or its styling, it's the name... its not a hornet really.

The old hornet had blade wheels,the 98 I believe even had a 16" front wheel. It had a retuned cbr600 engine which still had a fair bit of top end whack and a decent mid range. Honda pushed they styling a little bit with a high level exhaust, which nobody was doing then. The tank and tail piece had the sting shape hence the name hornet. It was a beautiful bike for its time.
It was leaps and bounds ahead of the blandit 600 of the day in terms of performance, handling and build quality.

I currently ride a cb1000r neo which is probably as near as you'd get to a modern hornet, I know it's a litre before someone jumps on me. It's got plenty of hand me downs from the blade, goes almost aswell as the blade and has its own unique styling.

If they released that hornet with a retuned 600rr motor, wide wheels and styling that did its own thing i think it would've had a far better reception

[Ecosseven]

It will be interesting to see what Suzuki announce as the replacement for the excellent but old SV650. Rumours are that the replacement will also be a parallel twin with a capacity of at least 700cc.

[Fundoreen]

It is good value considering all the inflation. The 1000 superbikes are all 15-16000+ nowadays last time I looked.
Also 90hp is around what ducati 851/888s were doing once upon a time.
I dont think you can call modern engines strangled when they do that and return 50-60+ mpg.

[Jakey123]

stang65 said:

Getting slated on the Hornet pages on Facebook, quite understandably IMO.

I think if you styled a 750 twin to look as close to a Chinese 125 as possible you'd get this. I don't know why Honda wanted that? That's not to put down Chinese 125s but they're not ground breaking generally. The styling is being compared to all sorts of mundane 2 cylinder bike (Z650?).

The Hornet name has been cynically given to it to try and spice up a bland product out of desperation. There's absolutely nothing "Hornet" about this...4 cylinders..nope, big back tyre for the class...nope, instantly recognisable styling...nope... Didn't the original '98 600 have 98hp so this is even down on power?

I have a Hornet (a 2003 900) and if an owner of one of these compares this to mine I hope they're not offended when I laugh.....

I like it.
Doesn't need a silly big tyre, what's the point with 90hp?
The 98 600s were revvy things and feel very old now.


The hornet 900 was never class leading and the 600 was the far more popular bike, 900 was massively detuned from the 918 lump they used which was outdated when they started chruning out the 900 hornets
but clearly some people purchased the 900 and they are still really great bikes - I imagine the new hornet 750 will be similar. Pretty average, but clearly well priced and will be a solid bike.

[PT1984]

For me it’s the looks. And for me it’s a shame if they drop the CB650r for this. It just needed to be more like the concept. However I should reserve end judgement until seen in the flesh.

@Cakey_

How do you find the CB1000r? Used examples are looking like very good value.

[snagzie]

PT1984 said:

For me it’s the looks. And for me it’s a shame if they drop the CB650r for this. It just needed to be more like the concept. However I should reserve end judgement until seen in the flesh.

Agreed. It is a very well priced bike but Honda have possibly lost a lot of customers with the looks. CB650 looks miles better.

But like you said, seeing it in the flesh would confirm that.

[Cakey_]

PT1984 said:

@Cakey_

How do you find the CB1000r? Used examples are looking like very good value.

I'm really impressed with mine, it's the plus model so comes with the quickshifter, heated grips and a couple of other bits.
I've had in since April and have put about 3.5k on it commuting to work, I still look forward to going to work just to get an excuse to ride it.

The engine is an absolute peach. Its silky smooth below 6-7k at whick point the world starts going past you quite rapidly, paired with the quickshifter it rides beautifully smoothly at all speeds.

[Iamnotkloot]

lukeyman said:

Slowboathome said:

Blimey. It's £200 less than an MT07 and it's more powerful & better equipped.

You forgot better looking too!

Steady......it is NOT better looking - ugly bug eyes again