‘We’ve got TWO new 650s coming! One will be funky, one will be mainstream.’

Honda boss goes public on Hornet rumours

How about this for all you Hornet fans out there? Great news emerging about the future of Honda after a top interview with Fabrice Recoque, director of the motorcycle division of Honda France.

Here’s the response when French motorcycle mag Moto Revue asked if Honda has closed off the idea of bringing back the Hornet. Recoque said: “Absolutely not! Our roadster strategy will be established in two phases.

“Medium-term we will have a new bike which will be about 650cc and that will be presented in the coming months. “I cannot say more about this. “That bike will be followed by another new bike, this one will be more volume-oriented and we have already started work on it, but it’s not for now.”

The interviewer went on to ask whether either of the new bikes will be a rival for the bestselling Yamaha MT-07, to which the Honda boss added: “Our strategy will not be to attack the MT-07 with the same style or a similar price. We will propose a very different motorcycle with a unique style and very different positioning.

“It will probably be a bit more expensive but also very different and slightly off the competition.”

When asked when the bikes are likely to be seen it was made clear that Honda’s not looking to hit all the big bike shows in earnest with the new Hornet, with Recoque saying: “The new bikes will be presented at EICMA in Milan [in November – ed]. As for Cologne and Paris, it’s under discussion, but I hope that we’ll have something to present in Paris. In any case it will be either Cologne or Paris, but not both.”