Honda Hornet
father From son to three grandfather: to Honda of generations owners Hornet 600 motorcycling keeping in the family
HONDA’S HORNET 600: a combination of an old CBR600F motor, Fireblade wheels and some lovely styling, it had spirit and simplicity that inspired a generation of bikers. The Cox family is a case in point. Joe, 29, has a 1998 Honda CB600 Hornet. So does his dad, Richard, age 56. And his granddad, John, who’s 85. That’s three generations of Hornet owners; who, I wonder, got one first?
Turns out it started with Richard. “I got the Honda around 2000,” he says. “It was my first road bike when I came back after a long lay-off from riding. I’d done schoolboy trials and motocross, then had a few road bikes back in the day, but got married, had kids, and it all went on the back burner.” So it was 20 years ago Richard found himself with the time and money to get back into bikes again. “The Hornet had been out a few years at that point,” he says. “I knew I didn’t want a sportsbike because I’m just not comfortable on them. I spent all my early life standing up riding trails and motocross, so that’s what I like.”
Richard started using the Honda for track days, then started modifying it. The family business is motor engineers and they were well versed in the idea of pulling bikes apart and rebuilding them. “Öhlins fork internals and shock went in, exhaust and carb kit, spare set of wheels, 17in front conversion (the 1998 Hornet had a 16in front)... all the usual trackday stuff,” says Richard. “Then I bought a CBR600RR in 2005 and tried that on track but I was no quicker than the Hornet. The bike wasn’t the limiting factor, I was. I sold it but then I sort of stopped riding the Hornet so much.”
Richard’s son Joe takes up his side of the story: “Like my dad, I started trials riding when I was young but I grew up sitting on dad’s Hornet in the conservatory, hanging off and making all the noises. When I passed my test, he wasn’t using it much, so I offered to buy it. He wouldn’t sell, so I went to a local dealer and bought a Suzuki Bandit 600.” A few months later, that was written off and Joe tried a 2008 Blade and an R1200GS over a period of years but eventually he realised he needed to buy a bike that meant something deeper to him.
“I spent three months looking, then found my Hornet 600. I rode it for a week, then brought it over to my dad’s house and pulled it apart to do it up. It’s my bike now – I’ll always keep it, to the end. It’s special.”
Joe’s new-found appreciation of the Hornet inspired Richard to pull the dust sheet off his Honda and tidy it up again but it also inspired a previous generation to get one too. Joe’s granddad and Richard’s father, John, 85 years young and with a magnificent wealth of motorcycling stories stretching back into the 1950s, also has a 600 Hornet: “During lockdown I saw an advert for a Hornet nearby for sale; 20 years old, done 2000 miles. I went for a look; next day the bloke dropped it off here,” says John, smiling. I get the feeling John hasn’t ridden the Honda a great deal; unlike Richard and Joe’s bikes, his is almost completely standard. But it makes a special trio of bikes and completes a fantastic family circle of motorcycling.