Honda Hornet

Not everyone wants, needs or can justify owning a sports orientated motorcycle let alone something from the superbike category.

Long before riders here in Britain voted with their wallets for comfort and practicality over street cred and performance other riders around the globe were hankering for two wheel thrills allied to some decent ergonomics. Until the Japanese factories finally awoke to the needs of a changing market the only real option were the so-called adventure bikes. Their upright riding position allied to a decent level of comfort lured some away from the arse in the air stance that was beginning to rub thin. However, not everyone wanted what amounted to a trail bike on steroids. Then, at last, the penny dropped… why not make a fairing free bike with a modern motor, fit a decent seat and bars but still leave the machine with a sporting edge?

Suddenly, almost overnight, the wonderful ‘new’ concept of naked bikes was rediscovered.

Arguably Honda wasn't the first to launch such a machine but in that first tranche of naked middleweights they offered a bike that instantly found a niche with everyday riders. Welcome the Honda Hornet! Taking its engine from the older series of CBR600s which was dropped into a basic frame and decked out in less expensive running gear the traditional Honda quality was still there but not at a middleweight sports bike price. Looking for a styling edge with which to differentiate its 600 naked from those of its rivals Honda’s design team came up with a cheeky four-into-one exhaust that exited high up on the right hand side, giving the Hornet a unique look.

Fully aware that their new baby would be likely to be used all year round the factory bestowed the bike with a better than average finish to pretty much everything. This meant that unlike some of its peers the bike wasn’t wearing a coat of salt induced corrosion after its first winter run. After decades of almost every Japanese down pipe being made from recycled 1970s Fiats, Honda took the plunge fitting the Hornet with stainless steel exhaust tubing… bye-bye corrosion etc. A few disingenuous journos commented that the once silvery pipework soon discoloured but this is what stainless steel does when exposed to heat, yellowed pipes or rusted pipes; what would you rather have?

The only real issues consistently reported were the regulator/ rectifier burn outs which had plagued Honda from the late 1980s and the perennial bogey of so-so cam chain tensioners. Neither were really excusable from one of the largest automotive companies in the world but at least it was possible to access both culprits more easily without acres of fairing panels.

Perhaps the Honda’s biggest attraction and, ultimately its Achilles Heel was that it could do everything well while never excelling at any one thing. It wasn’t as cheap as the raft of Suzuki Bandits sold at the same time but then again its build quality was significantly better. Compared to Yamaha’s FZ6 the Hornet wasn’t as sporty or well equipped. And comparisons against Kawasaki’s market place offering, the Z750, always found the Honda lacking in grunt… which it would being 150ccs down. If, in the end, the Hornet was a qualified compromise then it wouldn’t remain so indefinitely.

For the 2007 model year Honda pulled out all the stops with an allnew bike that shared little if anything with its older brother. Blessed with an engine straight out of the CBR600RR the new Hornet was faster and sharper thanks to a total restyling exercise courtesy of the Italian factory that had had input into its design and was ultimately responsibility for its assembly. The bike was sharper, handled and stopped better, came into the showrooms at a sensible price and looked the business. Grasp that early Hornets with a year’s MOT start at £1400 and see just how cheap 600 fun can be. And for less than £3500 you can have a 2015 example sitting smugly in your garage.

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