HONDA HORNET 750
When the Big H announced a new Hornet a couple of years ago, many of us were expecting a bike similar to that of the original 600cc version, or even the very first, radically-styled 250cc Japanesemarket only inline four cylinder screamer. So discovering that the new machine was to be a parallel twin was something of a disappointment. A disappointment that was totally blown out of the water upon the first ride… and, while the aesthetics are yet to truly make an impression on me, the riding experience has remained consistently good fun.
Perhaps the first surprise was the nice, fruity bellow from the airbox, with a vee twin-alike soundtrack right the way through to the redline (at which point the rev counter outer edge turns yellow), before the limiter clicks in. Although there’s no real need to actually rev it right the way to the limiter, despite the joy of the aural accompaniment, but if you’re holding on to above 9000rpm before shifting, then the Hornet really does boogie. Much like a KTM parallel twin, there seems to be no let up or drop off of power throughout the rev range, and a willingness to rev that lends itself to clicking up and down the box and keeping it spinning regardless of the fact that there’s not really any need to do all that cog shifting. But it is fun…
The power output of 91bhp doesn’t sound too impressive nowadays, but it is nearly 10bhp more than the (larger capacity) Suzuki, and the argument of not needing any more than 100bp on the roads of the UK is probably more valid now that it ever has been. Being able to use each and every one of those horses does make for a more enjoyable riding experience, and it’s more than enough to keep ahead of pretty much any four-wheeled traffic that you’ll encounter on a regular basis.
Aesthetics are, judging from public consensus, a little on the bland side. Perhaps ‘bland’ is too harsh a word, as it certainly ain’t ugly, but it has a bit of a middle-of-the-road ‘Hondaness’ that reminds one of the utilitarian models in the range. It just doesn’t look as exciting as the Suzuki. Maybe the grey livery doesn’t help, and the yellow decals (that look decidedly sun-bleached) probably
contribute. The narrow rear tyre perhaps ages the look of the bike as well, although it does make for quicker steering (which is the exact reason why it was chosen), and the Hornet is a breeze to throw from side-to-side in the twisties.
Honda list a couple of upgrades for the Hornet: the Sport Pack is £555 (excluding fitment), and includes the (essential) quickshifter, the fly screen that is seen in these pictures, a rear seat cowl, and different rider footpegs. But if you just want the shifter (to spec it to the same as the Suzuki, which comes with a shifter as standard), it’d be just £250, putting the Hornet an impressive £650 cheaper than the GSX. Given the fuel consumption, that’d work out about 5800 miles for free when compared to the Suzuki…
Chiming in at £410 (plus fitting) the Style Pack contains billet bar end weights, a neatly-styled handlebar upper clamp holder, a tank pad, wheel stripes and skid bungs. As you can see from the pics, the Hornet that we had on test had a mix of Sport and Style parts, although only the quickshifter made any difference to how the bike rides. Having said that, the pillion pad cover was noticeable, in that I found myself sat back against it quite a lot. I tend to sit quite forward on a bike, nestled up against the tank, but even so, I found that the pillion seat cover was pressing, everso gently, against my back. It wasn’t uncomfortable, quite the opposite actually, in that the pressure in the small of my back was comforting, although it did make me wonder if it would become intrusive on a long journey. I did clock up a fair few miles while we had the Hornet, including a day down to That London and back (about 300 miles, all in) and it wasn’t an issue, but maybe if you had a full, long day clocking up some serious miles? Mind you, how many people looking at buying this type of machine will be spending full mile-crunching days in the saddle?
The front mudguard shakes and shimmies around when sat at motorway speeds, which probably isn’t any real problem provided that the material it is made from doesn’t get brittle with age, and in that regard only time will tell. And, as far as long-term ownership and reliability is concerned, you could argue that a Honda is perhaps the best choice (BMW owners, now is the time to stand up and be heard!).
Verdict
In short, they’re both ace.
Okay, so you want us to make a decision and tell you which one is the best? Well, the best way for you to be able to decide for yourself is to have a test ride on each one, and make your own decision because, simply, they are both really good bikes that have their own characters and have their own plus points. And, yes, they do have a couple of very minor negatives, but they are so minor as to be only relative as being the points on which you can make a decision of which one to buy.
And as regards the other models in the same market segment, Yamaha’s MT-07 is priced between the Honda and Suzuki, while the Duke 790 is the same price as the Suzuki, albeit without the ’shifter The Yamaha has been around a while, and folk often suggest that the KTM may not have the same reliability as the Japanese offerings although, from our perspective, that has yet to be proven either way.