We’ve been teased with the new Hornet for a while now but our Shado Alston finally got his ass in the saddle. In The Fairest Cape no less!
With other folks dropping money on Fireblades, I was actually quite transfixed on this new offering from our Japanese friends in white coats at the Honda Kumamato Factory.
The Hornet1K oozes the similar, if not near identical engine casings and rumbly sounds of that 2018 CBR that made an exit from our local market in 2020.
What did remain of that noteworthy SC77 generation was the legacy of the first motor that was designed not by Mr Tadao Baba, a name synonymous with the Fireblade, but HRC and the technical geniuses that brought the angry RC211V V5 motor to the MotoGP arena.
The Hornet1K draws on that knowledge base with 15 years of refinement and calculative application to bring the steel-framed, Showa-Ohlins-Brembo-Nissin-shod CB1000 Hornet SP.
Our good friends at Honda Motor Southern Africa have only made the SP version of the Hornet1k available to the market. There is a standard version that is basically the same setup with more cost effective suspension and brakes, but it’s not here.
The thing about this SP version of the machine is it’s components and its outright slap to the other naked-bikes on the market.
So, a little breakdown about what you’re going to take home is as follows;
- A bullet-proof evolution of a trusted Fireblade engine, tuned to make you grin with a smidgen over 115kw and 107Nm of power and torque.
- Brembo Stylema radial clamps on 310mm Floating Discs up front.
- Showa forks with all the adjustments.
- Ohlins TTX rear shock, with all the adjustments
- An extra 5hp over the standard model thanks to the exhaust and servo
- The great TFT screen and RoadSync app.
- The assist and slipper clutch arrangement.
- 5 different riding and power modes including two user configurable setups.
- Wheelie control – insert evil grin here.
- Dunlop Roadsport 2 rubber.
- Up and down quickshifter
A FAT grin thrown in for free!
The Ride…
Being blessed with a plethora of mountain passes within a stone throw of the CAW town, I got my Mrs into her riding gear and collected the Hornet1K from Honda Wing George, the only Honda Wing dealership in the Southern Cape nice and early. After a cup of coffee, we headed straight for the closest twisty, the Outeniqua Pass. We idled out through town to fuel up at the base of the pass and then made our way up to Hopvallei Plaasstal for a roosterkoek brekkie.
Through town, the Hornet1K has fantastical manners and is as nimble as a 750.
The inline-4 that has been somewhat adjusted to cry its anger at 9000RPM as opposed to the 13000 of the CBR. Thanks to its newly reprofiled and differently timed camshafts, it has plenty of low-down punch and delivers a smooth and manageable power curve through the gears at low speeds. It allows you to roll around in the upper gears without much thought to gearing down to accelerate. It is a litre bike, after all…
The quickshifter takes a little getting used to at the slower speeds and works really well once you have learned that it wants the throttle to be open or closed. In-between on the down shift makes the rev-match a little jerky and I’d suggest using the clutch if you’re expecting it to be smooth. Upshift just wants any load on the throttle for a smooth shift. I mastered that in the first few kilometres of town traffic, so by the time we got to the start of the pass, the machine was like butter.
The motor is consistent and has more than enough torque for both Mrs and I to comfortably enjoy the twisties without having to go through gears to maintain a particular speed. The machine flips effortlessly from side to side and the more you turn, the more your confidence grows and the more you trust that factory rubber. Going up the pass was a cynch and coming down was even better, passing everything that was in front of us with ease and confidence. They nailed the notoriously famous “Honda bikes’ handling are the most forgiving” characteristic.
It never ever wanted to get out of sorts on the bang or on the brakes, and much less perched over in a corner with 2 up. That being said, I’d recommend getting your suspension set up for your weight and riding style. A factor overlooked by most, if not all sellers. It just makes your ride that much better.
Heading back down through George we went Eastward toward Knysna and found more twisties around the Wilderness and Sedgefield where we rode, stopped and took pics of the bike and discussed comfort and speed and the basic ride. Then we compared the Hornet1K to another litre naked we used for a weekend away. That one saw us buying a pillow for the road home because of a broken tushie.
The ergonomics and seating on the machine are very comfortable for a naked, with no load on the arms and decent leg angles and saddle height. The weight is average for machines of this size, tipping 212kg. The Mrs was pleasantly surprised by the ride and it wasn’t any hard work to really enjoy the edges of the tyres with her on the back of the bike. The Controls are as simple as can be with a mode switch that will change the settings while in motion.
It features a one-button control for the TFT – way simpler than some of the controls on the Africa twin and similar types of machines.
The 17 litre fuel tank, will see you to 300km’;s from home on a calm ride. The gear ratios are not the same as the CBR, they are for a City Bike. Allowing for a bunch of hooliganism in the throttle grip and a sky-happy front end.
Now, the comparison…
The last CB1000R model available in South Africa was two iterations ago, when they first started dropping ABS into these nakeds. That CB with the signature single-sided swingarm was at least 10kg heavier than the Hornet1K. It was a legacy of Mr Tao Baba, the father of the CBR fireblade, using the motor from the renowned 2006-2007 CBR1000RR. That is a raw beast of LCD display and throttle cables, ready to teach you the universal law of FAFO. (F around and find out).
The Hornet1K carries the same aggressive Hornet styling but when ridden in a gentlemanly fashion it is an incredibly civil machine. But…
It behaves just like that scary Hornet when provoked. There’s an angry feisty beast that will sting you under the refinement that is the new Hornet1K.
This machine lives up to the nomenclature of the City Bike as derived by Honda. It carries a long heritage of design excellence, innovation and fantastic build quality with legendary Honda ease of use. It brings a perfect mix of daily hack with the thrill of hooliganism to the rider. The brand has absolutely nailed this version of ‘throwing an older superbike engine into a naked frame’, thereby capitalising on castings, engine internals and bringing a premium and fresh, new offering to the market.
Having ridden most of the other naked bikes available, to me, it may not emulate the V4 offerings of the Italians or the vanilla S1KR, or the Z or GSX flavours, but it’s price and legendary brand reliability and design will surely make it a top seller, the world over.
Get to your nearest dealer and take it for a ride.
You.Will.Not.Be.Sorry.
A very big thanks must go to Rory Hough at Honda SA, Luigi Florio and his team at Honda Wing George, and Motomedia for the opportunity to get a leg over this beast.
I absolutely loved it! Well done Mr Honda!
The bike is at a special offer launch price of R265K.
