Honda CB1000 Hornet: A Naked Bike For The 2020s

[advrider]

The Blade Runner look is out at Honda, it seems! Well, not entirely. The CB650R naked bike got a minor makeover for 2024 but still has a bit of a neo-retro flair… but the CB1000R is now called the Honda CB1000 Hornet, and it has new contemporary styling.

Along with the edgy exterior, there are mechanical changes to the new big-bore Hornet (remember the Hornet first returned to Honda’s lineup with the CB750 last year). There’s a new twin-spar steel frame under the new tank and plastics. The engine itself, which is based on the 2017-model CBR1000, gets a re-tuning. Thanks to throttle-by-wire, it comes with three ride modes, a slip/assist clutch and the latest version of Honda Selectable Torque Control. It’s supposed to make just under 148 hp and 75 lb-ft of torque, so obviously that re-tuning job was very thorough. The engine breathes into a 4-2-1 exhaust.

The headlights are a new LED projector design, which sounds like they can probably roast oncoming traffic right out of their drivers’ seats if necessary.

Suspension was sourced from Showa. There’s Showa’s split-function SFF-BP fork up front, which Honda’s quite keen on these days, and a Showa shock as well. The fork is adjustable for compression and rebound damping, and presumably the shock is at least preload-adjustable, but we’ve seen no indication as to exactly how much you can tweak the settings. We haven’t seen a weight listed yet, but surely it can’t be far off last year’s 467-lb curb weight for the CB1000R model.

We’ve also seen no info on US availability. These machines are not exactly the star of Honda’s lineup in the States, despite their popularity in Europe. However, we do expect the CB1000 Hornet and CB750 Hornet to both eventually show up in North America. When that happens, they’ll offer sensible street bike performance at a price that’s extremely competitive when compared to the hypernakeds from Europe. The new Transformers-esque styling on this liter-naked? That’s another question entirely, but no doubt some buyers will be into it. And increasingly these days, there’s little other choice if you want a full-power naked bike.

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