The Hornet 600 is one of Honda's better known and best selling bikes, and it's easy to see why. The first advantage it has is style, and plenty of it. Accepting that the colour of our test bike in its divisive Marmite-esque hue certainly won't please all eyes, few could argue that the Hornet isn't one of the better looking bikes from Japan. The sharp, yet flowing lines of its bodywork are bang up to date and the hi-level exhaust can add to the modernity. With mast of its mechanicals also on view to give it extra life and individuality, it makes a refreshing change from many of the plastic-covered and more anonymous offerings we usually get from the land of the rising sun.
But there's a lot more to the Hornet than the way it looks, and riding it proves its beauty is more than skin deep. It's not a perfect bike by any means, but very few outings have left me feeling less than very satisfied. There are a few things you can pick out to understand just why the bike is so enjoyable, but the real benefit is has for me is its clever overall balance of excitement and practicality.
It didn't hurt that the bike we tested was under a year old and had done less than 1500 miles, as this made it feel as good as any new Hornet of this type that I've ever tried. It's a classic example of the ultimate used bike. But I know from experience that used ones still perform well when they're two or three years old with as many as 20,000 miles on the clock - provided they've been treated well.
The light and diminutive nature of the bike means it's easy to get along with, and it's less than challenging physical size makes it particularly appealing to women. In saying that, I know a couple of six foot odd-sized owners who feel just as comfortable on it, so the typical Honda 'one-size-fits-all' is clearly appropriate as far as the Hornet's concerned.
The easy to ride engineering philosophy has been applied too. All the controls are light and well sited, the riding position feels roomy and just right, and the fuel gauge and underseat bungee hooks add extra convenience. Our bike was fitted with the official Honda screen, which helped to divert some of the wind at speed. But though the verdict on the Honda's general comfort is very good, it's still a windy bike at prolonged speeds and longer motorway trips should have a few regular stops planned into them if you're not too fond of any physical strain. Mind you, one of the bike's weaknesses may turn out to be an asset on such occasions as the fuel range is only good enough for around 120 miles when you're using it harder - though the Hornet will record as many as 150 miles if you take it steady.
There's little doubt the Honda has a sporty and stimulating side to it, so using more rpm is always quite tempting. It's got a reasonably flexible motor, and as long as you're in roughly the right gear there's enough guts at very low revs to make the bike responsive This makes it, along with the very light and manageable handling of the hike, ideal for town work. Once you start 10 spin the engine harder there's more to be gained and the midrange strength between S-3000rpm is strong enough for spirited progress without having to change gear too often to maintain it.
Performance fans will be especially pleased with the power of the engine in the higher reaches of the tacho though, and as long as you're prepared to use the slick-action gearbox id keep it above 9QQ0rpm, the Hornet will deliversome pretty impressive speeds. Overall, the motor has a nice balance of flexibility and thrills and you'll only think it's peaky and rev dependent if you're in a real hurry or greedy for constant power and speed as the engine saves its very best for highest revs. Satisfying that urge, should you have it, is what can only be described as an excellent chassis. Like the motor it's able to impress over a range of speeds, and is just as suited to trickling through towns at little over walking pace as well as it is at going flat out on tracks. I've personally done lots of miles in each environment and all those in between on Hornets, and bearing in mind what it is - an economical starter bike - I've never been able to fault the way it handles.
The Hornet's weight and geometry give it light and easy steering, and the upright riding position lets you master the bike and point it just where you want it to go with ease. Even at speed when you need to adjust your line it's just a case of counter-steering the bike lightly to alter its course. Suspension is quite firm without being too harsh, and though there's little in the way of adjustment to tune things to your exact tastes, the broad ranging ability of both the forks and shock mean that wouldn't often be needed anyway. Like the rest of the bike generally, the suspension seems to be suited to most people, on most roads, for most of the time. Only if I regularly used the Hornet really handover bumpy roads would I have call to alter the arrangement. And even then just a steering damper would be all that was needed just to give a greater feeling of security. I have to stress here that you'd have to be riding the Honda very aggressively, and the surface would have to very rough and rippled to cause an actual tank-slapper. No such modifications need to be made to the brakes though, which as long as they are kept clean and serviced, offer strong stopping power with lots of feel and feedback. They're certainly better than their quite basic specification suggests they might be.
The Hornet has been improved regularly since it was first launched in 1998 and the latest Italian-built 200?-version is the very best yet. But if you're looking for a cheap, practical and versatile stimulant, then buying a second-hand example of the model that preceded it should more than satisfy your expectations. Especially if you're lucky enough to get an example as good as the one we tried.
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