Bike Files: Honda Hornet 1000

Honda’s buzzin’ bargain is a blummin’ brilliant bike bringing the Bandit spirit to the 2020s

Honda Hornets, they’re ancient!

Ah, you’re thinking about the original Hornets from back in the 1990s – but we’re on about the new Hornet 1000, which takes on the old name but is a completely new bike. And a good one too!

So tell us about the new Hornet

It’s a naked, we’d argue a supernaked, which packs a 150bhp punch but costs less than less powerful machines like the Yamaha MT-09 and Kawasaki Z900.

It’s much less tech heavy than top end hypernakeds (like the Yamaha MT-10 and Ducati Streetfighter) but it costs a lot, lot less too. It’s a throwback to the era of the original Hornets, when unfaired bikes were good honest machines which were less sophisticated than out and out sportsbikes.

And does it live up to the Hornet name?

In a lot of ways the 2025 Honda Hornet embodies the same spirit as those 1990s machines. Back then, budget roadsters were very popular. Suzuki set the trend with the Bandit, which took a sportsbike engine and bunged it in a naked budget chassis.

The cycle parts might have been a bit basic, and the build quality less than stellar, but they were cheap to buy and represented exceptional value. It became something of a cult bike and Honda followed the format closely with the Hornet range, while Yamaha got in on the act with the Fazer too.

While those machines faded out of fashion and dropped out of the respective manufacturers’ ranges, a new era of ‘budget’ bikes has been ushered in with the likes of Yamaha’s MT-07 and Honda’s own Hornet 750.

Rather than raiding the parts bin to lash up a cheap middleweight powered by a previous generation inline four engine, these parallel twins were ground up new designs.

Honda’s gone back to basics with the 1000 though, utilising an engine which can trace its roots back to the 2017 Fireblade superbike and wrapping it up in a chassis which is basic by modern standards but still more than capable in the real world.

The real kicker, though, is the price. Launched at £8999 in 2025, the CB1000 Hornet significantly undercuts the competition. Yamaha’s (less powerful) MT-09 is a grand more, while the Suzuki GSX-S1000 retails at just under £12k. To call Honda’s pricing aggressive would be an understatement.

While it might not be the most sophisticated bike out there, a brand new 150bhp motorbike with the Honda badge on the tank seems almost unbelievable in a marketplace where bikes get more and more expensive every year. 

But is it any good?

Absolutely, it is brilliant.

Sure, it’s not as powerful or sophisticated as a top end supernaked from the likes of BMW or Ducati, but then it doesn’t pretend to be (and it’s a lot, lot cheaper). As a quick road bike it ticks so many boxes.

The modified Fireblade engine is powerful, without being bonkers, while the chassis and brakes are plenty good enough. You get five engine maps (two of which are user defined) as part of an electronics package which includes traction control, anti-wheelie and adjustable engine braking.

Suspension is adjustable, with Showa big piston forks up front offering adjustment for compression, rebound and preload, while the same company’s rear shock allows you to twiddle with the preload and rebound settings.

But wait!

We haven’t yet mentioned the SP version. With a launch price of £9999, it still undercuts the competition on price but comes with some modifications we expect will make it even more popular than the base model.

Key upgrades to the SP are a higher grade (and fully adjustable) Ohlins TTX36 rear shock, high spec Brembo Stylema front brake calipers (replacing the Nissins on the regular bike), an up and down quickshifter (a £195 extra on the standard machine) and a different exhaust set-up, which increases peak power by 5bhp – to 155bhp.

The SP also gets its own colourscheme, in a variation on the near obligatory black and gold livery manufacturers like to endow on their more upmarket machines.

The result is a motorcycle which leaves you wondering why they priced it so cheaply. Sure a BMW S 1000 R or Yamaha MT-10 will get around Donington Park quicker on a track day, but in the real world (for which the Hornet has been developed) it has more than enough and can easily bring out the hooligan in any rider.

So where have Honda cut corners?

Honda have a reputation for delivering good build quality and in no way does the Hornet feel like it’s been built down to a real budget price.

Where it’s not quite up to the levels of more expensive rivals is in level of the electronic aids. You get basic two-channel ABS, as there’s no IMU controlled lean sensitive rider aids, but in all honesty it’s all good enough.

Where Hornets of 30 years ago were assembled largely from parts of obsolete models, the 2025 Hornet 1000 is very much its own bike. Sure the engine comes from a decade old Fireblade (albeit with internal modifications for better mid-range drivability) but the chassis is new and unique to the Hornet, with many neat engineering details combining to optimise chassis performance.

Such as?

The Hornet replaces the old CB1000R and it would have been easy to simply take that bike and rebadge it as a Hornet (as Honda did with the CB500F). As it is, they made a new frame, which is claimed to offer a 70% increase in rigidity and a slight front end weight bias. It all hangs together very nicely, with excellent agility and a really engaging riding experience.

Any accessories we can add?

We’ve already established that the Hornet is quite basic and it is minimalist in its styling too. Honda do make a load of accessories, sold individually or packs.

The Comfort Pack, for example, adds heated grips and soft luggage – ideal for commuting and light tours – Sport Pack gives a flyscreen, quickshifter, belly pan and single seat cowl, and Style Pack offers up an Alcantara seat and some cosmetic bits and pieces.

Accessories are available individually too, giving riders plenty of opportunity to customise their Hornet.

Who is likely to buy a Honda Hornet 1000?

We think it’s going to sell really well and to a diverse range of riders. Its power makes it best suited to experienced riders and we think it will appeal to those who like a straightforward naked bike without having to deal with space shuttle levels of buttons on the dashboard.

The Hornet also makes sense for riders moving up the capacity ladder too, being a natural step up from the likes of the Triumph Street Triple and Yamaha MT-09.

Historically bargain priced litre bikes have sold really well – witness the Kawasaki Z1000 and Suzuki GSX-S1000 – and although the market has changed in recent years we fully expect the latest Hornet to do big business for the Big H.

Why should I buy a Honda Hornet 1000?

You want a no-nonsense naked streetfighter that’s value for money and offering more than enough performance to bring out your inner hooligan.