by Andy Bisson.
Having owned and loved a Honda Hornet 600 for many years in the distant past, I was keen to see and ride the new 750. Visually I think it’s great, maintaining the stylish and somewhat aggressive naked look.

I was interested to see what the new 91bhp parallel twin engine would offer compared to the original inline four engine. I was also wondering how it would fair for the taller rider as it looks compact in its riding position.

I was pleasantly surprised when I got on. The seat height felt low (795mm) so both feet were well planted on the ground, so I naturally thought the ride would be a little cramped but as I set off, I soon found that this wasn’t the case. I’m not the tallest of riders but at 5’11” I had loads of room and found it a very comfortable riding position. I spent most of the day out on it and came back without an ache in my legs or lower back. The seat was nice and the ride in general was extremely comfortable. They advertise a touring pack which I thought a waste at first look, thinking you’d unlikely tour on this but having been out all day I can now see that with a touring pack on, this would definitely be suitable for short trips away.

As I pottered around town it was light and easy to handle, happy ticking over in the traffic and easy to filter and maneuver. The throttle was a little snatchy at the lower speeds but it wasn’t long before I had got used to this and the rain mode helped. It’s extremely agile and well balanced. The exhaust sounds fantastic belting out a real raspy note.

I headed out of town to do our test route and I soon appreciated the smooth gearbox and light clutch lever, as I made my way effortlessly up and down the gears. The Hornet comes with 3 riding modes, rain, sport and standard. I found the rain mode reduced some of the snatch on the throttle around town whilst the sport mode helped spread my smile as we entered the test route and both sweeping and twisty bends. Steering is feather light and she was so easy to put through the twisty bends with next to no effort. It has ample torque and it’s a grunty little thing that allows you to pull through most bends in 3rd, even at slow speeds.
It’s such an easy and fun bike to ride, I honestly can’t see what’s not to love about it. It has so much to offer for a mid-range bike with so many add on packages to suit individual needs or desires as let’s be honest, how often do we need anything adding to a bike, it’s because we can that we do.
The TFT screen is very clear and the mode controls are set up in an easy to use and simple function which you can link to your phone and sat nav. It has a USB charger, LED lights throughout and self-cancelling indicators. Honda is renowned for its great build quality and you feel that throughout. I think this bike gives its competitors in this class a good run for the money and probably stands out as a top contender for me. I highly recommend a demo ride.
Since writing the review, I took a group of clients to France on a tour and Inmotion’s very own Eden was part of the group. She had pick of the shop to bring away and selected the Hornet. We covered just under 600 miles over the 3 days and the Hornet delivered in all areas, demonstrating its power and performance for overtakes whilst purring though the small Brittany villages and coastal ports, confirming my thoughts that it would be perfect for short trips away.

– by Andy Bisson. 

Well the reviews I’ve read on the NT 1100 have either compared it to the Pan European or the Africa Twin so this was my opportunity to give it a run and share my thoughts with you. The model I had for demo was a DCT so that in its self would be interesting.

The liquid cooled parallel twin engine purred as it sat ticking over waiting for me to get my act together, stop chatting and head on out.

As a sports tourer, it holds a nice upright riding position more like an adventure bike but it felt so natural and it has a very comfortable yet slightly lower seat than the Africa twin. It’s a spacious ride with plenty leg room and the pegs are well positioned. The fairing provides ample weather protection and the screen has 5 settings and it is easily adjusted so it should have a position to suit most riders.

Handling was easy as its nicely balanced for slow speed manoeuvre and nice and low to get both feet down when stopped.

The DCT offers a semi-automatic feel that may be perfect for touring but I felt that it didn’t change down enough when cornering or at slow speed which gave it a drifty feel. Being in 6^th gear at 30mph didn’t feel right. Selecting the sports mode made it better and S2 held onto the gears for much longer and dropped it down far quicker. You also have the option of manual mode and can flip through the gears with the paddle shifts. The one thing that I did like about the DCT is that it automatically drops to 1^st at junctions including when in the manual mode.

The 6.5-inch colour TFT touch screen is very clear with variable screen options which has Apple car play and Android auto functions. It has loads of added extras as standard such as cruise control, a USB and ACC adapter, heated grips with 5 settings, centre stand, 5 rider modes, traction control with wheelie control, ABS, self-cancelling indicators and LED lights. It also comes with panniers with a combined storage area of 65 litres with the option to add a top box. Everything you would want or need on a tourer.

I rode it through our test route and it was faultless. It feels great, sounds great and handles great. It’s a perfect bike for all conditions in that it was smooth and balanced in slow moving traffic, light to flip through the tighter bends and ready to roar as the roads opened up a little. Honda is renowned for its great build quality and you feel that throughout. I think this bike gives its competitors in this class a good run for the money. I highly recommend a demo ride.