Honda CB1000 Hornet (2025 – ) review

With its hunched forward profile, squinty paired lights and thin-waisted frame the CB1000 riffs on classic Hornet styling and manages to look aggressive without the excessively confrontational, spill-yer-pint vibes of the KTM or Yamaha equivalents. Built around an all-new twin-spar steel frame the bike is – rightly – all about the engine, the four exhaust headers on the front of it giving it instant gravitas over the two-cylinder CB500 and CB750 versions. There are two models in the range, the standard CB1000 available in a choice of colours while the SP version lays on the gold trimmings against black paint to show off its fancier suspension and other upgrades. Details like Fireblade-inspired wheels are further nice touches and, ugly great silencer aside, it’s a smart looking machine.

Viewed from above the Hornet has the muscular body, thin middle and sharply pointed abdomen of the insect whose name it carries. This looks good but also makes it a surprisingly wieldy bike for riders of a wide range of sizes and builds, fellow journalists on the launch event ranging from 5’ 4” to 6’ 4” and all seemingly happy with the fit. At somewhere in the middle of that range your tester felt nicely positioned, with decent reach to the bars and enough clearance to the floor. The riding position has been deliberately pitched forwards to help you weight up the front wheel and the bars are relatively low without being too on-the-wrists like a sports bike, the pegs striking a balance between sportiness and all-day comfort. The slim seat encourages you to throw your weight around and ride the bike dynamically, which adds to the fun, though it’s also fine if you prefer to just sit there and go with the flow.

Expectations realistic here, given bikes without bodywork obviously don’t give you much to hide behind as speeds rise or the weather closes in. Nor are long, steady motorway miles going to be much fun. That’s fine – take the twisties instead and play to Hornet’s strengths! To those ends the pillion seat looks pretty minimal as well, so it’s probably better enjoyed as a solo for all but the most determined of passengers. We haven’t seen the luggage options yet but this doesn’t feel like a bike for loading up with panniers or a topbox and we expect most owners will make do with soft bags for short trips rather than big tours. It’s a useful size, though, and that chuckability that makes it such fun on the backroads will be just as useful around town, the relatively upright riding position ditto.

While detuned slightly from its previous appearance in the 2017 Fireblade the 1,000cc in-line four-cylinder still punches hard, the standard bike putting out 150 horsepower and 104Nm while the SP gets an exhaust in the flap to improve its breathing at higher revs to unleash 157 horsepower and 107Nm. Which is more than half as much again as the 750, which hardly feels slow itself. The engine is a beaut as well, spinning up freely with a massive power band stretching all the way into five figures and a lovely response rolling on and off the throttle. Shortened gearing makes it feel extra punchy, third plenty flexible enough to haul out of tight turns before unleashing hell up the straights while the variable traction and wheelie control can keep things as neat or wild as you like. We didn’t get to try the Nissin front brakes on the regular model but the upgraded Brembos on the SP add a bit of visual bling, have a nice, progressive lever feel and plenty of power through the twin 310mm discs.

In the Hornet style the handling feels fast, pointy and very much on the nose, which took us a little while to dial into when combined with the grunt of the 1,000cc motor. But once we did proved utterly addictive and perfectly suited to the endless switchbacks and turns of the test route. It feels a lot lighter than its 212kg suggests as well (the regular version is a kilo less) with a real sense of alertness and agility but also stability when the corners are faster and more open. It’s a lot of bike for beginners for sure but, for all the performance, the CB1000’s fun factor feels very easy to tap into and exciting without being too terrifying, the extra substance of the bigger engine and chunkier build actually making it feel a little calmer than the 750 in some ways. Suspension, meanwhile, is of impressive quality with even the standard bike getting full adjustability for its Showa forks. The SP gets the same with gold legs and a snazzy Öhlins rear shock – this was the one we rode and while the Spanish roads we tried it on were very smooth the shock feels buttery smooth and suitably sophisticated and is an impressive addition at this price.

A bike with this much engine and performance isn’t going to be the cheapest to insure or run, and if you take up the Hornet’s invitation to ride it like you stole it you’ll get through tyres, chains and brake pads faster than you might on slower, lighter bikes. But that’s OK, because the crazily affordable entry price means there should be plenty of money left in the budget to cover those extra running costs.

This is a new bike so too early to say, other than drawing on the fact Honda has a generally good reputation for reliability and this engine has been well proven in more highly strung applications than this, up to and including racing. This and the fact it’s been dialled back a tad should give confidence while the rest of the kit is all well proven stuff.

Honda’s warranty is an industry standard two years of cover, with another year available at extra cost if you buy it within 1,000 miles or one month of ownership. Due to the size of the engine the CB1000 Hornet is in the most expensive bracket, this costing £339 at the time of the bike’s launch.

For the price it doesn’t feel like many corners have been cut in parts or build quality, the basic preload-only rear shock on the standard bike perhaps the only obvious bit of cost saving. Other than that it’s all good, while the 5.0-inch TFT screen offers all the connectivity and configurability modern riders demand. We didn’t get to try it but through a phone app you can connect the display to your handset for nav, music and calls while there’s a choice of three display layouts and a total of five rider modes for tuning the electronic rider aids to your tastes. These comprise Rain, Standard and Sport plus two customisable ones with options to adjust throttle response, engine braking and traction/wheelie control. We spent most of the time in Standard mode for the less snatchy throttle response, Sport just a bit full-on unless you’re absolutely going for it. Various upgrade packages are available, the Style Pack with the machined trimmings adding a nice garnish while the quickshifter you can option onto the regular bike is standard on the SP.

Given the price Honda could probably have got away with slinging any old bits on the CB1000 Hornet and it would still have got rave reviews. The fact you get all this and top-notch suspension and brakes while still coming in at thousands less than anything with comparable performance is the icing on the cake, the fact the SP offers all this and is still incredible value making it something of a no-brainer over the already impressive standard bike. Fast, exciting and huge fun to ride, the CB1000 Hornet won’t be to all tastes but is an absolutely killer deal and sets the standard for the already popular sporty naked class.