Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt.
Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. has been churning out some big-selling motorcycles and scooters in India for many years now. The Activa has become a household name across the country and has been the best-selling two wheeler in India for some time now. The Honda Unicorn 150 that was launched in 2005 also has been a benchmark in its segment for long. On the other hand, the Hornet motorcycle model from Honda has also been around for a while and has a huge fan following in its class. Honda is now counter-attacking the onslaught that the Unicorn has been receiving lately from arch rivals, namely the Suzuki Gixxer and the Yamaha FZS, by using the Hornet branding on its latest 160cc motorcycle in India. We rode Honda’s brand new motorcycle for India – the CB Hornet 160R, in Goa to get you this Exclusive First Ride Review report.
Honda CB Hornet 160R Design and Styling:
Aggressive, angular and catchy. This is what comes to mind when you see the CB Hornet 160R for the first time. The motorcycle looks very stylish in flesh and the design language on it goes with its punch line ‘Raw-Real-Ripped’. On the front end you have a sharp-looking triangular-shaped headlight that’s housed in a bikini body fairing in body color and matte black housing. This aggressive face gets complemented with the sharp-looking slim clear lens turn indicators that make the face look brutish. Going below, you have the front telescopic suspension in glossy black finish surrounded by a meaty dual-color front mud guard.The CB Hornet 160R sports 5-spoke split alloys in matt black finish. The front end gets neat looking Nissin 276mm petal disc brakes.
The instrument cluster that this brute gets is a wide screen unit, a full LCD screen display that reads out the engine RPM on the top, fuel on the left, speedo in the center and the trip meters along with a clock on the right. This is a very classy-looking typical Honda styled instrument cluster, with a soft yellow backlight and clear black digits flashing on it. The CB Hornet gets a semi-flat handle bar, calling this semi-flat because this is not a split handle nor is it the conventional high ‘U’ design one. This handle bar comes in silver finish instead of the regular chrome finish ones. The control buttons feel and look of good quality and ergonomics. The only thing missed here is the Engine Kill Switch (EKS). Now the EKS is a boon at traffic signals etc. and we hope Honda implements it on this machine sometime soon. The handle comes with the bar end weights. Rearview mirrors come in black housing and are angular in design keeping with the overall design language.
The fuel tank on the CB Hornet is easily one of the highlights of this trendy-looking motorcycle. What makes it different in styling is its sharp angular flat lines that define it and also the forward leaning tank shrouds that come fitted on to it. The tank shrouds come in body color with a nice shiny Honda Wing logo placed on both sides. Noteworthy here is that this tank shroud is not a bolt-on or screw affair but is a unified part of the tank assembly. The tank also gets complemented with a carbon patterned tank cover on the top that gives an extra design and style appeal to the motorcycle. The fuel–lid is a flat aircraft style unit that is flush in line with the tank panel. The undersection of the tank continues with the carbon pattern body panel that goes back till the rider footrest assembly.
The CB Hornet comes with a unified seat with a slight upsweep towards the tail. A bazooka-styled exhaust unit adds a lot of glamour to the profile. The tail section is in silver-black color and remains the same color with all body color options. The highlight on the tail is a unique ‘X’-style tail lamp that comes with LED glow and illuminates flashing the ‘X’. You get a flat and wide split rear grab-rail in matte silver color and the extended type rear mud guard in angular design. Like the front, the CB Hornet gets rear petal-shape 220mm disc brakes. The rear brake is a CBS unit (combi – brake system) where when the rear brake is applied, the front brake also gets applied, helping in stopping the motorcycle in a much more even and balanced way. The rear suspension is taken care of by the tried and trusted mono-shock unit. The saree guard on the CB Hornet has been cleverly disguised with a black fiber cladding that makes it look as an extra style element here. This is noteworthy because saree guards on many motorcycles are a bit of an eye sore as they don’t gel with the overall motorcycle and many a times spoil its appearance. The CB Hornet 160R rides on MRF Nylogrip Zapper S1 100/80-17 tubeless tyres on the front and 140/70-17 sized broad profile tubeless tyres at the rear.
Overall, the styling on the CB Hornet 160R is radical, trendy and very much like the current breed of Honda motorcycles of larger engine capacity that it sells globally. The motorcycle looks very stylish with its sharp design. The build quality is typical Honda of high quality. The CB Hornet 160R feels premium and Honda has got everything correctly in place on it. It may be the unique tank with unified tank shrouds, the X glow LED tail lamp, the futuristic-styled instrument cluster, silver-black tail or the carbon pattern cover on the tank and body panels. This motorcycle definitely has a lot of oomph to it.
Honda CB Hornet 160R Engine, Ride and Performance:
The CB Hornet 160R has its engine based on the same 162.71cc engine that powers the Unicorn 160, what Honda has done is they have tuned this motor and given it slightly more power and torque for better performance for the CB Hornet. This 162.71cc single cylinder air-cooled SI engine makes 15.8PS at 8,500RPM and generates 14.76Nm of torque at 6,500RPM, mated to a 5-speed gearbox. If you compare this with the Unicorn’s engine specs, where it makes 14.7PS at 8,000RPM and generates 14.61Nm at 6,000RPM, there’s where the power difference lies. This engine in its fresh avatar now becomes India’s 1st two wheeler engine that is BS-4 norms compliant.
Hop on the Hornet and the first thing you notice is the comfortable seating posture that this bike has to offer. The seat has good cushioning and is at a perfect height from the ground level for an adult of average height to feel very comfortable with the feet resting perfectly on the slightly raised and pushed back footrest. The handle bar, as mentioned earlier, is well-designed and is at a comfortable distance at all positions. Start the engine and you hear a very refined engine note, rev it and the note gets a bit heavy but still sounds very refined. Honda is known for its mastery in engine technology and on the CB Hornet too gets benefit of this wizardry.
With a kerb weight of 142Kgs, the CB Hornet 160R feels light, mainly due to the ergonomics on it. This aids a lot when maneuvering it through busy roads or pushing it into tight spaces. All Honda motorcycles are very good to handle and the CB Hornet 160R gets added to this list. The gear shifts are sharp and precisely aided by the light clutch. Touching the 100Km/hr mark the motorcycle feels planted and steady, the broad profile tyre at the rear goes a long way in helping it to stay this way. You also have the CBS dual disc brakes that work flawlessly, offering just the near perfect bite to the braking.
The top speed mentioned on the official Hornet brochure is 110Km/hr. The mono-shock suspension at the rear is also something that Honda should be proud of. This is one of the better suspension setups that you can get in this segment to handle the bumps and bad roads. As with all Honda engines, this engine also comes with the HET (Honda Eco Technology) which is what gives it a mix of sporty performance and good fuel efficiency.
Honda CB Hornet 160R Verdict:
We had a very short ride on this machine, but it did not fail to impress us. The Hornet has all the typical genetic qualities that Honda is known for. The styling is very trendy and we give a big thumbs up for the ergonomics that it has to offer. The 160cc engine feels amazingly refined with good power and this is a very sweet handler. Launched at Rs. 79,900/- for the front disc version and Rs. 84,400/- (Prices Ex-showroom, Delhi) for the dual disc CBS version, the Honda CB Hornet 160R is worth a buy if you are looking out for a Premium Commuter Motorcycle.
Honda CB Hornet 160R Photo Gallery:
Pics: Ritesh Madhok
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