The Honda Revfest event surprisingly brought us a new member in the Indian automobile society, tough enough to play hard with the existing competBrianbalakumaranrs. Named as the Honda CB Hornet 160R, the bike is something which Honda never had purely tried in the past. Premium feel would surround the newcomer as it is not made like every other commuter in the market or by Honda itself. The lack of a naked bike with pure street bike feel can be fulfilled by the muscular and tough looking body design. Lean bikes have always been Honda’s way of biking but the changing market scenario forced them to bring a popular non-Indian bike series name’The Hornet’ under an economical engine size for the country.
Design and Style
The CB Hornet 160R comes inspired from the design of the concept Honda bike, the CX-01, which was showcased at the 2014 Auto Expo. It comes with a bit different approach as all the Honda bikes in the segment are more commuters than the famous street fighter designing. The tank gets a muscular cowl, which houses the Honda’s wing symbol over it. Front gets a Honda style headlight and the most noticeable point becomes its mid-ship exhaust design. The alloy wheel design is new to the Honda family and looks great on the Hornet 160R.
The tank has been precisely chiseled from each angle, making it more muscular than any other bike in the Honda’s Portfolio. The rear gets an X shaped tail light and a wide tyre, which is always missing from Honda’s motorcycle range.The length x width x height of CB Hornet are 2041mm x 783 mm x 1067 mm. Ground clearance of the bike stands at 164 mm with a wheelbase of 1345 mm. The fuel tank capacity is 12 litres and kerb weight of STD model is 140 kg and CBS model weighs 142 kg. The seat height is 790mm.
Instrument Console
The Hornet is said to replace the CB Trigger and comes with the same instrument console which was used in the former. It is a fully digital rectangular unit, cleanly defining all the requirements, from a bar form tachometer to a digital speedometer, it carries everything like trip distance, fuel indicator etc. The unit looks good because it’s not as dated as many of the currently running street fighters.
Engine and Gearbox
The engine below the tank is said to be the same unit which is currently available on the CB Unicorn 160 but it has been tuned to generate more power and torque. The 162.71 cc, single cylinder engine develops 15.66 BHP @ 8500 rpm of maximum power and 14.76 NM @ 6500 rpm of maximum torque. The gearbox remains the same 5-speed unit of the Unicorn and no changes are said to be done to the gear ratios also.
Mileage and Top Speed
The engine comes with HET(Honda Eco Technology) and features a good balance between style, economy and power. The company claimed mileage of CB Hornet 160R is 60 kmpl and you can expect the real world combined mileage figure of 40-50 kmpl. The company claimed top speed of CB Hornet 160R is 110 kmph.
Brakes and Suspension
The Hornet 160R comes equipped with two disc brakes, one for the front(276mm) and the other for the rear(220mm). The availability of CBS(Combi Braking System) is undoubtedly true, which makes it the best bike in terms of braking in its segment. The STD model of Hornet 160R comes with a 276mm front disc brake and 130mm rear drum brake. The suspension at the front is telescopic whereas the rear gets a monoshock suspension. The tuning is said to be improved, providing much comfortable riding experience to the rider as well as pillion
Total kilometres done: 4, 412km
Fuel Efficiency: 47kmpl(overall)
Date Acquired: December, 2015
Cheers: Looks, Handling
Sneers: Engine Vibes, Notchy Gearbox