Re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

According to service book reserve capacity is 1.7 ltr.
For mileage, wait for 1st service. Focus on Engine Break-in till 1000Km

Re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

What mileage are you getting?

Re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

Not sure bro..I have been filling petrol..(approx...3 L ) for riding only very few kilometres....approx 40km...

My bike getting into Reserve mode..within this time..

Is hornet reserve capacity is more..is it close to ..2L or..1.7..?..

Re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

According to owner's manual it is 1.7 l. You should check by reserve to reserve method which IMHO is more convenient.

Re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

Did 1st paid service (4th service) today. Pathetic experience of service quality.
870₹ (without chain lube).

Bike had lot of dust/mud and they were not willing to clean it. After trying to make scene, some guy cleaned it up... So bad..

Bike still feels rough even when running on smooth surface.

Re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

You may report your bitter experience to higher HMSI authority.

Re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

Yeah I did it once by reporting to Honda over phone call.
After that I got call from my ASC, and bike was serviced again.

The thing is this takes a lot of time and efforts. And almost my entire day gets wasted.

I'm planning to have bike serviced from local garage now onwards. Where I can have it done in front of me and much cheaper.

Does anyone do it?

Re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

I do routine services like bike washing/cleaning, engine oil change, drive chain tension adjustment/cleaning/lubrication, air filter replacement, headlamp bulb replacement etc. myself because the ASC guys do these casually.

Re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

Wow buddy! That's great!
So you must be having all tools [emoji2] [emoji106]

Re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

Not all but some.

Re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

I see how you see this as theoretically impossible. I wish I could explain better. But it's just how it is. I think other fellow Hornet users could confirm this.

Albeit sharing the source, they do have separate wires. A step down AC-DC supply module costs ~400 AFAIK. Having AC-DC and DC-AC at either ends could achieve this. When mechanical energy is unable to charge the battery as quickly, it'll reduce the current provided to the bulb - to avoid strain on the (single phase) alternator, and there by the engine. That's the best I could think of to fit the story.

Now unfortunately, I can't get my engineer/mechanic guy to come and explain it here. I'll try to look around for an explanation and get back.


For AC, yes. But for me, after the mod, it's constant for me starting at ~800rpm (lowest idle RPM I could set the bike at). It just won't flicker, irrespective of the RPM.

Re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

I have ridden a few hornets, and they had AC connection to both high and low beam. High beam too flickers like the low beam. All of them bone stock. It's the only con for most owners.

Only thing I can think of is the flasher. The flasher gives a constant light thanks to a direct battery connection.

Your friend's unicorn 160 might be the one with AHO. The one which I had was the BS3+non-AHO model. Both the unicorn and hornet had the same behaviour (I've ridden many of them as I had problems with the unicorn). The headlights flicker below 2.5k RPM due to the AC connection. But the pilot lamp has a DC connection, and some people use this to convert the headlights to DC.

It'll be very helpful if you could explain the modifications you have made. It'll help many people here and eliminate by far the biggest con of the Hornet[emoji13].

Re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

So my mod works and could be a guideline for people out of warranty.

I just know the idea of what has happened. I'll get the details from my engineer/mechanic guy and share it on my blog. Will tag you when I do so.
So from what I understood of his quick overview:
[Premise]
- There are two converters - AC->DC and DC->AC.
- The line coming to the low beam is from the alternator where initial DC-AC conversion happens.
- When the engine starts, its mechanical energy gets converted to electrical energy and the generated current is fed to AC->DC converter.
- This converter is connected to the bulb - which will light up according to the current provided. at ~3k RPM 100% brightness is achieved.

[Mod]
- Remove alternator - converter connection
- Get a new line straight from the battery.
- So the DC connection series essentially becomes : battery -> switch -> capacitor -> light
- The need of capacitor is that it is assumed that direct line from battery could drain battery faster than its charging while under 3k RPM.

----consecutive posts auto-merged-----

Ah, I get it now. The pass-light switch draws current directly from the battery then.

But then why do this? Why make the wiring so complicated? Just use a 2-phase/3-phase alternator, like in Bajaj or Yamaha bikes and *draw simple lines* from battery to the lights via the switches? My p180 alternator was cheaper than CBZ's AFAIR, so cost cutting couldn't be the issue...

PS: Sorry about double post, I was expecting to get the above two posts to auto-merge but you posted in between

Re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

I modified my post again with stuff about the unicorn 160[emoji13].

Honda uses this setup in their bikes. Everything DC except the main headlight bulb. AFAIK the electricals of the unicorn 150/160/Hornet are almost the same.

Not entirely sure, but this is what I think they use-
From the alternator to the RR unit to the pilot lamps/taillamp/console,etc. The headlight is connected to the alternator, and when the engine is revved above 2500rpm, the load is taken off the alternator and passes onto the battery.

It is mainly for cost cutting/why change it if it already works and people don't complain. P180 is a completely different case. Bajaj parts are cheaper than Hondas. Honda overcharge for parts.

Re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

You're right - the only thought process I see is "if it works, why change it?". Yes, Honda do overprice components, but RR unit and alternator are generic components, no reason for Honda to overprice them in the first place. I mean we used alternator in our electronics labs for years without any breakdowns right .

This also makes me wonder, with high efficiency DC alternators, do we need rectifiers? Bajaj is already using this. Yamaha too but their spares are WAY too expensive - if you were to retrofit. Just sayin'.

I think my understanding from the above post is same as yours. A circuit diagram and details of modification I'll post later (maybe on the blog for better organization) after I gather the details.

Also, DC is only one of the two mods that I've done. The other being gear switch lever modification. I made the gear shifts super smooth.