re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

Any long rides you have done

re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

The advantage of Gixxer over hornet is its performance ,The engine might be of little smaller displacement then 160hornet but is very grunty &responsive coupled with mrf radial tires. I went with my friend to test ride Hornet yesterday as he wanted my view to choose either hornet or Gixxer(I already made him drop Apache from the list) .I found Hornet's engine though smooth but missed the feel I get on Gixxer . In my view Gixxer more agile then Hornet .Yes the bike looks bit small due to its small tail(pillion seat) but that's helps it being more agile compared to Hornet .

re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

Why was Apache avoided?

re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

Because of his height. Apache is not for tall guys.

re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

was he above 6?

re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

Hello Motomonster,

Due you have a cold start issue with your motorcycle? When you start it in the morning during cold does the engine start up and accelerate properly when you twist the accelerator, or not?

I own a CB Unicorn, and I have an issue where when the engine is cold, it doesn't start up without choke and even after running it on choke after 4-5 minutes, it stalls and shuts off when I try to accelerate; unless I give 100% throttle.

This issue has been reported with the Dazzler, Trigger and the Shine too.

Does the Hornet have this issue too?

re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

Yes, and 100 Kg. So Apache doesnt suit him. Hornet is good looking. I saw it today in Showroom. Good for Tall guys. Didnt get test ride.

re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

Apache & nokia 1100 have a similarity ,both vibrates quite loud . Given the thin tvs srichakra tires which have water phobia . Out dated engine which has been same for quite a long period .

re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

No long rides as of now.max I have done is 30 kms.my parents are against long rides as of now.
You may think so but both are evenly matched just that the hornet has long gearing and power is said to come above 5000rpm.my hornet does 60 kmph at 4k rpm.it is just like ktm and cbr .both are pretty evenly matched but the hornet doesn't make you feel that you are going fast.
No cold start issue as of now hope it will be same in long term.my bike starts at first self and accelerates easily.

re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

Booked the red hornet cbs. Would be joining the pary soon!

re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

Hahaha.. That shot goes to boundary.

re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

Congrats, Where do you live? What was On road price.

re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

I currently reside in manipal. Booked the bike in kerala.
The on-road price rs 98,400 for the cbs.
The standard version is something above 92,000, not sure though.

re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

Hello Hisham2K9
I assume you boooked the CBS model. When is due to be delivered? Here in Bangalore, the standard is available; but Ananda Honda tells me that it is the CBS model that has received an overwhelming response (of 30!!) and deliveries will begin after a month.

Can you elaborate on what bikes you short-listed, and how you came to choose this?

I am confused between this, the Gixxer SF & the Apache 200.

Best

re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

Hi rapperswil,

Here, they had been taking the bookings since December. But it isn't released here yet. They are saying it might come by only end of January.

Regarding the choosing this bike:

I think I must have checked, read reviews, ownership experiences of almost all bikes around 1 lac. The final contenders were gixxer sf, gixxer, apache 200, hornet and as200.

Gixxer: was almost fixed on this, then Hornet was shown by honda. From what I understood in long term ownership and all, the bike has poor ground clearance(mostly with two people onboard), and a not so good pillion seat. That was a serious drawback since I would mostly be riding with a pillion and I live in a university campus where there are bumbs everywhere on road. Even then, I was ready to go for it, because it is such a well engineered product coming at a very good price point.

Gixxer sf: again the same bike, but looks better with fairing, but a 10k or more premium over its naked sibling for just the plastic body didn't convince me (atleast a rear disc would have made me give it a second thought). But it depends from person to person. Some people just love the fairing, and I don't fall in that category so much.

As200: Such a VFM product from Bajaj as it always has been from them. But I am more of a smoothness guy over cc. I love smoother bikes. And though, bajaj has come a long way in terms of refinement, it isnt as smooth as a Yamaha, Honda or a Suzuki. And in ownership reviews over net, i see people having some minor niggles or the other. same reason why I thought of taking avengers series out of my consideration though it is also very good product as well.

Apache 200: believe me, earlier, I was so much in love with apache 180 abs and I was almost carried away for its abs. But that was during the initial days of my search. But then, I read about its refinement levels, which are considerably low. And also, the apache rtr is meant more for tracks than commuting or touring. I can't imagine myself going to track in near future. My requirements were commuting and some weekend rides with pillion. Add to it that I am 6'1 and heavy, I might have to sit cramped on an apache. I rode my friends apache for a while and realised it wasnt for me. Now that was all the apache 180.

Apache 200, is afterall built on the same platform (the apache 180). Could be the same enigne, as I have read over net. I am doubtfull about its refinement levels. And also, the bike is an Apache RTR, it is inherently a race bike than a tourer or a commuter. So it wouldn't fit my bill( or so I think, seeing the rumors, pictures and history) . The pillion seat on the new apache was also not very convincing.

And now, the Hornet: the bike isnt perfect, but it ticks all the important boxes for me. A good pillion seat, comfortable riding posture (especially for tall guys), that macho look, the brakes, safety feature CBS and most importantly the reliability of Honda and refinements.
But this bike isnt perfect, as the first owner has pointed out, though the built quality is class leading, the welds doesnt seem to be very good, the switch gear is very commuterish(it doesn't even have an engine kill switch... but I read a couple of days ago that honda may change its switchgear on Hornet), and it has AC wiring( from my limited Knowledge, all I know is, the headlights flicker and doesn't give constant brightness. It increase/ decrease with acceleration and all. I hope I can live with that)