The Honda that feels sporty, comfortable and easy

This title may seem like a misnomer, as all Hondas are comfortable and easy to live with. But they can sometimes be too cautious and lose the sense of excitement. Make no mistake; this does not mean that they are bad or slow products; they just lack that ‘X’ factor that makes us love a two-wheeled motorcycle.

However, Honda is the largest manufacturer of two-wheelers, so there is a wide choice of models to choose from. That means it’s not that hard to find the Honda that’s sporty, comfortable and easy to live with. It’s not the fastest or most exciting in its segment, but it has such a great mix of these attributes. This comes with great prizes.

The CB750 Hornet E-Clutch is the Honda that feels sporty, comfortable and easy

The CB750 Hornet E-Clutch doesn’t get enough praise because it tends to be overshadowed by the other naked bikes in Honda’s portfolio. The CB650R E-Clutch has two more cylinders and Honda’s neo-retro styling, which makes it stand out. For a few thousand dollars more, the CB1000 Hornet SP with its premium suspension and front brakes is a very tempting option.

However, the CB750 Hornet is a great motorcycle in its own right, with its light weight and enthusiastic engine. Honda recently added the E-Clutch system, and with the semi-automatic gearbox, it’s now even more usable than before. There’s little doubt that it’s the Honda that feels sporty, comfortable and easy-going.

Honda CB750 Hornet price: $7,999

One of the highlights of the CB750 Hornet is the price. The addition of the E-Clutch system increased the price by… nothing. It remains nakedly a middleweight at under $8,000, but with much more value than before. It is extremely well priced considering the competition and the features it offers. In fact, it’s the cheapest among the competition.

The Honda CB750 Hornet delivers enthusiastic performance

Honda has made extensive use of parts sharing across its range to keep prices and ownership costs low. We see the same with the CB750 Hornet: it shares its engine with the XL750 Transalp. This 270-degree parallel twin displaces 755cc, has a compression ratio of 11.0:1, and generates 90.5 horsepower at 9,500 rpm and 55.3 pound-feet at 7,250 rpm.

The output puts it near the top of the pile of middleweight budget nakeds in terms of power. There’s a by-wire throttle, so you get three riding modes plus one user mode, HSTC, wheelie control, engine power and engine braking adjustment.

Honda CB750 Hornet transmission and final drive

The CB750 Hornet has a six-speed close-ratio manual transmission and is currently available with the E-Clutch system as standard. This is an electronic system that operates the clutch automatically, so you still have to shift gears yourself, but the system does the rest for you. Combined with the by-wire throttle, it works like a two-way quickshifter, plus the fact that you don’t have to pull the clutch lever when coming to a stop.

Honda CB750 Hornet Chassis

Practical choices here too

Honda’s steel diamond chassis forms the backbone of the CB750 Hornet. It uses the engine as a loaded member. At the front there is a 41mm SFF-BP inverted fork and at the rear a Pro-link single shock absorber with adjustable spring preload. Available suspension travel is 4.7 inches and 5.1 inches at the front and rear, respectively.

Braking is via twin 296mm discs at the front, gripped by Nissin four-piston fixed calipers. At the rear, a 240mm disc is paired with a single-piston caliper. 17-inch alloy wheels and tubeless tires round things out, with a narrower-than-usual 160mm-wide rear tire chosen for the smaller Hornet.

Honda CB750 Hornet Dimensions

This is a small, light middleweight. The wheelbase is 55.9 inches, with a seat height of 31.3 inches. Curb weight is 432 pounds, ready to drive, with a full tank of fuel. It has a somewhat large 4.0-gallon fuel tank, which, combined with the fuel-efficient engine, should make the CB750 Hornet useful as a light touring car as well.

Honda CB750 Hornet Features

Considering the low price, the CB750 Hornet has a very good feature set. The instrumentation uses a familiar 5-inch TFT display, equipped with Bluetooth and navigation via apps via Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Moreover, it has full LED lighting.

The accessories list is short, but does contain some practical items. They include rear-set footrests, rear seat covers in different colors, a small fly screen, heated grips, a custom seat, soft luggage and suitcases. Overall, this doesn’t match the level of the premium middleweights, but that’s fine, the audience doesn’t overlap with the audience for those products.

Honda CB750 Hornet Competition

The middleweight naked segment is crowded, and for good reason: these bikes can be docile enough to learn on, and they’ll keep you entertained well into your riding career. They also have extremely broad appeal because of their flexibility. Mentioning the competition results in a real who’s who of the segment. It includes the Kawasaki Z900 ($9,999), Suzuki GSX-8S ($9,249), Triumph Trident 660 ($9,145), Honda’s own CB650R E-Clutch ($8,699) and the CFMoto 800NK ($8,699).

Normally we expect to talk about a CFMoto product when it comes to value and great prices, but for once the Chinese manufacturer has been outbid by not just one but two Japanese manufacturers. To give the 800NK its due, it has better performance and better components overall, but we also look at the price.

Therefore, the natural enemy of the CB750 Hornet is the Yamaha MT-07. It costs $500 more than the Honda, and it recently received an update that gives it a nearly identical feature set to the Honda. There are a few differences: the Yamaha’s KYB suspension also has adjustable rebound damping in the rear, and the Yam is almost 20 pounds lighter, but it’s also 20 horsepower less than the Honda.

Honda CB750 Hornet vs Yamaha MT-07

Source: Honda Powersports