There has been a lot of talk about new Honda Hornet, in particular in reference to the inheritance it collects. The previous one, equipped with a CBR600RR-derived in-line four-cylinder, was a point of reference among medium-displacement naked bikes. Its competitors were, among others, the Triumph Street Triple 675, the Kawasaki Z750, the Suzuki GSR600 and 750. It was expected that the new version would pick up the baton and challenge the Ducati Monster, KTM 890 Duke, Triumph Street on equal terms. Triple 750, Yamaha MT-09. This was not the case: today the Hornet is an “entry” powered by a 750 cc twin-cylinder and competes with the various Kawa Z650, Yamaha MT-07, Triumph Trident.
Many howled at the scandal. Without going into the merits of Honda’s decision to “downgrade” such an iconic model, it is interesting to observe the comparison between the curves of the two engines, the four-cylinder and the twin-cylinder. The latter comes out on top, probably surprising many of his detractors. In terms of maximum power, the difference with the old unit is around 7 HP (91.5 HP at the wheel against 84.2). While at the couple level it has the advantage from “zero” to 10,000 rpm. The peak is 68.1 Nm at the wheel against 58.1. In reality, the disadvantage of the 600 in terms of torque to the wheel is less because, thanks to a wider delivery range (the limiter intervenes at 13,250 rpm instead of 10,250), it can use an overall “shorter” ratio.
