Okay, today I got to sit on and look over the new Hornet...

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r108/tylerd_album/IMG_2166.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r108/tylerd_album/IMG_2185.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r108/tylerd_album/IMG_2184.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r108/tylerd_album/IMG_2186.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r108/tylerd_album/IMG_2183.jpg

and heres what I think...and I really was trying to be subjective here...

Now I am a big fan of the Hornet we know and love...I have bought 3 of them so that must say something...but I was not won over by the 07 model. The look is all over the place...although it looks better in pictures bizarrely! The bike is level...rather than the bottom up look of the current Hornet. This 'level' look seems to be the current trend, but I prefer the old skool. The finish is very plasticky...the whole tail section feels flimsy...and aside from the gold brakes that look top notch it looks kinda cheap. To sit on it felt quite upright, similar to the current model, but the tank has less character and your legs don't seem to tuck in so well. The controversial exhaust looks messy...and thats the talking point for the bike!Now I haven't ridden it...and it may be amazing...but I have no performance issues with my bike...so I would not be tempted to change. In fact the bike felt so un-Hornet like it really should be called something else. So there you go!

On the plus side for Honda it is fresh and current so may tempt riders away from their sports bikes to soemthing different.

What else was at the show? The new Ducati 1098 was tooked away in a corner as it isn't officially launched until tomorrow and was sweet. Bike of the show for me though wasn't even a new model...the MV Brutale...fitted me like a glove...and the 750 is more than enough...the only thing that would tempt me away from my Hornet so far. Oh yes...and the Benelli TNT...not upto MV levels of perfection but very different.

Each to their own though, bikes are a very personal thing and who knows maybe it will grow on me :D

Excellent review Tyler! Thanks for the pictures as well.

Strangely enough, the bike doesn't look at wild as it does in the professional pics released by Honda. Even though I keep going back and forth between liking and disliking the 2007 Hornet, looking at your pictures and reading your opinions is making me lean towards the "I don't think I like it" corner.

Since we don't get it here in US this year we don't get to see any of them on the street. Have you seen any out and about? How popular would you say this bike is compared to the prevoius year models?

PS. I'm SO with you on the whole MV Brutale thing! That bike makes me :drool

As far as I am aware it isn't actually available to buy yet...the bike I got to sit on belonged to a shop...the Honda stand only had the old style Hornet! I haven't seen any reviews yet either so its early days yet. I reckon the current Hornet will become a cult classic!

Thanks for the pics. Now get on that thing and let us know how the brand new motor feels. That might make up for the other stuff.

I agree with Steve about the motor making up for what it looks like...

But I think I'll keep my 599...that 07 is just FUGLY

I don't have to add anything here, I fully agree with Tyler on every single points he made ! :)
That 07 "Hornet" ( :? ) just don't look right to me. but I'm waiting to see what it looks like on the streets to give my final judgment !

if it lost that gross front end that thing would be top notch, it looks so cleaned up

i dunno peeps. i guess i'll be the voice of non committed dissension
and say its ok :? . i mean it's still honda quality. Not to mention
we love our 599s the way they are now and when folk get used
to something they're not always receptive to change.
i think if honda made the hornet look the same again we'd all be
bitchin' because they didn't do this or that.
i also think if you were daydreaming in your car one day and happened
to see me whip past you on a slightly modded '07 you'd think twice,
then shit yourself and want one too.
i'm not saying it's my fave and i do appreciate tyler's very good
critique as he had a first person view, feel, smell of it and i wouln't
be rushing in to trade my '04 if it were available here but if someone
gave it to me i'd damn sure take it and ride it like i stole it! :twisted:

I used to love it when i first saw the press pics...and i still do like it overall...but after getting a 919 and doing a few visual mods to it, i think if i could just take the gold inverted forks and pegs and put them on my bike i'd probably prefer my 919 over the new hornet. But i can't really pass judgement until i've see it with my own eyes on the street or showroom floor. It could be like the new gixxer that looks good in pics, but when you see it in person it's simply amazing (at least that's how i felt about them...same with the 919, imo). Or it could be a let down in person. I just don't know. But i'm right with you when you say let's see how well that new engine runs... :twisted:

What did they DO?! I'm mortified.

My Horney lives together with a Brutale...

Well it certainly is a conversation piece if nothing else! I have to say I wasn't that impressed by the pictures but was remaining open minded. That crucial first impression though was real dissapointment...it actually doesn't look Honda quality..a bit flimsy...and dare I say it, a bit 1980's Yamaha! Maybe it was the bright lights but the paint looked a bit dodgy as well...
A bit of modding may do it good though...loose the mirrors...Moto GP style pipe, cleaned up rear end and a different colour...who knows!?

I am pretty sure our Hornet will become a classic of sorts anyway so everyone wins!

pics don't do the brutale justice...saw one up front a few months ago and the thing was gorgeous except for the head light should be round..ditto for the 07 horney

What did they DO?! I'm mortified.

My Horney lives together with a Brutale...

You have a Brutale as well as a Hornet?!

pics don't do the brutale justice...
Sadly my friend just sold his MV Brutale...something about buying a boat and no place to get full service other than Miami...among other things...(we had to disassemble the WHOLE bike to do a brake fluid and oil change)

Anyway, the Brutale... It is something you must see in person. It's like art...nay... IS ART. And to ride, like what I'd imagine a GP bike to be... nuts in every dimension.

Anyway, the Brutale... It is something you must see in person. It's like art...nay... IS ART.
Seriously! Those things make me :drool

I kinda like it. It's definetly different from anything you see here in the states. Things i do like: forks, aluminum chassis, swing arm, FI motor, more horses, but i heard the suspension isn't much different from the '06 model. I think the can placement helps with weight distribution.