Honda CB1000 Hornet SP Review: The Everyday Hooligan With A Smart Suit

First Impressions: Angry, But Polite About It

The media bike currently doing the rounds in South Africa comes in the black and gold colour scheme. Matte black. Gold wheels. Gold suspension hardware. Dark, moody, slightly intimidating.

Now personally, I’m not usually a fan of black motorcycles. They can sometimes disappear into a parking lot looking like somebody forgot to finish painting them. I still think this bike would look absolutely spectacular in full HRC red, white and blue with gold wheels.

That would be outrageously good.

But even in black, the Hornet SP has presence.

The LED headlight setup looks sharp without trying too hard, the bodywork flows nicely, and the proportions are spot on. It’s compact, muscular and aggressive without looking like it was designed by an energy drink company during a caffeine overdose.

Walking up to it, you immediately get the feeling this thing is going to be fun.

And then you start it.

The SP model comes fitted with an ASC Projects exhaust, and thankfully Honda resisted the temptation to make it obnoxious. Instead, it has this understated growl to it. A deep little burble at idle that says:

“I could behave responsibly… but I’d really rather not.”

Properly Kitted Out

Honda didn’t exactly arrive underprepared here either.

The SP version gets:

• Brembo Stylema front brakes

• Öhlins TTX36 rear shock

• Showa SFF-BP front forks

• Quickshifter

• Multiple riding modes

• Traction control

• Wheelie control

• ABS

• TFT display

• Around 115kW and 107Nm from the inline-four engine

In other words, this isn’t some budget naked bike with a loud pipe and a sticker pack pretending to be sporty.

This is a serious motorcycle.

Surprisingly Comfortable For Something That Looks Like Trouble

Now here’s where the Hornet surprised me.

I’m basically the size of a small fridge.

At nearly two metres tall and around 120kg in full riding kit, I usually fold onto sporty naked bikes like a camping chair somebody assembled incorrectly.

But the Honda? Surprisingly comfortable.

The riding position is sporty enough to feel engaged, but not so aggressive that your chiropractor starts shopping for a new boat after one breakfast run.

The handlebars are wide and natural, the cockpit has enough room to move around, and the seat strikes a really good balance between soft and supportive.

You sit slightly forward over the front wheel, which gives the bike a sporty feel, but without turning your wrists into dust after 100km.

We rode from Johannesburg to Red Star Raceway at a fairly enthusiastic pace, and even sitting at proper freeway speeds, the bike never became uncomfortable or tiring.

Which is impressive considering it’s basically a naked streetfighter with anger management issues.

Then We Took It To The Track

And this is where things got interesting.

Our first rider out was Jason Wessels, multiple South African superbike champion, genuinely rapid human being, and exactly the sort of person who can expose weaknesses in a motorcycle very quickly.

Jason immediately liked the bike’s neutral handling and confidence-inspiring nature. The electronics package also impressed him, particularly how predictable and controlled the bike felt on track.

But…

He also found the suspension a little soft for his riding style, wanted sharper throttle response, and felt the electronics interfered slightly when pushing really hard.

In fairness, Jason rides motorcycles at a speed most normal humans would consider a near-death experience.

He also tried to loft a few wheelies and discovered Honda’s wheelie control takes its job extremely seriously.

The Hornet basically responded with:

“Absolutely not, sir. Behave yourself.”

The Great TFT Menu Struggle

Now we need to talk about modern motorcycle electronics.

Not just Honda’s.

All of them.

At some point, motorcycle manufacturers collectively decided every rider wanted to become an IT technician while riding at 180km/h.

And honestly? We’re not convinced.

The TFT screen itself is clear enough, and the toggle controls are actually reasonably straightforward. The problem comes when you’re trying to navigate menus while simultaneously:

• braking into a corner

• watching traffic

• avoiding potholes

• trying not to die

• and remembering which submenu wheelie control lives under

For younger riders who grew up coding smartphones in kindergarten, this probably isn’t a problem. Irritatingly, very few of them can actually afford bikes in this price range, and thus this market segment relies on the myopic Ballies to sustain sales.

But for those of us entering the “where are my reading glasses?” chapter of life, squinting at tiny menu trees while riding quickly becomes irritating.

Eventually you end up pulling off the racing line entirely just to figure out where Honda hid the settings.

And to be fair, this isn’t specifically a Honda issue. Every manufacturer is guilty of it these days.

We miss buttons.

Real buttons.

Glorious, idiot-proof buttons.

Why The Hornet Actually Makes Sense

Now here’s the important bit.

What frustrated Jason slightly is exactly what made the bike so good for me.

Because I’m not a national superbike champion.

I’m your average experienced road rider. Fast enough to have fun, experienced enough not to completely terrify myself, but nowhere near professional racer level.

And for riders like me, the Hornet SP absolutely nails it.

The softer suspension setup actually works brilliantly on South African roads. It absorbs bumps, bad surfaces and mid-corner nonsense without trying to launch you into the nearest maize field.

On track, I just got faster and faster every session because the bike inspired confidence.

That’s the magic word here:
Confidence.

The Honda never felt intimidating. It never felt like it was trying to punish mistakes. It encourages you to push harder.

Brake later.

Carry more corner speed.

Get on the throttle earlier.

Move around the bike more confidently.

And because the ergonomics are spacious and natural, I could properly hang off the bike and move around in corners without feeling cramped.

At one point I was even overtaking riders on much faster machinery, including a couple of BMW S1000RR riders.

Now obviously, those riders may not have been particularly experienced.

But it proves an important point:

Fast bikes don’t make fast riders.

Confidence does.

And the Hornet SP gives you plenty of that.

Real World Riding? Even Better.

Back on public roads, the Honda continued impressing.

The quickshifter is beautifully smooth under load, the torque delivery is strong everywhere, and overtaking traffic requires roughly the same effort as deleting an email.

Just twist the throttle and you’re gone.

Even the wind protection surprised us. Despite having minimal bodywork, the aerodynamics are decent enough that wind blast only really becomes noticeable once you’re travelling at speeds we probably shouldn’t discuss too loudly online.

More importantly, the bike feels usable.

This isn’t some hyper aggressive track refugee that punishes you during commuting and only comes alive at lunatic speeds.

It works in traffic.

It works on breakfast runs.

It works on mountain passes.

It works on track.

It works for touring.

Honestly, it might actually be one of the best all-round motorcycles Honda has built in years.

Final Thoughts

The Honda CB1000 Hornet SP feels like Honda remembered motorcycles are supposed to be fun again.

Not just fast.

Not just technologically impressive.

Fun!

It’s comfortable without being boring.

Fast without being terrifying.

Capable without demanding MotoGP talent.

Could an elite racer improve it with setup changes? Absolutely!

But for the average rider, the guy hammering breakfast runs around Hartbeespoort, carving through Long Tom Pass, or commuting to work while pretending traffic lights are starting grids, this thing is brilliant.

It flatters you.

It encourages you.

It makes you want to ride harder and longer.

And honestly, that’s probably the highest compliment you can give any motorcycle.

If you’re shopping for a naked superbike that stands out from the endless sea of identical-looking machinery, the Honda CB1000 Hornet SP deserves a very serious look.

Just maybe budget for reading glasses while learning the TFT menus.