Expert Reviews on Honda CB Hornet 160R

The Bajaj Pulsar NS160 hopes to catch the fancy of the premium 150cc commuter segment - but will it manage to claw its way up to the up? The first obstacle is this, the Honda CB Hornet 160R. We have a look. 

What we have here are two obvious players in the affordable and performance centric commuter class, and one outsider of sorts. The TVS Apache 200 4V – one of the obvious players, given it has nearly 20bhp – is the newest entrant. And though it is available both with fuel injection and carburetion, we have the latter for it is lesser priced.

Seems like déjà vu. We just had the Suzuki Gixxer and the Yamaha FZS-FI locking horns a couple of months back right here on BikeWale. But here we are again with both the Gixxer and the FZ, and for good reason. The last time round, we couldn’t get a Bajaj Pulsar AS150 in time to join the test. More importantly, we also now have the Honda Hornet 160R.

The Honda Hornet 160R is the Japanese two wheeler maker's third attempt at luring in the young. It tried with the Dazzler and then with the Trigger, but both bikes were half-baked attempts. The Dazzler completely lacked appeal and the Trigger was just a Unicorn in fancier clothing. With the Hornet 160R, however, Honda has set out not just to play catch up with success like the Yamaha FZ-S and the Suzuki Gixxer but to blow past them. And what better place to start than one that truly defines this class of 150cc motorcycles: Style. The Hornet 160R might be the Unicorn 160 underneath with the engine and chassis borrowed from the latter, but Honda has done enough to create the much needed differentiation.