“IT'S THE MIDRANGE WHERE THE BIKE REALLY SHINES…”
The corners were flowing, left, right, left, right… uphill most of the way. Another uphill right and as I exited the corner, I saw the lyrebird scampering across my path. I rolled off and sat up, but our cute, shy and flightless bird was quicker than I'd expected and he was off into the bush long before there was any chance of a collision.
My pace was tempered by the wet road, a result of overnight rain and cold temperatures, and I was enjoying myself far more than usual for a wet ride; a combination of the lightweight Honda CB750 Hornet, brand-new tyres and the glorious midrange of the new machine combined to make riding the ranges east of Melbourne great fun, even in wet weather gear.
This new bike is the first CB750 and the first Honda Hornet with two cylinders… and as a fan of four-pot bikes, I'm seeing their demise as disappointing. But there are reasons behind the changes — they make sense and I need to get over myself. It's about the ride, not the engine configuration.
A NEW HORNET
“The shape of a Honda Hornet's tank is inspired by the insect's wing,” the assembled bike scribblers were told at the launch of the new bike. The Vespa is named for the sound of a wasp (vespa is wasp in Italian), so that's two families of two-wheelers named for one bug… but where's the yellow one?
It's usually only the big
