All Tests – Hornet 2009 Test: the sassy teen has matured! – Holy nitouche or queen of bitches ?!

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Hornet 2009 test: the sassy teen matured !

All Tests - Hornet 2009 Test: the sassy teen has matured! - Holy nitouche or queen of bitches ?!

Sulphurous when it was released in 1998, the 600 Hornet has endeavored to moderate its dirty character over the vintages. Completely revised in 2007, the Honda hornet offers suspensions with finer settings for 2009 to appeal to the most sporty. Test.

Holy nitouche or queen of bitches ?!

If it is undeniable that the Honda roadster has calmed down during its profound transformation of 2007, beneath its appearances of the first of the class a little stuck hides a sporty temperament that the weight of the years has not stifled. !

A side "two faces" that the Hornet cultivates with class and panache, like its engine behavior: soft as a lamb below 4000 rpm, it sends a first warning at 7000 rpm – in along with a serious ladle of vibrations – before roaring with force from 10,000 to 14,000 rpm of the switch !

The genes of the 600 CBR are present and we find its flights not always the most expressive, but oh so effective: in the straight line of the Beuvardes circuit, our Hornet gave a hard time to many average sportswomen displacement! Obviously, the roadster loses contact at high speeds and its driver also suffers from non-existent protection and steering requiring caution past 180 km / h. But the berlingot spits its 102 hp with astonishing conviction and allows a respectable 235 km / h in fifth gear. Not bad, for a 600 roadster !

On the road as on the track, the softness of the gearbox and the cutting edge of the front axle will delight the most athletic while the 295 mm discs are enough to stop the beauty with two fingers without ever showing a slack: only the surprising bite at the start racing calls for caution in precarious grip conditions.

Consequently, the Hornet incites to the gaudriole: on circuit, it is easy to measure how the participants of the late Hornet Cup had to pay a good slice, so much the machine shows astonishing predispositions! Do not expect the Honda to revolve around a GSX-R or an 848, but well conducted in the winding, the 2009 Hornet can wreak havoc as its healthy chassis and its always controllable power allow you to dive on the rope in a flash, then accelerate without ulterior motive until the next curve while taking advantage of its enjoyable extension !

On a track made difficult by heavy showers that fell the day before our circuit test, the Hornet was able to take advantage of its agility – practical for changing course in the event of wet areas right on the trail! – and his impressive motor skills.

With Michelin Pilot Power still in the game, our test model happily played with traces of humidity. And provided you remove the nipples from the toe clips, the ground clearance allows many fantasies before being called to order? So, does the 2009 Hornet perform flawlessly both on the road at a sporty pace and on the circuit? ?

In fact, although the latest version of the winged blazon is a success on the dynamic level, the less incisive driving position and the shock absorber lacking progressiveness penalize it when it comes to taking out the big attack. On a perfect asphalt, no problem: the fork brakes mass transfers brilliantly and the single-shock absorber stays on course. But as soon as the road crumbles or large compressions appear, the rear element pays for its lack of linkage with dry reactions that penalize exits from curves or rapid changes of angles..

For its part, the 41 mm fork is astonishing as it seems capable of supporting more and more without failing: full angle and knee to the ground, the front allows slight braking in curves without slacking! Only entering into bends requires a free release of the right lever before submerging the motorcycle to the rope, otherwise the assembly will be locked..

Adjustable in rebound, the suspensions thus admit their limit but – and the precision is of size! – only when they are pushed back into their last entrenchments on small bumpy roads swallowed at brisk pace, or on a technical circuit traveled without unemployment !

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