AFTER our first ride on the Hornet 900 last week (follow link " MCN – News you can believe in " in Related Stories box, right), we got the first opportunity this week to test a full power UK version. Here’s what it rides like…

The UK version makes 109bhp from the 918cc engine donated from the 1998 model FireBlade. That may disappoint some riders who were expecting a full litre of mad sports bike intensity, but the bike has a deep well of torque that Honda designed to be more useable in the city, where it sees the bike being ridden most.

What is clear from the moment you twist the throttle is this is a bike to battle town traffic on. Overtaking a queue of slow-moving cars and lorries is simple - just ride the mid-range torque.

Out on the open road, the nakedness of the bike quickly makes itself felt. While the engine pulls willingly to the red line, the rider is left clinging to the bars searching from some relief from the wind blast as you get into the higher gears. Like most naked bikes, staying over about 85mph for any length of time is literally a pain in the neck, but Honda sees this as a more relaxing ride than the sports bike that donated its engine.

The chassis is similar to the Hornet 600, though it is actually a new item. It offers the same quick, light steering that makes the 600 fantastic fun around tight lanes and even race tracks. The 900 tips the scales at 194kg dry, but even U-turning in a narrow lane, you don’t feel it thanks to the excellent low-speed manners. Clearly Honda is expecting riders to spend a lot of time weaving through traffic.

Interestingly, other engines will fit into this chassis with simple changes – even a VTR1000 engine for example. Honda staff have hinted that one day it may be possible for riders to select any engine from a Deauville to a Super Blackbird to put into their own Hornet when they visit their dealer. They added that the factory may move production out of Japan to an unspecified location in Europe in future. Barcelona may be favourite since Honda already has a big plant there.