First official pictures of CB900 Hornet

HONDA’S all-new CB900 Hornet F will make 110bhp and boast 67ftlb of torque when it reaches dealers.

We first revealed the 600cc Hornet’s bigger brother in July but now more technical details have come to light.

The machine will use the 918cc engine from the 1998 FireBlade. While it’s four years behind the 954cc motor in 2002’s Blade, it will be more than enough for a bike which is totally naked.

The engine has been given fuel injection and has a smoother power delivery than it had in its days of being bolted into Honda’s range-topping superbike.

Honda’s dyno chart for the big Hornet shows the power climbs steadily up to its peak bhp at 9000rpm, 1500 lower than on the ’98 Blade.

And it reaches maximum torque at 6500rpm, 2500 less than the machine which donates its lump.

The figure of 110bhp is significantly down on Yamaha’s Fazer 1000, which makes a claimed 145bhp, but it is also expected to cost a lot less than the big half-faired Fazer.

A price of less than £6000 for the Hornet makes Suzuki’s 1200cc Bandit a more likely rival – the Honda is up on that by around 10bhp.

The Hornet’s styling is aggressive, but Honda has taken a subtle approach to colour schemes. Instead of fiery reds and yellows, the Hornet 900 will be available in blue, black or silver.

Honda dealer Dobles in Coulsdon, Surrey has already taken deposits from customers wanting the new machine and expects the first batch to arrive before Christmas.

Proprietor Paul Styles said: ” This seems to be the bike people were expecting the X11 to become a few years ago. ”