Honda's Coolest New Bikes Are Cheaper Than The Competition

It's official: Honda's best forbidden fruits have come to the United States. After a report last month saying the CB750 Hornet, Cb1000 Hornet SP, and NT1100 would make their way to our shores, Honda confirmed this week that we'll see all three bikes this coming spring. More than that, though, the company announced how much they'll cost, and it's less than you might have expected. Less than the competition, even. The CB750 Hornet costs $7,999, while the CB1000 Hornet SP comes in at $10,999. 

Let's compare those to their closest competitors. The Hornet 750 goes up against the rest of the much-loved middleweight naked segment: Yamaha's MT-07 ($8,599), Suzuki's GSX-8S ($8,849) and SV650 ($7,399), Aprilia's Tuono 660 (10,499), Triumph's Trident 660 ($8,595), Kawasaki's Z650 ($7,749), and the KTM 790 Duke ($9,499). Of those, only the SV650 and the Z650 undercut the Hornet's MSRP, and both of those bikes make considerably less power than the rest of the pack. Narrowing down to the circa-80-horsepower crowd, the Hornet is the cheapest by a considerable margin.

The CB1000 Hornet is a bit more complicated, but still a deal. We're only getting the SP variant, with its Öhlins rear suspension and Brembo font brakes, so the fairest comparison would be to similarly-spec'd bikes. But bikes like Yamaha's MT-10 SP ($17,299) have even higher-tier components that make such a comparison a bit unfair — the more accurate competitor in Yamaha's lineup would be the MT-09 SP ($12,399). The Hornet SP also goes up against the Kawasaki Z900 SE ($11,849), Suzuki GSX-S1000 ($11,909), and you could make an argument for the Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 ($16,199). It's positioned between Triumph's Street Triple 765 RS ($12,795) and Speed Triple 1200 RS ($19,995), but undercuts both on price. 

In a just world, Honda's pricing structure here would put the manufacturers of other naked bikes on notice. Imagine a world where Suzuki and Triumph slash prices to beat Honda's entrants, a world where a Street Triple 765 comes in at $9,000 to make room in the lineup for the 1200 to go head to head with the Hornet. Wouldn't that be a nice world to live in? Maybe, if we're really lucky, we'll see something like it — but until then, the Hondas seem to be the way to go on performance per dollar.