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“I've had my Hornet 250 for almost two years, for the...”

written by NickyD89 on 11/02/2009

I've had my Hornet 250 for almost two years, for the first year it was restricted to 33bhp but is now full power. Not entirely sure how much power that actually is but according to an old BIKE article and many websites I believe it has roughly 36-40bhp. Anyways its certainly enough after you've passed your test and has been a PERFECT bike to gain experience on.

The handling on this thing is ridiculous and I reckon I'm unlikely to experience any better to be honest (in the bike world). The light weight, low center of gravity and ultra capable Bridgestone rubber (BT-014 in case your wondering) add up to equal insane fun! I was once waved through by a guy on a Fireblade purely because in the twisties even sportsbikes struggle to go round corners any quicker!

The engine is a 250cc inline four (which you'll already know if you found this review I imagine). Its more than powerful enough if all you've ever know is a 125, but feels a bit gutless if your used to serious power. The bike redlines at 16 grand and there is nothing until at least 8-10. Once you get onto the B-roads though and you start tap dancing with the gear lever the combination of a pretty decent gearbox, revvy engine and light weight equals huge fun.

On more practical points there is no low fuel warning light and the clocks are in kmh so I tend to just reset the trip after every fill, leave the tap on reserve all the time (seems to run smoother), and start looking for some fuel once the trip hits 160km (100 miles). That works well for me anyways because I normally need a break after I've been on it for that long. If you were pushing it I'm sure it could go 120 miles between fill ups, its pretty economical. I've got a proper Honda flyscreen (most parts for the bike are interchangeable with its bigger brother) and that ensures my head doesn't move about too much on the motorways, where even in 6th gear theres a decent amount of torque to keep up with traffic without needing to change down.

Sorry for the essay but if your reading this your probably thinking of buying one so I've tried to be as thorough as possible. To sum up its a 9/10 bike, a couple niggly faults but thats being pedantic. I strongly recommend the Hornet 250 to anybody who is thinking about getting one.

P.s. theres a vid of my bike on youtube if you type in 'hornet vs fiesta' you'll find it!