Price is crucial for this category of bike. Presumably we’re right in assuming that if you’re in the market for one of these bikes then you can’t afford, or don’t want to pay for, the latest and greatest sports bike. Right? If so don’t worry because I’ll let you into a secret; sports bikes might be the ideal and look the best but for most people most of the time there’s very little you could do on them that you can’t on these budget hooligans – and the rest of the time you’ll have an easier time living with them too.
OK, for the extra money of say a CBR600RR you get a smidgeon more power (but not as much as you’d think) and you certainly get a far better chassis. Open the throttle and get a lick on anywhere off a motorway and you notice a saggy back end on the Hornet, a rodeo-like ride on the Bandit and a harshness to the Z750 similar to a swift drive down a country lane on a horse cart. But it’s easy to get lost trying to pick fault in this way.
They aren’t meant to do so much and the beauty of their partially limited capabilities is you know exactly how fast you’re going and how hard you can try. There’s no masking the truth, but while you’re not going to ride round the outside of a Ducati 999R it’s not like you’re riding around on a BSA Bantam. If you’re new to biking this is as good a place as any to learn how tyres grip, how chassis’ move and ex with the road and how you as a rider affect all that.
It’s important to point out in this test the prices for most models that aren’t brand spanking new are usually discounted or promoted in ofcial dealer showrooms around the country. These bikes are cheap enough to start with but a good discounted middleweight bike is perhaps the best way onto the biking property ladder.
You could shop around for the best deals on Suzuki Bandits and, without trying too hard, there’s every chance you’ll nd one for little more than £4,000. That’s £4,000 for a new bike for chrissakes! How can they do that? I bet those Suzuki marketing bods are playing clever maths games with us, lobbing a grand extra on the price of GSX-R1000s to account for it. The Hornet falls somewhere between the two.
You get a lot for your dosh again, more than the Suzuki, but it lacks the performance of the Kawasaki. By falling somewhere in between the two it’s a bit like going for the mid-priced bottle of wine in a restaurant; you don’t want the cheap one because you look tight to everyone else around and you’re not sure if it will taste like vinegar but you’re not ush enough for the fancy-dan expensive one. If that’s the case, best play it safe and go for the one in the middle.
On the face of it, ten-year-old designed budget components like un-adjustable suspension and basic-looking footrests, swingarms and decade old engine designs isn’t very special and a clear mark of value for money. In some way’s you’re obviously getting what you pay for. Compare the footrest hanger on a GSX-R1000 with that on the Bandit and you can see different levels of time and money have been spent.
Its interesting to see the Bandit still sports the same, rubber-mounted footrest hangers it did back in the day. You’d have thought at some point during the last ten years Suzuki could have addressed the vibey engine issue (which necessitates sponge-mounted footrests). It’s a gaffer tape approach to xing a problem you don’t often see.
The Verdict
The Suzuki very, very nearly wins this test. Some bikes come and go, and the Bandit nearly came and went but thanks to the extra capacity, and because it remains consummately easy to ride and live with, the Bandit is back. Being just over four grand makes it arguably the best value for money bike currently on the market, never mind in this class.
I’ve been riding and writing this test at least once a year since 1997 and for the rst time in ages it’s the Bandit that put a smile on my face. With the extra CCs (albeit not that many) and the practicalities of adjustable seat, bars and suspension this little bike goes a long way – just don’t expect reworks.
It pains me to put the Hornet behind the Kawasaki and on even terms with the Bandit because it’s a great little bike. Put simply Honda hasn’t done enough to it for my liking. I think people have always been saying roadsters like this could easily be so much better but I’m going to say it again; imagine an un-faired version of the current CBR600RR, a Hornet RR if you like.
How cool would that be? In that light this tart’s handbag seems a little pale, sluggish and slow. On its own I’m inclined to say the old model Hornet with a fork re-valve would be just as
good and less money. It won’t make a jot of difference of course, it’ll still sell well across Europe and justify its existence.
SO THE WINNER IS...
The Honda and Suzuki are both guilty of not doing very much to their bikes to ‘up-date’ them and hoping no one would notice. The ‘if it ain’t broke don’t x it’ mentality seems to work best on this class of bikes because they continue to sell well. I’d wager that’s largely because you know exactly where you are with them.
Not that the winner of this test, the Kawasaki Z750, is anything like fresh, new and innovative. It’s basically just as simplistic and dated as the rest but Kawasaki pulled two smart tricks in its design. The rst was giving the Zed that 750cc motor and the second was giving it just enough of a modern chassis to make it a viable sportsbike rival.
The saying goes that you can ‘match most sport bikes down a [insert your own favourite road here’ and the Z750 pretends to be a sportsbike without a fairing better than anything else in the class.
