Honda Hornet-Based CBR750R Coming?

Is a CBR750R on the way?

Ever since the introduction of the new Honda Hornet 750 there have been rumors about a sportier spin-off model. Now it’s starting to look like those rumblings are well founded with the emergence of a patent application showing a faired bike based on the Hornet’s engine and chassis.

Honda is a master of the art of platform sharing, spinning multiple distinct models from the same underpinnings. There are examples across the company’s lineup, like the CB500 and NC700/NC750 ranges that have been used to create incredibly diverse bikes around a common set of components. While the Africa Twin is also proving remarkably adaptable, spawning the NT1100 tourer and the Hawk 11 cafe racer outside the US market. From day one, the Hornet has followed the same theme, with the Transalp—already confirmed to be coming to the US market in 2024—debuting alongside it and using the same 755cc parallel-twin engine and steel-framed chassis.

A look at the CB500 range gives a clear indication of what else could be developed. As well as the unadorned CB500F roadster, there’s the CB500X adventure bike and CBR500R sportbike, not to mention the tangentially connected Rebel 500 and SCL500 that use the same engine in a different frame. In Japan there’s been talk of both a full-faired CBR750R and a more retro, half-faired Hawk 750 based on the Hornet’s chassis and engine, and the new patent appears to be connected to one or both of those bikes.


Patent drawings clearly show that Honda is working on a faired version of the Hornet 750.

The innovation covered by the patent is quite mundane, relating to packaging of the fuel tank, airbox and electronic wiring in the area behind the handlebars, but the images show a bike with low-mounted clip-on bars and frame-mounted bodywork at the front. The text itself also makes specific reference to a “front cowl… removably attached to the vehicle body frame using fastening members” to indicate the patent doesn’t relate to the existing unfaired Hornet 750.

Although the bodywork shown in the patent may not be representative of the bike’s actual styling, the fact that it relates to a way to package the airbox and fuel tank more efficiently does appear to be relevant. When we overlay the patent drawing over a photograph of the Hornet, most key elements of the frame, suspension, and engine align neatly but the faired bike’s fuel tank is much more compact, lowering its profile to suit a race-style crouch that’s in keeping with the low clip-on bars mounted underneath the top triple clamp.

The airbox shown in the patent also appears to be tailor made for a faired bike, with intakes that extend forward inside the bodywork toward the nose. These aren’t present on the Hornet. The illustration also shows a taller seat that lacks the exaggerated step between the rider and passenger that’s present on the Hornet. It’s worth remembering that the Transalp appeared in patent applications before its official release too.

There’s little doubt that Honda has Yamaha’s MT-07 in its sights with the Hornet 750, and the Transalp rivals the Ténéré 700 and, to an extent, the more road-oriented Tracer 7 in Yamaha’s range. With the addition of bodywork and low bars, the same bare bones could easily become a convincing “CBR750R” model to rival the Yamaha YZF-R7. Given Honda’s propensity to maximize the model ranges it makes from each new platform, the low bars and lower-profile tank illustrated here could also be used on a more retro, partially faired Hawk 750 model, as rumored in Japan, with styling similar to the Japan-only Hawk 11 that was launched last year.

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