The Honda Hornet Will Return in the "Near Future"

Buried in Honda’s rather large media dump for the EICMA show in Milan is confirmation that Big Red is set to bring back the Honda Hornet motorcycle.

The upcoming Honda Hornet is tipped to use an 850cc parallel-twin engine – part of the same engine platform that is expected to power the Honda Transalp adventure bike.

Honda doesn’t give too much indication on when we could see the Hornet and its siblings, simply saying that the bike will be unveiled in the “near future”.

We take that to mean sometime in 2022, likely during next year’s new bike season.

Judging from the concept that is on display in Milan, the new Honda Hornet will be a sporty ride, taking on machines like the KTM 890 Duke R and Yamaha MT-07.

That is a tough crowd to compete against, and the same can be said for the rumored Transalp middleweight ADV machine.

Late to the party already, Honda will need to hit both of these bikes out of the park if the Japanese brand wants to find traction in these segment.

Their media statement about the concept and upcoming debut is below:

Honda is also pleased to confirm that the illustrious Hornet name will return to its line-up in the near future. The Hornet has been renowned for delivering exhilarating engine performance and agility matched to cutting edge street-fighter styling since the model was first introduced in Europe in 1998.

A sneak preview of the concept direction for the new incarnation of the Hornet will be available for visitors to EICMA. Showcased in a special area within the Honda stand, projection mapping is used to full effect in a vivid 3D display of light and sound that both looks back at previous Hornet generations, and forward to what is to come

Taken in the round, Honda’s new line-up underlines its unwavering commitment to offering even more diversity and value to motorcycling’s broadest, richest product range.