Hornet 919 - looking for suggestions

[StoneY]

Hey.

So I find myself the proud owner of a low KM's Hornet, paperwork says 2008 but I am sure it was just late to first registration, or re registered, I don't care tbh. Its my daily rider so the T120 is our weekend joy ride bike.

Previous owner bought it from Picton as it was, and was new to road motorcycles, he thought she was perfect but I have a bit more experience and knew it needed some shit sorted, however the price was great for a good bike that was suitable and repairable without taking a mortgage. It was an obvious crash repair, had a shitty dual headlight setup that had been done badly, wiring behind headlight was clusterfuck of epic proportions, had serious handling issues, but I knew it was only suspension tuning or re-work needed (was proven right). It had mis-matching tyres, crash knobs, renthal bars, shit mirrors, idling at 1500rpm which robbed it of engine braking, all fixable issues, and they're now well sorted.

The reason I have come to this section of the forum, to leverage your collective wisdom.
I would like to convert to upside down forks that fit on this bike without overly lowering the posture.

I like how it handles already, and for me this is more about the look as I am not that great as a rider that this mod will win me any races, but I do like to pop the odd power wheelie and the forks on it are maybe not so good for my nasty hard landings :D
And it just looks good.

I've done some quick reading on some Hornet forums and it was a rabbit hole, with a tea party to boot.
SO, any suggestions?

Aftermarket pipes will follow but the forks are first. Happy with the power, no need for much more, just an upside down front end that has all 3 setting ranges to play with. Thats important to me, I had some nice looking upside downs on my SS750 but they were cheap, no adjustment bar the oil you put in em, looking for better than that. I do not mind putting my coin into decent upgrades :)

I am no bike mechanic, once sourced will get my mates at RS to do the fitting, with shit my life depends on I pay professionals. My skills start and end at fitting the mirrors and checking tyre pressures. :D

[StoneY]

Oh and a plug for RS Motorcycles in Lower Hutt

Full service on engine (short of valve check - its only done 26k)
K&N fitted
High idle issues resolved (engine braking is now a reality)
New tyres (great price)
Fixed forks issues, had 8 clicks on one side and 12 on the other when I got it - and only one seal was done when the previous owner had forks serviced... IKR!!!!
Setup font and back for my weight and fact its never gonna carry pillions (got the T120 for that)
New front rotors and pads all round

And the best bit!
Built from aftermarket parts, a custom front headlight, modern multi bulb/LED day circle light that just totally changed night riding on this bike (the dual set it had was utter shyte) while making it near impossible to not see coming in the light of day.
Repaired the dash mounts restoring the correct angle for the tacho/spedo/dash (didn't realize it was nerefed till it was fixed tbh)

These guys do great work, fair prices, great communications. Mostly, they LISTEN to the customer (like they have a choice with me lol) and usually exceed my expectations.

Thanks Rob and team.

[The End]

If you haven't already, check out the Hornet 919 forums on www.wristtwisters.com - they have a wealth of knowledge and I'm pretty sure every mod imaginable for the CB900 is listed there.

https://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/f94/operation-mandarinia-track-fueled-919-a-81175.html
https://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/f94/bolt-on-triples-76161.html
https://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/f94/best-economical-front-fork-fix-27918.html
https://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/f94/cb1000r-triples-rc51-fork-mod-33581.html


It was a wealth of knowledge when I had my one.

Oh and...I hope your one doesn't have the infamous exhaust stink - it's part of the reason I got rid of mine. :brick:

[StoneY]

Oh and...I hope your one doesn't have the infamous exhaust stink - it's part of the reason I got rid of mine. :brick:

Oh, really I need educating my friend. Its only done 26k, and pipes are stock, whats the stink and how does ones bike get it?
Thanks for the links too

Might have figured it out from a korero with my mechanic and a few visits to Pinterest, found one that had in his opinion a Fireblade fron set. Some modifications to top tree to put my renthals on, but the bike we looked at for inspiration was seriously sexy, looked low and aggressive in front, even with a Givi Bitch screen on it still looked like it wanted to tear you a new one.

Will peruse the information provided see what I can learn.

[Gremlin]

Ridden a Hornet for more than a decade, never bothered with USD forks. It does however have Racetech internals to suit me, with Ohlins rear shock. Suspension definitely came from the budget bin. Stock handlebars were possibly worse than the suspension, yes, wide mx style bars are excellent, increase leverage/flickability etc.

Dual headlights were the choice for some, think it gave more options around lighting and also mimicked something else, think it was a Buell setup that was common.

Exhausts/fuel usage, remember it's the old Blade engine, so hardly economical compared to todays bikes, but such low down torque and smooth delivery. I think production stopped around 07? but then can't really remember. I know some were registered well after the stop of production.

Biggest thing with the stock forks are pitting, mostly on the upper, but also on the stanchions, but otherwise, I've found it to be super reliable...

[The End]

Oh, really I need educating my friend. Its only done 26k, and pipes are stock, whats the stink and how does ones bike get it?
Thanks for the links too

Might have figured it out from a korero with my mechanic and a few visits to Pinterest, found one that had in his opinion a Fireblade fron set. Some modifications to top tree to put my renthals on, but the bike we looked at for inspiration was seriously sexy, looked low and aggressive in front, even with a Givi Bitch screen on it still looked like it wanted to tear you a new one.

Will peruse the information provided see what I can learn.

So the exhaust thing is a controversial subject...but from what I recall at the time of owning one, it was either you had the problem or you didn't. A whole heap of "research" has been done over the years by many to try and figure out what causes it, with inconclusive results.

The root cause of the exhaust problem is the dual high mount exhausts - the exhaust gasses circulate back toward the rider, due to the negative air pressure behind you, which coat your gear/tailbag/pillon in exhaust fumes. But whether you actually had the "stink" component was a completely different issue. Some people chose to go to a single sided lower exhaust mount option as a "fix".

You can read more about it here:

https://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/f94/official-919-exhaust-stink-thread-13204.html
https://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/f94/exhaust-stink-the-final-chapter-survey-inside-59561.html

Also if you want the bike to sound really nice, at a great price, check out the Dan Moto exhausts: https://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/f94/danmoto-carbon-gp-exhausts-cb919-honda-hornet-an-honest-review-56969.html



Ridden a Hornet for more than a decade, never bothered with USD forks. It does however have Racetech internals to suit me, with Ohlins rear shock. Suspension definitely came from the budget bin. Stock handlebars were possibly worse than the suspension, yes, wide mx style bars are excellent, increase leverage/flickability etc.

Dual headlights were the choice for some, think it gave more options around lighting and also mimicked something else, think it was a Buell setup that was common.

Exhausts/fuel usage, remember it's the old Blade engine, so hardly economical compared to todays bikes, but such low down torque and smooth delivery. I think production stopped around 07? but then can't really remember. I know some were registered well after the stop of production.

Biggest thing with the stock forks are pitting, mostly on the upper, but also on the stanchions, but otherwise, I've found it to be super reliable...

Pretty much exactly the same experience with the 2007 that I owned.