2025 Honda CB1000 Hornet SP Track Bike Build

Yes it is a naked streetbike and not the ideal motorcycle for track use, but that is exactly what I intend to do with it.
So here we go!

First off the new bike: 2025 Honda CB1000 Hornet SP

It takes a lot for a new motorcycle to garner my attention these days. Owning dozens and dozens of motorcycles that I never have time to ride I tend to gloss over most new releases as way too many cookie cutter machines are offered to us by all the major manufacturers, but I saw this new bike online and realizing it came with an Ohlins TTX shock as well as factory fitted Quickshifter and AutoBlip functionality my interest was instantly piqued. I found one the very next day at a local dealer and shut the shop down early so I could go pick it up.

I have for over two decades contended that the best streetbike ever created was the Honda Hornet 919. A simplistic, budget build universal Japanese motorcycle that was a jack of all trades and master of none. You see in my mind what makes a great motorcycle is the idea that the owner wants to ride it. The old 919 was so easy to ride and so much fun that you would just start making up excuses to go for a ride, any excuse! "I'm going to the corner store for cigarettes even though I don't smoke" kind of excuses... It had excellent street manners ample power and torque and simply did not take a lot of focus to ride it and have fun. From commuting to work to 1300 mile weekends with saddlebags installed to trackday excursions that old 919 did the job.

Well the Hornet SP is a modernized extension of that previous model and I simply could not contain my excitement or my wallet when I realized it existed. Once I got it home and unloaded I immediately went for a ride and to be quite honest was less than impressed. For a literbike it was terribly underpowered and the Ohlins shock felt harsh while the front SHOWA forks felt like limp spaghetti just blowing through the stroke and offering no support whatsoever even on a gentle ride to the shop and back. Now I fully understand that all production bikes are built to the cheapest price point and nothing gets skimped on from the factory more than suspension, but as it already had an Ohlins shock and the forks were SHOWA Big Piston designs I happen to know a suspension guy that can fix any and all of that and for track use it was definitely going to be a Priority on the List of Mods...

Less than a week of ownership went by before I had converted an Ohlins NIX30 kit from a ZX-6R to fit the Hornet SP forks and I had a solid plan for respringing and upgrading the valving on the Ohlins TTX shock. I had already touched base with Nate at 2 Wheel Dyno Works about their ECU Flash Tuning as they are 1 of the 2 top tuners in the entire world that I trust for all my Tuning Needs.

That all being said, below you will find a comprehensive list of the changes we are making to this Hornet SP

some links may not be active or updated yet

Much of the information and mods below are specific to the 2025 Hornet SP, but there are also some articles and reviews from other bikes that are relevant to the ownership experience so they are included as well.

MODS LIST