Honda X-Blade vs Honda CB Hornet 160R: Real World Performance Compared

How different are these two sporty Honda bikes from one another?

There are two ways to look at it. The Honda X-Blade bridges the gap between the Unicorn 150 and the Hornet 160R. That or it sits in a no man's land between the Unicorn and the Hornet. Both bikes get a 162.71cc air-cooled motor but the X-Blade makes 14.13PS and 13.9Nm compared to the CB Hornet 160 R’s 15.09PS and 14.5Nm. The question is, how much closer is the X-Blade to the CB Hornet 160R in terms of sportiness. We have tested both bikes and here are our findings.

Also read: Honda X-Blade: Road Test Review

Acceleration:

The Hornet is just 0.22 seconds quicker than the X-Blade in the 0-60kmph run. However, the Hornet’s extra power and torque output show through in the 0-100kmph run where it is 1.8 seconds quicker than the X-Blade. Also, the larger Hornet has a higher top speed than the X-Blade.

Also read: Comparison review: Bajaj Pulsar NS 160 vs Honda CB Hornet 160R

Roll-ons:

Both the Hornet 160 and X-Blade have identical gearing and it shows in the roll-on figures as well. Thanks to its better mid-range power delivery, the X-Blade is in-fact quicker in the 30-70kmph run than the Hornet 160 by 0.26 seconds. However, it loses steam in fourth gear and the Hornet’s extra grunt allows it to be quicker in the 40-80kmph run by a marginal 0.5 seconds.

Braking:

Both bikes tested here came without ABS. We shall update the figures once we test their ABS variants. The Hornet we tested came with a rear drum brake. So its braking hardware consisting of a 276mm front disc and a 130mm rear drum is identical to the X-Blade. The Hornet is 2kg lighter than the X-Blade and gets a larger 140-section rear tyre compared to the X-Blade’s 130-section unit. All these factors help the Hornet 160 achieve better braking distances.