Honda made its E-Clutch semi-automatic clutch standard equipment on the 2026 CB750 Hornet and didn’t raise the price. The bike still stickers at $7,999, the same figure it wore for its US debut last year. One meaningful change, zero extra dollars. In a market where every new model year usually arrives with a surcharge attached, that pricing decision is the real story.
A note before we get into it: this article replaces our earlier CB750 Hornet coverage, which contained errors we want to correct openly. The old version claimed the bike carries a six-axis IMU with cornering ABS (it doesn’t), quoted an $8,999 price that was never accurate for the US market, and described ride impressions we can’t stand behind. What follows is a research-based analysis built from manufacturer specifications and published press reviews, with sources named throughout.
The only change for 2026 is the clutch, and that’s enough
American Honda announced the update in January 2026 as part of its 15-model on-road lineup reveal. According to Motorcycle.com’s coverage of the announcement, the 2026 CB750 Hornet E-Clutch reached dealers in February in two colors, Matte Nightshade Blue and Black, at the unchanged $7,999 MSRP.
Everything else carries over. RevZilla’s Common Tread reports the 755cc parallel twin, the Showa suspension, and the Nissin brakes are all untouched; in their words, the bike “returns largely unchanged in 2026.” The E-Clutch hardware adds 10 pounds, taking claimed curb weight from 422 to 432 pounds per Motorcycle.com’s spec breakdown. One genuinely new detail: this is the first Honda E-Clutch model paired with throttle-by-wire.
The pricing deserves more attention than the hardware. Honda could have positioned E-Clutch as a $500 upcharge trim and most buyers would have shrugged and paid it. Instead the company absorbed the cost. RevZilla’s read on the move: Honda is “giving away the E-Clutch system for free.” For a bike whose entire pitch is value, that’s on-message.
How E-Clutch actually works on the 755cc twin
E-Clutch is not a dual-clutch automatic, and it’s nothing like a scooter CVT. A compact motor unit on the engine case opens and closes the clutch for you: pulling away from a stop, rolling to a halt, and on every gear change in between. You still pick gears with your left foot. Squeeze the lever and the system instantly yields to manual control, or you can switch it off entirely and ride the bike like any conventional manual. In practice it behaves like a quickshifter that also handles stop-and-go traffic, which is exactly the job a sub-$8,000 commuter-friendly naked gets hired to do.
The engine underneath is unchanged. American Honda doesn’t publish output figures, but Honda’s European specification sheet rates the 755cc parallel twin at 90.5 hp at 9,500 rpm and 55.3 lb-ft of torque at 7,250 rpm. Five ride modes (Sport, Standard, Rain, plus two customizable User slots) adjust power delivery, engine braking, and Honda Selectable Torque Control across three levels each, managed through a five-inch TFT with smartphone connectivity via the RoadSync app.
And this isn’t first-run technology debuting on the Hornet. Honda introduced E-Clutch on the CB650R and CBR650R, so by the time it landed here the system had real model years in the field. RevZilla also reports that European riders get E-Clutch versions of the XL750 Transalp, NX500, CBR500R, and CB500 Hornet for 2026. That breadth tells you Honda considers the hardware proven, not experimental, which should quiet the warranty-anxiety crowd.
Time to correct our own record again. When the Hornet reached the US for 2025, the bi-directional quickshifter came fitted as standard equipment, not as the dealer accessory our old article described. Lance Oliver’s first ride for RevZilla rated that quickshifter “good, not great,” noting that bikes with better ones cost at least 50% more. For 2026 the E-Clutch supersedes the whole arrangement: clutchless shifts in both directions, plus automated launches the old setup never offered.
Hornet vs Trident 660: $996 buys two different philosophies
The Triumph Trident 660 has been the Hornet’s natural rival since both bikes existed, and Triumph hasn’t stood still either. Per Cycle News’ 2026 Trident 660 review, the Triumph now ships with Shift Assist (an up/down quickshifter) and cruise control as standard, at $8,995.
| 2026 model year | Honda CB750 Hornet E-Clutch | Triumph Trident 660 |
|---|---|---|
| US MSRP | $7,999 | $8,995 |
| Engine | 755cc parallel twin | 660cc inline triple |
| Claimed power | 90.5 hp @ 9,500 rpm (Euro spec) | 94 hp @ 11,250 rpm |
| Claimed torque | 55.3 lb-ft @ 7,250 rpm | 50.2 lb-ft @ 8,250 rpm |
| Shift tech | E-Clutch semi-auto, clutchless up/down shifts | Shift Assist up/down quickshifter |
| Cruise control | Not available | Standard |
| Curb weight (claimed) | 432 lb | 429.9 lb |
| Ride modes | 5 (3 preset + 2 user) | 3 |
The old version of this argument was “the Triumph has a quickshifter and the Honda doesn’t.” That argument is dead twice over: the US-spec Hornet always had one, and the 2026 bike goes a step further with full clutch automation. So the $996 gap now buys you something more specific. Pay it and you get cruise control, a triple’s rev-happy top end (94 hp arriving at a screaming 11,250 rpm), and arguably nicer finishing. Keep it and you get more torque delivered 1,000 rpm earlier, the only semi-automatic clutch in the class, and two extra ride modes. Riders who spend their miles on the highway will miss the Honda’s missing cruise control every single trip. Riders who commute through traffic will wonder how Triumph still expects them to feather a lever at every light.
What the spec sheet still won’t give you at $7,999
Start with the big one: there is no IMU on this motorcycle. No cornering ABS, no lean-sensitive traction control. Cycle News’ review confirms the ABS is a fixed, non-defeatable front-and-rear system, and the HSTC traction control works from wheel speeds alone. Plenty of competitors at this price make the same omission, but our old article claimed the opposite, so it bears stating plainly. If you’re fuzzy on why lean-sensitive systems matter, our explainer on motorcycle ABS and traction control walks through the difference.
The suspension is budget-grade on paper: a non-adjustable 41mm Showa SFF-BP fork up front and a Pro-Link shock with seven-step preload adjustment out back. On the road, the press riders who have actually logged miles mostly defend it. Oliver called the stock setup fine out of the box, and Cycle News described the fork as tuned for real-world comfort rather than track pace. Our earlier article complained about harshness over expansion joints; we can’t substantiate that, and the published riding impressions lean the other way.
Two smaller compromises worth knowing about. RevZilla points out the 160-section rear tire where most rivals run a 180, a cost-driven choice that slightly limits sticky tire options. And there’s no wind protection at all, which matters on a bike that will happily cruise at felony speeds. For the fitment questions buyers actually ask, Cycle News’ spec sheet lists a 31.3-inch seat height, a 4.0-gallon tank, and a 55.9-inch wheelbase.
Buy the 2026, or hunt down a leftover 2025 manual
If any real fraction of your riding happens in traffic, the decision is simple: buy the 2026. You’re getting the clutch automation at no premium, the manual override is always there, and resale logic favors the configuration Honda has committed to going forward.
If you specifically want a conventional clutch, move fast. Ultimate Motorcycling notes the standard-clutch US Hornet was effectively a one-year-only configuration, which makes leftover 2025 units the last of their kind. Dealers holding 2025 stock against an identical-price 2026 with more equipment have every reason to deal, so negotiate hard and don’t accept the first number.
Whichever year you land on, spend your first accessory dollars on security rather than an exhaust. A light, desirable naked that lives outside is exactly the profile thieves like, and a motorcycle GPS tracker costs a fraction of the insurance deductible you’d otherwise eat. Then ride the savings: at $7,999 with E-Clutch included, the Hornet just made the rest of the middleweight class explain itself.
