Here’s an Eco-Friendly Custom Honda Hornet 600 Fit for Green Lantern

Although Honda’s 2006 model of the Hornet 600 had its shortcomings, it was still one sexy little beast. Their Hornet was powered by a liquid-cooled DOHC inline-four mill, incorporating a six-speed transmission. The engine had a displacement of 599cc and would deliver up to 97 hp at an impressive 12,000 rpm, along with a torque output of 49.4 pound-feet (67 Nm) at 10,000 rpm.

At the front, we would find a cartridge fork with 120 mm (4.7 inches) of suspension travel and two 300 mm (11.8 inches) brake discs. Hornet 600’s rear chassis featured a monoshock with 128 mm (5 inches) of travel, besides a double-sided swingarm and a single 220 mm brake disc.

Honda’s juicy baby was capable of accelerating 0-62 mph (0-100 kph) in no more than four seconds, while its top speed sits at a generous 134 mph (215 kph). Personally, I thought it was a splendid machine when it was first introduced to us in '06 and still haven’t changed my opinion today!

Look, an environmentally friendly attitude towards motorcycles and Honda’s 2006 Hornet 600 don’t exactly go hand in hand, but a man by the name of Louis Karsenbarg is determined to change that. He lives in the United Kingdom and decided to spend his time under lockdown working on this spectacular custom Hornet.

Karsenbarg’s vision was to convert this bike into a retro-styled café racer, while also reducing its carbon footprint by a significant margin. To achieve his first objective, he tweaked the bodywork and chassis in several ways. Most notably, he disposed of the stock wheels in favor of a pair of delicious multi-spoked rims, enveloped in Michelin Pilot Road 4 rubber.

We also notice some aesthetic modifications typical to any café racer conversion, including clip-on handlebars and a considerable size reduction on the Hornet’s appropriately wasp-styled tail. The latter can be removed to make way for a pillion seat, transforming this bad boy into a two-seater.

Subtle Motogadget m-Blaze Pin LED turn signals flank the headlight, besides making an appearance at the rear of the bike’s subframe, where a Highsider taillight is discretely incorporated. You will see Rizoma components, while a high-performance Ohlins adjustable rear shock seems to have been Karsenbarg’s weapon of choice for upgrading the suspension. A gorgeous Spark exhaust, along with a tuning kit from Dynojet conclude Hornet 600’s performance upgrades.

“I’ve become a lot more passionate about things we can do to reduce our footprint on the planet,” explains the man behind this project. “As such, I’ve built a bike with this in mind and added some features I’m really proud of.”

He collaborated with Corkor to add some eco-friendly finishing touches to his creation. The folks over at Corkor used plant-based leather to design its seat and this material can also be spotted on the grips. As to the carbon neutral aspect, Karsenbarg “calculated that this bike will produce just under 23 tons of carbon dioxide over the course of 1,000,000 kilometers.” He then made a donation to Team Trees, helping them plant over 100 trees and “essentially making the Hornet carbon neutral for that distance.”

That is certainly one creative way to go about being environmentally friendly, while you still enjoy riding your two-wheeler!

To see more of Louis Karsenbarg’s work, be sure to head over to his Instagram profile.