Hi Tom, I´ve got myself a 250er Hornet about 1 year ago - in Thailand - and I like a lot. It´s the right mix of agility, power, low weight, handling in tricky traffic situations that makes it a very useful bike that´s fun to drive too. I´m part of a biker group who everybody except me rides something with more than 1000 cc and so far I have never lost them on weekend ride outs! Though I have to say that long stretches on 12000 rpm are exhausting. Ok, the real reason for writing is that I bought this bike without knowing what it is and your web site has given me the basic information and back up for ´proud ownership´ I needed to go through the first time with it. Thank you very much for that!! Axel (a German in Bangkok who is not riding a BMW..)