The rear shock is more competent, with better damping and springing. But if you really want class-leading handling then you should choose the CBR, not the Hornet. The Hornet is a friendly bike. The low seat height, upright handlebars and relatively low weight will mean that the spills will happen less often, even if your legs aren't as long as most bike designers think they should be. No surprise, then, that the Hornet has proved popular with the female population.
Complaints are few.
I don't like the switch gear and found the indicator switch a long stretch even for my giant thumb. It needs to be a little lower on the switch module. That'll make short work of those down-pipes. The petrol tank's lack of capacity almost caught me out during one jaunt. The bike ran onto reserve, but I decided to try to make it for 20 more miles to use my favorite local supermarket fuel point, rather than the high-priced one that came up first.