Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128087
2001 Honda CBR600F4i The key to Honda's new CBR600 F4i is the I - as in injected, fuel-injected. The new model also features other key changes that make the bike more suited to the racetrack than previous CBR600s. track. To do so they had to increase engine performance while also making some chassis changes to make the bike stiffer. They also had to give the bike the look of a winner, thus the styling was redone on the F4i to give it By PAUL CARRUTHERS PHOTOS BY KEVIN WING nless you had one that was wheeled out of either the American Honda or Erion Racing big rigs, chances are your Honda CBR600F4 was better suited for weekend jaunts on the roadways of Americana than for Road America, Road Atlanta or any other racetrack in the country. Not so for the F4i, says Honda. With a goa I of making its 600cc Supersport entry more track worthy, Honda has reworked the CBR, adding - among other things - fuel injection. In what is truly a case of not wanting to rest on one's laurels (Honda did win the AMA 600cc Supersport title in 2000 - for a second straight season), Honda has upped the ante in an effort to stay competitive in the marketplace - and the racetrack. As always, the key word with a sportbike is compromise. Making a production streetbike a quality racing motorcycle usually means making it less road worthy. Making it a good streetbike usually means making it less of a racebike. In dealing with this compromise, the CBR pendulum has always swung more toward the road than the racetrack, with the boys in the race shop able to perform enough trickery to make the bike a winner on track. For this year, Honda engineers led by Hiroyuki Ito - went on a mission to "sharpen" the bike for the race- U 12 JANUARY 17, 2001 • eye a more "aggressive" appearance. I e n e _ s With that said, Honda used Las Vegas Motor Speedway to introduce the new model to members of the motorcycUng press. Obviously, it's the styling that you notice immediately, when you see the F4i for the first time. The new body- work up front includes a dual-headlight design and larger airducts, with the overall appearance definitely racier. It also produces three percent less drag, making it more aerodynamic than last year's model. The airducts aren't just for looks, however, as they provide the real source of the F4i's power increase, which is roughly 5 horsepower, according to Honda. The second thing you notice is that the bike feels different to sit on at idle and it feels different at speed. Again, it's that silly compromise thing. At the racetrack, the changes to the physical aspects of the F4i make it a better motorcycle. On the road a few weeks later ... well, basically, this Honda isn't as comfortable as the CBRs you remember, including last year's model. The seat is 5mm higher (31. 7 inches), which, naturally, makes the bars feel lower. That seat is also less comfortable than last year's, unless my rear end is grossly misinformed or my memory serves me wrong. Again, it was a streetride thing. And again, compromise comes into play because the handlebar/footpeg/seat combina-