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/128236
2004 Honda 5 9 9 This little stree t fighter likes to scrap Juvenile Delinquent B y B LAK E C O N N ER PH OTO S CO URTESY OF H ON DA h ere are good surp rises , and th ere are ba d surprises. And , of cou rse, everyone likes th e good o ne s b etter. It's a lways n ic e to wa lk into a situa - T tion wi thout much in the way of high expectatio ns and th en wa lk away pleasantly surprised . That seems to be th e c a se with Honda 's -n ew 599. The b ike isn ' t exact ly sc ream ing for attent io n, bu t the truth of th e matter is that it de live rs the goods. We headed out to t he fa m ilia r ro ads of Malibu , California, o n th e 599 for a morn ing of riding, and by th e t ime th e d ay w as over, I w as really impressed w ith th e scrappy little Honda. Th e bigg e st - s ell in g s t ree t bi ke ma rket segm ent f or H ond a i n th e U n it ed States h as typ icall y b een the 600cc cl a ss, w h ic h is t rul y amazi ng becau se the co m pa ny h a s up until last ye ar o nl y ha d o ne m odel to sel l (CBR 600F /2 /3 /4i) . In 1998, th e European m arket recei v ed th e Horn et , wh ich is what th e 5 9 9 is sti ll c a lled ther e. Sinc e th e b ik e' s introdu ct ion o v e r 100,000 units have b een so ld worldwide - and most of th o se we re in Europe. As a matter of fa ct, the Hornet is th e best-selling 600 in Europe. Th e U.S. custom er has on ly had o ne Honda m o d el to c hoose f rom in t he 600 c c cl ass - u ntil t he com pany in trodu c ed th e CBR6 00RR i n 2 0 03 while st ill reta ining t he p opul ar CBR600 F4 i. For 2004 Honda wi ll have a t hre e -b ik e li neup aimed at contin ued d ominan ce o f 6 00cc sal es with 34 OCTOBER 15, 2 003 ยท eye the addition o f the new 5 9 9 . If yo u m ak e th e m i st ak e th at I m ade , y ou m ight be in cl in ed t o dis miss the 599 as an entry- le vel m otorcycle, t houg h that's a purpose it ca n a lso serv e. On th e oth er h and , it 's a bike th at th e co nsu mer ca n grow in to and th o r oughl y enjo y f or y ea rs t o com e. T h e b ik e provides th e best o f both worlds: a fl exi bl e m otor th at th e beg inner won't be intim id at ed by , and a top- end t ha t the ex pe r ie nced r ide r will full y app reci ate. The first impress ion after throw in g a leg over th e bike is th at it should offer co m fortable sea ting for a w ide variety o f rid er s du e t o its 31 . I - inc h seat heig ht. The seat itself is very comfort able an d gets the rid er up and ov er the ta nk , wi th a sho rt easy reach to t he upright, stree t- fi g hte r-s ty le han d leb ar s. O ne thi ng th at was noti ceab le stra ig ht away o nce we got on the hig hway was th at t he wi nd protection was ac t u all y q ui te good f or a " na ked" bike . T h e headligh t and th e in strum ent cl uster do j ust eno ug h to get th e w in d up to hi ghchest le ve l, so you don' t have to h an g o n t o th e ba rs with an 80 m p h w ind- blast trying to rip you off. Th e early p art o f the rid e invo lved fr eewa y s a n d th e traffi c th at c o mes with th e t er ritory. The 599, it m ust be sa id , is in its e lem ent in t r affi c. The b ik e 's 40 I -p ound dry w e i ght c om b in ed w ith its ex t rem e ly light st eering acti on make m an euvering in and o ut of traffi c a breeze. As fo r the moto r, in commuter m ode, it fe lt a lot better th an I th o ught it wou ld. I figu red that a th ree -g enera tion -o ld 600c c m o tor wa s n ' t rea ll y g o ing t o k no ck my so cks o ff . I w as , however , impressed by th e fl e xi bility o f the e ng i ne a n d especiall y with how smooth ly it c a r - The motor in the 599 is based on the motor out of Honda's previous generation CBR600 F3. A few of the k ey co m po ne n ts ha ve been c hange d to suit th e perfo rm ance requirements of the 599. The liquidcoo led 599cc inline -four has double-overhead cams actuating fo ur valves per cy linder and ha s 65 x 45 .2mm o ver squ are bo re and stroke dimensions. One of the pr imary differences between the F3's motor and the 599's is that the latte r uses 2 mm -s ma lle r d iam et er 34 mm CV carburetors. The idea is to improve the bik e's midrange perfo rma nce . Oth er ar eas th at were ...- - - - ---' altered are the intake ports, which are narrower and tuned to enhance the midd le of the m otor's rev range as well. Addi tionall y the cams and cam timing are new to the 599 . Honda may have gone to great effort to enhance the midrange, but it wasn't at the expense of top-end horsepower. Honda claims that the motor pump s out 95hp at 12,000 rpm . The valve train features shim under bucket valve actuat ion, which only requires maintenance every 16,000 miles, while the cam -chain tension is automatically adjusted. The engine uses a new digital igniti on that has separate maps for the numb er-one and -four cylinders and the number-two and -three cylinders, for optimal fuel burn. One of the key additions to the California version of the 599 - which the F3 never had the advantage of - is the catalyzer to meet modern emission requirements with carburetors. The reason that catalyzers typically aren' t used with carburetors is that if the ignition cuts out, the unburned fuel can pass through the combustion chambers and into the exhaust. This can cause problems because the catalyzer element in the exhaust works at temperatures around 600 degrees Fahrenheit. If the unbumed fuel reaches the catalyzer element, it can severely damage it. Honda' s solution was to add a solenoid to the carbs that controls the airflow. If the ignition is cut out , the solenoid diverts the air from the sub-aircleaner, where the air is drawn in from , and diverts it into the com bustion chambers and the float chambers. This will equalize the pressure and stop the fuel from entering the combustion chambers. T he exha ust system is a four-into -two- into-one stainless system with a large capacity silencer. On California mod els the 300 -cell cataly zer resides inside the muffler.