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/128620
Street fi ghti n' man: Never m ind that Honda Is the CUrTent AMA 600cc Superspo rt Cha mpion with Nicky Ha yden. The CBR 6 0 0 F4 Is def in itely ai med as a streetori ented 6 0 0 cc hyperbike. It delivers. Glad AllOver It is n't in Honda 's nature to bu ild secon d -best m ot o rcycles, as ev idenced by its illus trious record of wo rld and national ro ad racing championships . The a ll-ne w RC5! and CBR929 RR ar e further proof. Honda is best known for s izing up th e com petition, and th en reacting to it by building a bett er mousetrap that is oft en regarded as best in class. So when it came time to produce a wo rth y s uccessor to th e hallowed F3 , we , just like most sportbike fans , fig ured that the ne w bike would easily become the div is ion champ. Instead, the Honda CBR600F4 wound up more like the villain in a S cooby 0 0 0 ca rtoon: It would ha ve gotten a way with it if it weren't fo r th at m eddling R6! S till, th e F4 p rov ed to be a worthy s uc c es so r to th e F3 , and Nick y Ha yd en 's AMA 600c c Supersport t itle wa s e vide nc e th at th e bi k e is, in fa c t, a re al ra c er m a sk ed wit h ex q u is ite str e et m ann er s . Th e sa m e h olds tru e th is yea r. One c om p lai n t t h a t we d id have wa s that th e rea r bra ke, for a ll of its effec tive ness, fe lt a b it on t he mushy side, bu t be yond th at the Honda leaves yo u with litt le to com p lai n a bo ut a t h igh sp eed . Sm oot h a n d s tron g . Sounds like a Honda to us. HONDA CBR600F4 fUTURES Engine STREETCRED Norma lly , a b ik e t h at is as good at tearing up a ra cetrack as th is b ike is m ight lea ve yo u with a sense that the other shoe now has to fa ll, an d tha t it is t ime to comp lai n a b o ut th e shortcomings of wha t certainly must be a racebike in street clothing. But he y , th is is a Honda that we're tal k ing about here . An d all of the beautifu lly bal a nced attributes that made the Honda a s tro ng tra ck c o n te nde r a lso m a k e it a top ran ked street fighte r. Ch ie f of th ese is c o m fo rt, a s the Hon da 's p lush sea t a nd eas y T RA CK SAVVV to -re a ch co ntro ls offe r the rider a I It o nly t ak es o ne wo rd to rathe r ro omy place to pe rch for a d es cr ibe the appeal of the F4 da y's worth of rid ing or for como n the tra ck , a nd th at's m otor, m ut in g ba ck a nd for th to th o s e m otor , moto r. O ka y , o ne word wo nderful jo bs th at we a ll love so th ree t im e s . The F4 's 5 9 9cc much. inline fou r res pond s we ll fa irly On c e again , th e Ho n da 's ea rly on the th rottl e a nd offer s sweet e ngi ne co mes in t o p la y u p a se w ing m a ch in e- lik e , V~ ': between the sto plig hts , too . The to rq ue y fe e l fro m a bout 6000 20 F -~rthLf-+-HH--+-++---:l 20 I b ike 's ab ility to seemi ngly p ick ~ V r p m o n up . There is not a ~ up th e pac e from just abou t a ny 10 F-I-+H -+-++ + +-+-1---:l 10 sm oother ru nn in g en g in e in ~ wh ere in th e m id dl e re a che s of I.. " ... . I.. " ...; 0 o h."i.." th e 600cc cl ass , period . The the rev ra nge m a ke it feel more 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 free- re vving mid -range po we r RPM (x1000) 750 than 600 when negotia ti ng makes squ irt ing from c orner th e bo u le vards, and e s p e c ia lly to corner on the F4 an easy proposition that is m ade when t rave rs ing the LA fre e wa y sy stem . Our o n ly even easier by a typ ica lly Honda -shiftinq six -speed compla int - and th is one is a litt le b it m ore annoying gearbox and smooth clutch action . The Honda is a handler as well, im p a rt ing the than the spongy rear b inder - is that Honda almost sa me typ e of feedback as the m oto r. Side-to -side managed to isolate a ny bad vibrations from the rider , direction changes a re handled with apl omb, a testa - on ly to let it seep through th e throttle sid e bar, which put our right hand to sleep. That' s a rea l hindrance m ent to the balance of the total package. to a nyone who might want to take the bike s po rtS ome testers felt that the Honda 's beautiful track m ann e rs were actually enhanced as m uc h by it s touri ng . It certa inly has the right tools to be us ed in co mforta b le s e a t/ t an k/ b a rs relation s hip as b y its that capacity otherwise. Stil l. you'll have to go prett y far to find a m a c hine rig id a lum inum c hassis. If we ha d to go fas t all day lo ng , the F4 would be our first c hoice. Plush- but- that is as harmonious a s th e CBR600F4. It offe rs any controlled Showa suspension a nd strong, progressive rider raceworthy horsepower and handling in a pack front brakes make for a b ik e that wa s a h it with age th at is e xtre me ly us er-friendly when taken to the m a ny of our testers . streets. III • Straight intake tract allowed by incl inat io n of cyIinder-head-<:ove r mating surface • RC45·inspired lightweight composite cylinder sleeves for better wear resistance and supenor heat dissipation • A lum inum alloy piston s w / LU B ·Coat so li d lubricant Cha.sis /SuspensionfWh_ls • Aluminum twin-spar Pro Frame • Extruded alumin um w / pivot through frame & engine cases • Hollow three-spoke cast-aluminum wheels What's hot? Engine performance that is both Sup erman and Clark Kent The world' s most co mfortable racebike? Honda's harm ony is a hoot Wh at's not? Mu shy rear brake You can practically catch a buzz off t he right handlebar Bo ttom Line: The Honda CBR600F4 retai ns last year' s harmo nious biend of track savvy and s tree tworthmess thanks to its smoo th . mid -ran ge -based mo tor . but wi th no maj o r c hanges . how co uld it win this yea r's sho otou t? SPECIFICA NS TIO DISPLACEMENT ENGINE TYPE 599cc Uquid -cooled DOHC 16-valve in-line four -cylinder four-stroke 67 x 42 .5mm BORE x STROKE COMPRESSION RATIO 12.0:1 CARBURETION _ (4) 36 .5mm flat-slide CV wI forced-air induct on i IGNI TION C o mputer-co ntro lled digital 3-D map TRANSMISSION 6-speed STARTING SYSTEM __. . _ Electric ' '.4. 5 gal. FUEL CAPACITY WH EELBASE 54 .7 in. 24' /96mm RAKEfTRAIL SEAT HEIGHT 3 1.9 in. FRONT TIRE 120170 -17 REAR TIRE 180/55-17 FRONT SUSPENSION _ A3mm co nve ntional S how a HMAS cart ridge fork w/ 4 .7 in. travel A Omm Show a HMAS Pro-Un k REAR SUSPEN SIO N single shoc k w I 4 ,7 in. travel . .Hydra ulic wI 296 mm nicke l-plated FRONT BRA KE , ... . . floating dual discs. four-piston calipers & sintere d pads Hydraulic w I single 220mm REAR BRAKE .. _ disc & single·pis ton caliper FINAL DRIVE _ Ch am 3 72 .6 Ibs . C LA IMED D RY WEIGHT $7899 UST PRICE U III • e _ n e _ S • JUL Y 5 . 2000 27