Cycle News

VOL. 50 ISSUE 32 AUGUST 13, 2013 P85 WHAT THEY SAID: Honda CBR600RR JASON PRIDMORE, 43, 2x AMA Pro Champion HIGHS JAKE ZEMKE, 37, AMA Formula Xtreme Champ •Lightest in class •Easy to turn and exceptionally agile •Excellent fork action during corner entry "I could put that bike absolutely anywhere at anytime." "It's an easy bike to ride fast and it gives good feedback," BERTO WOOLDRIDGE, 38, AFM Club President and expert-level club racer "The Honda was a good all-around bike. Fun and easy to ride." PAUL CARRUTHERS, 52, Long-time Test Rider and Cycle News Editor "Honda has always done a good job of compromising with its sportbikes – they perform well on the racetrack, but are still good streetbikes." mph). Yet it recorded the thirdmost degrees of lean angle here. In the second-to-last corner, turn 16, the Honda recorded the highest speed at 54.09 mph—much faster than any other bike except the Ninja, demonstrating the prowess of its new fork during corner entry despite not being as dialed-in as it could be. Upon averaging the speeds the Honda was credited with eight points in the category. Historically the Honda's engine performance has always been a few steps behind the competition and a trip to our dyno room confirms the engine is a weak link in an otherwise very competitive package. The CBR squeaked out barely over 100 horsepower at 12,500 rpm. That's over four less than the GSX-R600 and 6.26 ponies less than the R6. When compared against the VTwin-powered Ducati it was at a 20.6 horsepower disadvantage. Although over-rev is plentiful with 2900 rpms available before the rev-limiter cuts in, power drops off so rapidly that it's better to short-shift rather than run the engine to the 15,400 rpm redline. It's not all bad news when looking at the torque curve as the Honda motor offers decent mid-range power with its 44.81 lb-ft torque peak at a relatively low (for a inline four 600) 10,600 rpm. That placed it ahead of its fellow 600s but still a few lb-ft away from its larger displacement rivals. You can feel its muscle coming off corners, especially the exit of turns 10 and 13 where it recorded the highest acceleration force numbers in this test, proving how effective the engine is through the mid-range. But it's lackluster top-end and the fact that it doesn't have a power shifter hurt its top speed down the straightaways. The CBR's upgraded hardware LOWS •Needs more top-end power •Could benefit from slipper clutch and quickshifter •Slippery rider seat Honda CBR600RR Settings: Fork Front fork height: 4mm Preload: 1 Compression: 8.5 Rebound: 2.5 Shock Preload: 9(10) for Superpole Compression: 9 Rebound: 2 7/8 pays dividends during corner entry with extraordinary levels of maneuverability. It also weighs the least, too. Despite this catlike agility, it didn't elicit the same rock-solid mid-corner composure we remember. It also continues to come up short in the motor department-- a complaint we've expressed for years. Mid-pack Superpole times and scores in key subjective categories once again kept the Honda out of the top spot. Big Red knows where it needs to improve, now it's time to act.

• Cover