‘Quality seen in few middleweights’ ‘A CBR will fill every role with aplomb’
When is a 16-year-old bike not an on-theverge classic, or fast fading memory? When it’s Honda’s fantastic all-round CBR600F. And just look at that price…
A16-year-old 600 in Used Bike of the Year? Yes. In the decade-and-a-half since Honda stopped producing the CBR600F there hasn’t been a middleweight to rival the CBR’S all-round capability. Even The Big H’s own CBR650R fails to live up to the 600’s promise of being all-things-to-all-people – it’s just too soft to match the old bike’s sporting edge.
Finally, however, we have a contender. Aprilia’s RS660. This new Italian is a true sportsbike, and yet its ability to flatter rather than intimidate its rider while rising to the challenge of anything – trackday or weekend blast to a longer trek or commute – is all straight from the CBR600F’S blueprint.
The RS’S £10,149 price tag is right there, even if it is two grand more than a new CBR650R. But that’s because the Aprilia is a better package in all areas – performance, engineering, capability, character. Judged on those terms the RS is in a class of its own.
But for all its charm, ability and value, the Noale built twin isn’t for everyone’s pocket. Ten grand is still a sizeable sum, and that’s where the CBR600F comes in. Ignore the Honda’s age, because a tidy example – and there are many still out there – will deliver 85-90 per cent of what the RS offers for a third or less of the cost.
This 2005 example, currently up for grabs at The Superbike Factory in Macclesfield for £3691, is priced at the stronger end of what you’d expect to pay for a well kept CBR600F. But then it was one of the last
to roll off Honda’s production line, is in very presentable, near standard condition, and only has a shade over 20,000 miles to its name. What extras it does boast are worth having, from the wind cheating doublebubble screen (handy for a six-footer like me, but I’d prefer a lighter tint than solid black) to the Blueflame exhaust which does away with the rot prone OE mild steel headers in favour of stainless.
This is the second CBR6 I’ve ridden this month, the other was an equally pampered 2001 model, and they both radiated an air of quality seen in few other middleweights. There’s thought gone into the level of finish and design that you simply don’t find on a Suzuki GSX-R600 or a Triumph Daytona 600. For years middleweights were cheap, disposable stepping stones to things of higher capacity. Not so the CBR600F. Once you’ve got one you find yourself asking: ‘do I really need anything else?’ For 90 per cent of riding, the honest answer is ‘no’. A CBR will fill every role with aplomb, from scratcher to tourer and everything in between. The only time you may wish for more capacity or slightly more generous ergonomics is if touring two-up with luggage, but even then it wouldn’t be out of its depth.
With only 599cc to its name and a need to match racier 600s such as Yamaha’s R6 and the GSX-R in terms of outright power, the CBR can’t boast lowdown torque or a bulging midrange as part of its arsenal. Indeed, the tacho needle really needs to be north of 8000rpm for this Honda to make real progress. Below that the engine is smooth, civilized and fuels perfectly – spot on for bumbling through town or filtering traffic. Compared with a big V-twin such as the Multistrada the CBR can feel hard work, constantly needing its gearbox stirred to maintain momentum, but once you’re tuned into how it needs to be ridden any misgivings you may have had melt away. The fact this Honda can still feel as polished, accomplished and competent this long after it was dropped from Honda’s range speaks volumes about the strength of its original design. It is also telling that the sharp decline in sales of 600s in the last decade has coincided with bikes in the class becoming more and more extreme. Should Honda have focused their efforts on developing the 600F rather than ploughing resources into the CBR600RR which, ironically, also disappeared from the range a couple of years ago?
For those who only have the room or finances to run one bike, a CBR600F makes more sense than its double-r cousin. And the great thing about Honda’s marvel is that they’re still out there in sufficient numbers to make finding a beautifully kept example a simple process. Fun, usable, versatile, classy, affordable – what more could you want?