Styling

The new CBR600RR is nothing less than a road-going replica of Honda's current new MotoGP racing champion, the RC211V. Packed with a veritable plethora of leading technology gleaned from and proven on test tracks and racing circuits the world over, this new midrange class 'RR' also takes its styling cues from the most dominant force in MotoGP's premiere season. Unlike anything seen before on the street, and certainly unlike any of its predecessors, the new CBR's fairing features a sharper nose with a much lower windscreen compared to the CBR600F and F/Sport, and a form geared much more to the needs of the circuit than to the comforts of the street. Like the RCV, its smaller, more compact fairing achieves a fully optimised balance of the competing qualities of high-speed aerodynamic function and lightweight, instantly responsive control.

The CBR600RR's newly designed fuel tank, or to be correct, its new fuel tank cover, is fully 70mm shorter in length than the tank on the CBR600F or F-Sport. Based on a format conceived for and tested on the RC211V racer, this new design plays a fundamental role in the new RR's compact configuration and swift, neutral handling, as it allows the rider to sit more forward, both closer to the steering head and closer to the machine's overall centre of mass. The actual fuel tank shares the space underneath the cover with the airbox, and makes a critical contribution to the new CBR600RR's guiding concept of total mass centralisation.

The CBR's sleek seat cowl also features lighter looking lines and smoother curves that flow back to terminate in a slimline LED taillight display that is lighter and thinner by half than the LED taillight featured on the CBR RR FireBlade. The new seat cowl also mounts a small pillion seat pad that provides a comfortable enough perch-if necessary-for brave-hearted passengers. However, this pad would probably best be left unoccupied to make the very most of the new CBR600RR's hard-charging performance potential. Beneath the seat cowl protrudes another highlight of the CBR600RR's new design: its new Centre-Up exhaust system.

Sleek, New 'Line Beam' Dual Headlights

Brilliantly adding to the new fairing's sleek and speedy MotoGP look are a radical new pair of 'Line Beam' headlights that project a more modern and boldly aggressive image. Built into the leading edge of the CBR's new front cowl and featuring a compact, new high-illumination multi-reflector design, the clear lenses of these startlingly distinctive headlights are less than half the height of the dual headlights currently seen on most road bikes, yet provide a bright, clear view of the nighttime road ahead while imparting a wilder, more dynamic look that's right in line with the new CBR600RR's sports-oriented development concept.

New Wind Tunnel-Tested Induction Ports

A major performance feature of the CBR600F for the last few years, the fairing's large, forward-facing Direct Air Induction ports are now positioned outside and below the new headlights, where they continue to feed large quantities of cool, power-producing air into the large-capacity airbox now located under the forward half of the CBR's new fuel tank cover. Extensive wind tunnel and track testing found that such large intake ducts tend to impart a vague resistance to rapid changes in direction at full racing speeds, thus causing the motorcycle to feel almost as if it has locked onto target or cornering attitude.

To counteract this phenomenon, the RR's ports were made in a simple yet highly effective new twin layer design, with holes punched through the outer layer to allow air to ventilate through and break the 'grip' of the airstream rushing into the ports described by the inner layers. As insignificant as this modification may seem just looking at it, the difference it makes on the RR's high-speed handling and 'flickability' through a racetrack's chicanes and similar manoeuvres is positively breathtaking. Coupled with the new CBR600RR's highly centralised mass and other race-bred improvements, high-speed handling is as lithe and responsive as imaginable, and overall control is taken another rank higher in performance.

New 4-into-2-into-1 Centre-Up Exhaust System

Certainly another eye-catcher on the new CBR600RR is the large single exhaust pipe looming menacingly out from under the rear of the seat like the afterburner on a jet fighter. Following the lead of several of the world's most competitive race machines, including Honda's own RC211V MotoGP racer, this new 'Centre-Up' exhaust system snakes directly under the engine, then up and over the rear tyre to nestle its large-capacity stainless steel 'inverted isosceles trapezoid'-shaped silencer in the specially sculpted space beneath the seat. Taken out of the airstream, the turbulence and related air resistance associated with side-mounted pipes is eliminated, while nothing is left to get in the way of maximum cornering clearance. An elegant solution to several design problems, and an exclamation point on the new CBR600RR's hyper-aggressive new look.