Suspension

The new CBR600RR's suspension components have also been refined, reworked, or even totally replaced in line with its new focus on all-out racing prowess.

New 45mm Cartridge-Type Front Fork

Illustrating the seriousness of Honda's intent in remaking the new CBR600RR into a potent and all-conquering race-ready Supersport, its front wheel is now carried by the largest diameter standard cartridge-type forks Honda has mounted on a motorcycle since the advent of the legendary NR. At 45mm, these fully adjustable forks feature an HMAS cartridge configuration similar to the CBR RR Fireblade and VTR1000 SP-2, which employs a unique damping force control system for significant improvements in damping characteristics and tracking response to match the requirements of the most aggressive racetrack assaults with precision control and airtight handling.

New 'Works'-Based Hybrid Swingarm

Mounted directly to the rear case of its powerful engine, the CBR600RR's impressive, new hybrid aluminium swingarm is also derived directly from Honda's MotoGP and Superbike racing efforts. Featuring a huge, highly rigid, yet remarkably lightweight press-forged and welded right-side arm welded to a large cast aluminium cross-member, and a large, Yagura-braced box-section extrusion on the left, this new design is not only stronger and more resistant to the torsional stresses of intensive road and track riding, it is also amazingly lighter and more rigid than the 'smaller' CBR600F swingarm it replaces, realising significantly enhanced cornering control which will surely prove to be a major advantage in the high-speed world of Supersport racing.

Innovative, New 'Unit Pro-Link' Rear Suspension System

Based entirely on the compact system supporting the rear swingarm of the dynamic, new RC211V, the CBR600RR's unique Unit Pro-Link rear suspension system is entirely self-contained within the swingarm it supports, with no connection to the main frame, save for the lower arms providing an anchor for its newly configured Delta Link. This innovative new design totally isolates the frame and steering head from the shocks and stresses exerted on the rear wheel and suspension under spirited riding and racing extremes, and makes a significant contribution to the CBR600RR's total mass centralisation, and by extension its sharper, more responsive handling.

The damper's upper mount, previously attached to the frame's upper rear crossbar, is now held in place by a bolted-on mounting bracket installed in the upper surface of the swingarm's massive pivot section. The damper's prominent remote gas reservoir is positioned within easy reach for quick adjustments of compression and rebound damping.

Race-Ready Wheels and Brakes

The CBR600RR's new triple-spoke cast aluminium wheels feature remarkably compact hubs for an ultra-lightweight design. Intensive efforts were also made to reduce rear wheel weight, which combine to achieve the lighter weight and more centralised mass required in such a high-performance road and track machine.

The new RR's sure-stopping brakes are also some of the best in the business, with a pair of powerful and responsive four-piston callipers like those used on Honda's pre-eminent Supersport flagships, the FireBlade and VTR SP-2, gripping larger-diameter new 310mm rotors (up from the CBR600F's 296mm discs) between fade-resistant sintered metal pads. These larger new floating discs are attached to their spare, lightweight inner rotors with ten anodised aluminium pins each, up from the seven pins used to assemble the CBR600F's front brakes. At the rear, a lightweight single-piston calliper mounted under the swingarm grips a 220mm disc between sintered metal pads for a supremely confident balance of braking performance on par with the world's most narrowly focused and highly competitive racers.