It’s one of Honda’s mythical names and now it’s back in the Golden Wing brand’s range. With several improvements in various departments, the 600RR 2024 is still the bike we’ve always known: easy, agile and fast, it could well be the ideal bike for your first steps in sporty circuit riding.
This is one of those bikes we’ve heard about since we were little. Many of us grew up dreaming of the CBR 600, so it would be a shame if we couldn’t find this model again in European dealerships, where it left in 2017. Fortunately, Honda has managed to bring back some of the brand’s big names, such as the Africa Twin and the Transalp, and this is just another one. And it might even be easier for Honda to follow in the footsteps of its rival Yamaha and relaunch this model without road homologation (Yamaha has already done so with the R6 and will follow suit from January with the R1), and even give it some more circuit capability. Honda didn’t want to do that, preferring to relaunch the CBR 600RR the way we’ve always known the model: easy and fun to ride on the road, with good circuit skills. And of course, with good preparation it can go far in competition, as it has done in the past with world titles in Supersport.
AT AIA
The history of Honda presentations in our country is quite long, and several CBR 600s have been presented at the Autódromo do Estoril in the past. Now we were at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, just a few weeks before MotoGP arrives in our country, and we also had the latest evolution of the Fireblade at our disposal, which we’ll talk about shortly. And as Honda attaches great importance to this type of event, we were once again joined by a large group of Japanese engineers who were involved in the development of the two CBRs on display. What’s more, as track guides we had none other than John McGuinness, a 23-time winner on the Isle of Man, Freddy Foray who is a former Endurance world champion and Jordi Torres, a MotoE world championship rider and one of the most cheerful people we know!
THE CURRENT 600RR
Speaking specifically of the CBR 600RR, it went out of the range in 2017, at a time when the sports market was no longer so strong, and then returned in 2021 in some markets outside Europe. Now it’s back, with several improvements and of course all the necessary homologations.
And of course, as we guessed, it’s a super fun model to ride at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, the famous rollercoaster (or a beautiful amusement park for adults), where a 600 cc is always a delight to ride, with lots of excitement but without the physical difficulties that bikes with more than 200 hp end up generating, not to mention the scares with which more powerful bikes surprise the less prepared.
This model now has improved aerodynamics, with a front much more like the Fireblade and even small side wings at the front. The rear, on the other hand, retains a slightly older shape, very wide (the Fireblade’s rear is much smaller) with a generous passenger seat, as it keeps the exhaust under the seat. The exhaust has been improved for this year, as have various engine components, but above all this bike stands out for its electronics, which didn’t exist before. There’s a 6-axis IMU, so there’s traction control, various riding modes and also ABS, which has been improved and is much lighter in this generation.
Inside the in-line four-cylinder engine, the intake and exhaust valves now act slightly differently. The exhaust has even lost weight, after a lot of development work to make it comply with the new standards, and some internal components are also lighter, making this engine 3.4 kg lighter than the CBR 650R, a bike with a higher displacement but less horsepower. The intake has been improved and there are larger throttle bodies, while the final drive is slightly shorter. In terms of electronics, the Bosch 6-axis IMU is the same as on the Fireblade, and keeps everything safe in terms of traction control, cornering ABS and front wheel lift when accelerating and rear wheel lift when braking. And there are nine levels of traction control, not to mention an electronic steering damper.
Of the three riding modes, we chose the most racing, as we only rode on the track, but we could also manage our preferences in User mode. On the TFT instrument panel, we also rode with the sportier display, and in terms of cycling, the highlight was the very light frame and in terms of braking, we found Tokico equipment, with radial-mount calipers at the front. As standard, you’ll find this CBR with Dunlop Roadsport 2 tires, but we rode it at the AIA with Pirelli slick tires, and compared to the last generation 600RR we knew, it has 3 kg less weight and a 5 mm shorter wheelbase. Those interested will also be able to find two accessory packs, Racing and Comfort, so that everyone leaves satisfied.
FEELINGS
As we imagined, this is a very easy bike to ride, you just have to keep the engine speed relatively high so that you’re always responsive when exiting corners, especially on those uphill bends, as there are a few at the Autódromo do Algarve. So it’s important to have some cornering speed so that you never lose speed, knowing that the engine has everything to show above 10,000 rpm, as is common with this type of model.
On this CBR we loved the quickshifter system, very smooth but precise, and despite being an easy bike we were able to go quite fast and enjoy the ride. Of course, the slick Pirelli tires also helped a lot, and we also liked the 4.2-inch TFT, as it provides excellent visibility even when going at high speed on the track. We also noticed that the driving position isn’t too radical in terms of seat height or the weight you carry on your arms. Everything is easy, the agility is enormous, the exhaust screams in the way we expected, and we got the feeling that we already knew this bike, but that now it’s slightly better in every way. Apart from that, only when we pushed it hard did we feel that the brake lever was momentarily a little spongy, but for track day riding that won’t be a problem. The suspensions gave us an excellent feeling and we could sense everything that was going on underneath us, and the transmission allowed us to stretch the fifth gear on Portimão’s long straight (just over 240 km/h) before braking hard. At the time of writing, we still don’t know the price of this model, but above all we hope that this return of the 600RR to the Honda range will be here to stay for many years to come. The Supersport segment is sorely lacking in the world of sports bikes and the Honda CBR 600RR – more than just a placeholder – deserves its place among the best medium-sized sports bikes!
