Honda CBR600F (2006) road test - is the original CBR still relevant to today's biking

[Bob]

In 2006, the world had moved on. Being an excellent all-rounder was no longer good enough. In the mid-sized sports category, the demand was now to be totally performance focussed. 600cc bikes were no longer road bikes with a sporting angle, but race-biased machines with a nod towards road use. And Honda met this challenge with the CBR600RR. And in 2006, this meant the final demise of the truly brilliant CBR600F. For 20 years this bike had evolved and grown into one of the best all-round machines ever made (quite an achievement for a bike that was good enough to perform at world level).

Five years later, and the world had moved again. Riders were now starting to look more at their bikes being able to do a spot of everything. Sales of the once-dominant sports machines was falling away dramatically. Honda saw this and brought back the CBR600F – but not the bike that they killed off in 2006, but brand-new machine based around the Hornet (which was in itself originally modeled on the CBR600F – loop, anyone?) This made me wonder, could they simply have brought back the original CBR600F, saved all that R&D work and got back to life as it was?

To answer the question, Johns of Romford were kind enough to lend me a 2006 model; the final iteration, with 20 years development behind it. So, would this bike cut the mustard in 2011/2012?

Time to find out... click here for the rest of the review

[Furyos J]

Thank you for your article. It really is how i felt looking for my current bike, something sporty, but still able to ride for extended times, comfortable pillion position, and comfortable for the taller rider.Able to go from a commute to work and then to a casual track day . Funny enuf, i ended up getting an older cbr600f (2000) after test riding the usual suspects, r6, zx6r, vtr1000, gsxr750. I am no expert, so cant say why i liked the cbrf, but its just the bike i felt most at home on.