CBR600 RR (2009 - 2012) review
ABS on a 600 Supersport, boosted mid-range and beautifully suspended.
HONDA CBR600RR
Dominant in World Supersport for the last seven years and one of the best-selling bikes of all time, the ‘09 CBR has a lot to live up to
It’s only after a quick bit of mental arithmetic that I realise just how good this bike is: “Right then, the ferry is at 20.50 and we have to be there at 20.35 at the very latest else we’re not getting on. It’s now 20.10 and we’re 84km from Calais, which I think is about 50 miles. Thought it was nearer than that. Shit, we shouldn’t have spent so much time in Amsterdam. So, 50 miles and we’ve got 25 minutes. That’s an average speed of 120mph then. We can do it. Go, go, go.”
Of course I’m not advocating speeding, but if needs must then sometimes it can’t be helped. A bit like the weather really. It’s absolutely belting it down and, as the water runs down my neck and eventually down the crack of my arse, the decision has been made. We’re not missing that ferry, not on my watch.
As I gaze down at the speed displayed on the useful but dull clocks that look for all the world as though they’ve been pinched out of someone’s Nissan Cherry, I watch it creep up to 125mph. I settle at 128mph as I try to work out the true speed, hoping that our average speed can be maintained and that the Gendarmerie Nationale has better things to do on a wet and blustery Monday evening.
Cameras flash behind us as we quite literally head down the E40, the spray from the trucks and the glaring sheen from the smooth road surface heightening each and every one of our senses. The hairs on the back of my neck may be soaked, but there’s no way of resisting the adrenal flow as they stand proud, erect from each follicle while a shiver of pure delight blows through me. It’s a little bit like racing. Not in terms of the physical act, but in the mental pressure there is to focus on riding to the best of your ability with precious little room for error. With the Honda, it lets you get on with the job in hand without making too many demands on your already overloaded cerebrum.
It’s something that Honda has done for years, and that is to make a bike that fits everyone. It’s so well balanced front to rear and gives such feedback that getting a shift on in less than ideal conditions is always going to be a Honda strong point. It’s just about comfortable enough for distance too, though the hard seat became a regular complaint and that low front fairing doesn’t offer anywhere near the protection of the GSX-R’s broad nose.
HONDA CBR600RR
Dominant in World Supersport for the last seven years and one of the best-selling bikes of all time, the ‘09 CBR has a lot to live up to
It’s only after a quick bit of mental arithmetic that I realise just how good this bike is: “Right then, the ferry is at 20.50 and we have to be there at 20.35 at the very latest else we’re not getting on. It’s now 20.10 and we’re 84km from Calais, which I think is about 50 miles. Thought it was nearer than that. Shit, we shouldn’t have spent so much time in Amsterdam. So, 50 miles and we’ve got 25 minutes. That’s an average speed of 120mph then. We can do it. Go, go, go.”
Of course I’m not advocating speeding, but if needs must then sometimes it can’t be helped. A bit like the weather really. It’s absolutely belting it down and, as the water runs down my neck and eventually down the crack of my arse, the decision has been made. We’re not missing that ferry, not on my watch.
As I gaze down at the speed displayed on the useful but dull clocks that look for all the world as though they’ve been pinched out of someone’s Nissan Cherry, I watch it creep up to 125mph. I settle at 128mph as I try to work out the true speed, hoping that our average speed can be maintained and that the Gendarmerie Nationale has better things to do on a wet and blustery Monday evening.
Cameras flash behind us as we quite literally head down the E40, the spray from the trucks and the glaring sheen from the smooth road surface heightening each and every one of our senses. The hairs on the back of my neck may be soaked, but there’s no way of resisting the adrenal flow as they stand proud, erect from each follicle while a shiver of pure delight blows through me. It’s a little bit like racing. Not in terms of the physical act, but in the mental pressure there is to focus on riding to the best of your ability with precious little room for error. With the Honda, it lets you get on with the job in hand without making too many demands on your already overloaded cerebrum.
It’s something that Honda has done for years, and that is to make a bike that fits everyone. It’s so well balanced front to rear and gives such feedback that getting a shift on in less than ideal conditions is always going to be a Honda strong point. It’s just about comfortable enough for distance too, though the hard seat became a regular complaint and that low front fairing doesn’t offer anywhere near the protection of the GSX-R’s broad nose.
