Issue 139 : February - March 2005
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CBR600RR
Honda's main aim had been to make the CBR600RR more fun to ride, we'd been told at last night's press conference. Fun isn't the first word that springs to mind right now, but exciting is pretty close to the mark. Screaming down the Estoril racetrack's main straight with the CBR's yellow rev-warning light flickering as the tacho needle kisses the redline through the gears is certainly a memorable experience. My pulse is also hitting its revlimiter as I crouch behind my bike's fairing in the spray of an identical CBR just up ahead, while we charge towards the first turn at the start of another lap of the soaking wet circuit. On a previous lap I've had a heart-in-mouth incident under braking for this turn, when the front wheel locked momentarily. So I'm in no mood for outbraking heroics as I sit up and squeeze the front brake lever cautiously, before clicking down three gears, tipping the Honda oh-so-gently to the right, and winding on the power as smoothly as possible to follow the other rider through the bend. Rain is never welcome on a bike launch, but it does at least highlight the advantages of a controllable, moderately powerful middleweight over an open-class sportster. Especially when that middleweight has been revamped to make it lighter, torquier and more manoeuvrable, all developments that are welcome on a Portuguese circuit that is very much living up to its reputation for being scarily slippery when wet. There was a sense of déjàvu about this launch because we'd also had bad weather at Estoril two years ago on the launch of the original CBR600RR. Events since then have fully justified Honda's decision to abandon the all-rounder approach of the old CBR600F, as the racy RR has sold in huge numbers, as well as winning back-to-back world Supersport titles with Aussies Chris Vermeulen and Karl Muggeridge. Given that showroom and racetrack success it's no great surprise that for 2005 the RR has been updated rather than completely redesigned, though it has changed more than is clear at first glance. The Honda's sharp, RC211V-inspired styling remains, although the fairing has reshaped air intakes in its nose, and the rear end gets a slightly slimmer look due to reshaped tailpiece and new black-finished sidepanels. The 16-valve engine is basically unchanged, although its intake ports have been made narrower, which has increased midrange output by speeding up the mixture's progress. This has boosted torque output though the midrange, Honda says, without altering the maximum output of 49lb.ft at 11,000rpm. Peak power remains 117bhp at 13,000rpm, competitive on paper with all but Kawasaki's substantially breathed-upon, 128bhp ZX-6R. Given that the original CBR600RR was the first ever Honda roadster to be designed as a prototype racer, before being converted into a production machine (rather than the other way round as usual), it was always slightly surprising that the RR was the heaviest kid in the middleweight super-sports class, albeit at a not exactly obese 169kg. The 2005 model is considerably fitter, following an extensive weight loss programme that sees the CBR shed 6kg. Most of that saving comes in the chassis, starting with the frame, which is cast with thinner aluminium sections. The Unit Pro-Link swing-arm is also lighter, as is the high-level "centre-up" exhaust system. Other chassis mods include the adoption of upside-down forks and radial front brake calipers. Total claimed dry weight is a competitive 163kg, level with Yamaha's R6 and fractionally lighter than the latest ZX-6R.
Heading out onto the streaming wet track in the second group, my first thought was relief at just how rider-friendly the Honda was in such hostile conditions. Normally on a circuit that I know as well as this one I'd be spending almost all of the time with the tacho needle nudging the redline, frantically flicking up and down the gearbox to exploit every one of the Honda's high-rev horsepower. Instead of which I was splashing cautiously round Estoril, sometimes exiting bends with the needle as low as 7000 or 8000rpm - a scenario that might almost have been designed to highlight the RR's extra midrange punch. The gain is only slight, but the Honda did seem to pull with distinctly more enthusiasm, before breathing more deeply at about 10,000rpm, and charging hard towards a top speed that's likely to be unchanged at about 160mph. Its injection system also responded to the throttle with a snatch-free, rider-friendly precision that was particularly welcome in the slippery circumstances. That extra midrange grunt will normally be more useful on the road than on a racetrack, especially for overtaking traffic with less need to shift down through the typically smooth six-speed gearbox. The only possible drawback is that the owner of a current-model RR on the trip thought that perhaps the new bike's extra power came with a little more vibration. If so, the difference is very small, and I can't see vibes being annoying even when cruising at a steady speed. Estoril's slower turns, especially the tight and nasty chicane near the end of the lap, also gave a great opportunity for the CBR to highlight the manoeuvrability it has gained from its dieting programme. That 6kg saving is a useful amount, especially as some comes from the lightened exhaust system, which is high and far from the bike's centre of gravity. I couldn't say I'd immediately have noticed the difference between this bike and the old model (without stepping straight from one to the other, at least) but the Honda did feel superbly agile, perhaps more so than I recall its predecessor being two years ago. Steering geometry is unchanged at a racy 24 degrees and 95mm, and the CBR certainly lived up to its RR initials as it tracked though the shiny bends and avoided the puddles with confidence-enhancing ease and precision. It was hard to tell whether the new upside-down forks added to the control, but the bike certainly felt impressively sharp and controllable, with a pleasingly direct feel through its steering. The one nasty cornering moment I had was when the front tyre tried to tuck in as I hit a particularly wet patch half-way round the long, final right-hand turn. The CBR gave enough instant feedback for me to correct the slide and keep going, so the chassis gets my grateful thumbs-up. Honda CBR600RR (2005) Engine type Liquid-cooled transverse four
Instruments Although the track had dried out enough by the final session to allow slightly nervous knee-down cornering, I still couldn't ride hard enough to require firming-up of the suspension, which was compliant and well-damped at both ends, but probably slightly soft for track use in perfect conditions. Both ends are multi-adjustable, as before, so there's plenty of scope for fine-tuning. On dry tarmac the previous day Karl Muggeridge had been surprised to find the new bike giving more ground clearance than the slightly early-scraping previous model, though there's no obvious reason for this. Bridgestone BT-014s have impressed in the past but the front radial struggled to get warm and find grip on the slick Portuguese surface. Some of the many riders who crashed were tempted to blame the tyres, but I'm not convinced that alternative rubber would have performed any better. Likewise there was never quite enough grip to hit the brakes with full confidence, so I couldn't say whether the radial calipers will offer significantly more stopping power than their conventionally mounted predecessors. They seemed to give plenty of both bite and lever feel, though not enough to prevent plenty of riders from losing the front in the wet. Whether Honda has done enough to keep the CBR competitive in pure performance terms, especially against the more comprehensively updated ZX-6R, remains to be seen. But the CBR performed well enough to suggest that Honda's improvements have been made in the right places - and that along with its familiar assets, the CBR600RR will have enough extra midrange punch, handling finesse and braking power to remain at the top of most middleweight sales charts for a while longer yet. Karl Muggeridge, 2004 Supersport World Champion on the Ten Kate CBR600RR "My bike was fantastic last season but if it had a weakness compared to the others, changing direction was probably it - so it's good that Honda seem to have improved that. "I rode this bike and the old model back-to-back in the dry here a couple of days ago, and the new one does seem to go from side to side a little bit more easily, especially when you've got the power on. It also had more ground clearance although I'm not sure why - guess it must be due to the suspension changes. "The other area where I struggled slightly last season was that the brake could have been a touch sharper, and this bike is definitely an improvement there as well. So it looks like they've done a pretty good job of eliminating any weaknesses, which should make it a good package for next season." Not that Muggeridge himself will benefit. The Aussie remains with Dutch-based Ten Kate for 2005 but will contest the World Superbike championship on a CBR1000RR FireBlade, with compatriot Chris Vermeulen retained as his team-mate. Roland Brown |
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Roland Brown tests Honda's new middleweight in the rain and stays aboard to discover that the bike just gets better...
All that effort seemed just a little wasted as we sat at the pre-ride circuit briefing to hear Supersport champ Karl Muggeridge raise a few slightly nervous laughs with his comment that: "Some bends are slippery... and the rest are very slippery indeed." Sure enough the first session was just a few laps old when the fastest rider of the group locked up his front tyre and crashed, fortunately unhurt.