In 2003, Honda opened a new chapter in the evolution of middleweight Super Sports motorcycle performance with the stunning debut of the new CBR600RR. A midsized sports bike designed first and foremost to reassert Honda’s leadership at the most hotly contested levels of World Supersport competition, the CBR600RR also provides one of the most exciting blends of top performance and astounding riding ease to ever make a rider with a need for speed feel like a champion.
Recognizable at first glance, the CBR600RR’s development team looked to none other than Honda’s mighty RC211V MotoGP champion—the modern pinnacle of racing design achievement, and the dominant force in the world’s premier class of motorcycle competition since its first debut—as the source for this new Supersport champion’s advanced technological expertise. Inheriting a wealth of Honda Racing DNA technologies, from its innovative Dual Sequential Programmed Fuel Injection system to its Fine Die-Cast aluminum frame, Unit-Pro-Link swingarm and mass centralized fuel cell to the sleek lines of its aggressive bodywork, the CBR600RR impressively brought to the street many of the latest RC211V advances to be forged in the fires of the world’s top class of motorcycle racing achievement.
Under the guiding development theme of ‘Innovative Wonder,’ the new CBR600RR was initially conceived of as a race-ready riding machine designed to provoke awe and excitement with every sensation felt while confidently exploring the outer limits of one’s own performance envelope. Developed to achieve unrivaled levels of performance in the hands of those who can take full advantage of its riding and racing prowess, the CBR600RR is not only one of the lightest machines in its class, its centralized weight distribution helps it respond instantly to rider inputs with faster, smoother and more easily controlled handling. This leading combination of performance characteristics carried the CBR to World Supersport championship victory in only its first year in competition, and make it a thrilling and confidence-inspiring mount for those who simply love to ride… fast.
For its next generation, the CBR600RR builds upon this solid foundation of racewinning potential with a sharper and more aggressive new RC211V look and further advances in its design and construction. What little excess weight it may have had has been expertly trimmed in the quest for a class-leading power-to-weight ratio and the sharpest, most responsive balance of middleweight performance to ever strafe a mountain road or dominate a racing podium.
For 2005, the CBR600RR isn’t merely faster, it is better in every way. The new CBR600RR will decisively reassert its preeminence as both the leader of the World Supersport circuit and top dog in the twisties for riders who can’t get enough of the adrenaline-pumping thrill of riding at the edge.
Whether in competition or in the process of extending your personal best, to feel like a champion, you really have to ride with one.