2012 Honda CBR600RR revealed

IT'S been three years since Honda's once best-selling CBR600RR got an upgrade and even then it was a minor tweak and the addition of an ABS version, so there's no substantial difference between the current CBR600RR and the one launched in late 2006.

And going into 2012, Honda has once again left the CBR600RR unaltered. A couple of new colour schemes (red-and-white or all-black) are the sum total of the changes for the next model year.

Sure, sales of 600cc sports bikes have fallen through the floor since the financial crisis began three years ago, but with nothing new to offer, it's hard to see Honda's latest machine doing much to reverse that trend. With sub 10,000 mile 2007-spec CBR600RRs on the market for as little as £4000, and 09 machines on offer at around £5000, it's hard to imagine too many buyers opting to spend £9k on a 2012 version that has no upgrades over its immediate predecessor.