THE historic Suzuki 8 Hours endurance race in Japan gave Honda the chance to show off its latest steed, an updated and refreshed 2024 CBR600RR supersport bike.
Behind the familiar-looking bodywork and revised paint scheme, though, some extra fettling has gone on, with the Japanese factory working on the exhaust and engine to bring it in line with Japanese emissions standards.
Now, you may be asking yourself ‘What does this have to do with me?’ and in a way you’re right; Honda has made no mention of bringing back the CBR600RR to the UK or European market… But there is a glimmer of hope it could happen, and here’s how. The latest Japanese emissions standards are not a million miles away from the latest Euro 5 rules used here. With that in mind, it’s not too far-fetched to imagine Honda implementing the rest of the regionally required updates for the Euro market, and sending a few containers of CBR600RRs west at some point in the future.
Sounds simple enough, but in reality, things aren’t that clear-cut.
The supersport market is still limited, with the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R clinging on in the UK as the only true (in the historic sense) supersport challenger. The much-loved Yamaha R6 was put to sleep in 2020 and now remains available only as a track-ready challenger for hardcore enthusiasts and racing teams. And while the arrival of a new bike to take the fight to the Kawasaki on the road and the R6 on the track is tantalising, Honda would be keen to look at the risk/reward ratio of such a move.
The UK and European markets are also seeing a big change in the supersport segment, and (love it or hate it) the rise of the parallel twin-cylinder powerplant is helping to drive forward a revolution of the light to middleweight sports bike format. What might be an easier machine to produce and sell in the UK and Europe would be a CBR750R, perhaps utilising the Honda CB750 Hornet’s 90bhp engine as a starting point.
Check out our 2024 Honda CBR600RR review here.
