2021 Honda CBR600RR - more details emerge
Since losing its place in the Honda line up, the CBR600RR has been a bike that many had hoped would make a return
THE Honda CBR600RR (or is that RR-R?) could be making a comeback, in the form of an all-new bike that could look something like the 2020 Honda Fireblade!
Ever since the CBR600RR was dropped from the European and Asian range, its 600cc engine fell foul of the incoming 2017 Euro4 emissions regulations, the Honda supersport offerings have been a little too soft for some.
The CBR650R is a very good little bike, with miles more comfort, usability, and real-world appeal than the race-bred CBR600RR. But despite tumbling sales in the 600cc supersport market, a once-dominant force in motorcycle sales, some people still have a hankering for a full-fat, race replica 600cc machine.
What we have then is a CBR600RR in a 2020 Fireblade style. Admittedly, the guys at YM haven’t done much to the image, other than change the colour scheme and add a slightly revised seat unit. There are also strong rumors that the 2020 version will only be a restyle of the previous generation machine, with an updated electronics package to boot. If that is the case, the fairing is likely to include down-force inducing wings, with the centrally mounted air-intake dominating the front end. With the new bike taking many chassis and suspension parts from the old bike, it's also likely that the under-seat exhaust of the old model will also stay.
A swan-song for the CBR600?
Another suggestion is that the 2021 edition, expected to break cover at the tail end of this year, will be a final fling for the machine before retiring the bike once and for all. With ever-tightening emissions regulations strangling all levels of motorcycle production, and dwindling sales in the race replica supersport 600cc class, making a financially viable 600cc sports bike is getting harder and more costly.
Can you still buy a Honda CBR600RR?
Let’s not forget, while the CBR600RR is a discontinued model in the UK and Europe, there are still new bikes being sold in this configuration in other areas. Our friends from over the pond, for example, can still pick up a brand new CBR600RR for $11,799 – more than half the cost of the CBR1000RR-R SP.
Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
