Honda CBR600RR C-ABS - Performance Per Dollar Sportbike Comparison Test

Speaking of highly evolved, the original CBR600F got here right on the heels of the first GSX-R750, circa 1987, and Honda has been chipping steadily away at it ever since. In all those years, while some 600s went racier and some went streetier (and some OEMs just built two 600s when buyers were thick on the ground), Honda always kept to its "big umbrella" theme with the CBR, building a bike that could hold its own on the track while never losing sight of the fact that this machine would be transportation for most of its owners. All three of the other Japanese brands now offer racier 600s, none of which are quite as street-friendly as this latest CBR.

Did the only 600 in the test get its head handed to it? Only at the dragstrip. The rest of the time, all the CBR needed to keep up with the pack was a few more revs. Or more accurately, for the pack to be on a road with curves in it or a speed limit, since the new literbikes rev almost as high as the “little” 15,000-rpm CBR. The GSX-R actually undercuts the CBR by 21 pounds, but for some reason hard to put your finger on, the CBR just makes you feel like you can do no wrong when the road goes all anaconda. Its smaller engine’s lighter rotational mass seems to make the CBR easier to snap from side to side. Its clip-on bars feel a little closer in and higher up, and the reassuring front-end feel it always had is even greater this year with the addition of Showa's Big Piston Fork.

Rapp, the AMA Pro, likes the CBR because "it does nothing wrong," and our off-road expert, Ryan Dudek, ranked the CBR600 as his number-one pick on-road mostly because of its willingness to change direction at any time. The ludicrous speed the other bikes dial up instantly and the rapidity with which they hurl fresh curves in your face can cause overstimulation of the adrenal glands and over-braking.

With its less frenetic power, the little Honda makes it easier to just keep up a nice, steady pace in the curves, a good “rhythm” is the word all your Italian racers use. It fits. Other bikes might be more powerful, more thrilling, packed with more electronics. But the CBR might be the best overall package, especially if you like to keep it simple. Though $12,490 isn’t a helluva lot cheaper than the others.

||SPECIFICATIONS |--- PRICE|$12,490| |DRY WEIGHT|415 lb.| |WHEELBASE|53.9 in.| |SEAT HEIGHT|32.0 in.| |FUEL MILEAGE|44 mpg| |0-60 MPH|2.9 sec.| |1/4 MILE|10.94 sec. @ 124.44 mph| |HORSEPOWER|98.8 hp @ 12,510 rpm| |TORQUE|44.0 ft.-lb. @ 10,150 rpm| |TOP SPEED|148 mph|

MORE OF THE OTHERS:

» MV Agusta F4

» Honda CBR1000RR

» Suzuki GSX-R750

» BMW S1000RR

» Aprilia RSV4 R APRC ABS

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