Two Brothers Racing Honda Cbr600f2
TWO BROTHERS RACING HONDA CBR600F2
LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING
SLEEPER: MOVIE BUFFS WOULD EQUATE THE TERM with the Woody Allen film, but gearheads the world over know that what it really refers to is a high-performance vehicle with an unassuming appearance-a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Like the Honda CBR600F2 shown here.
Built by Mike Velasco of Two Brothers Racing (2890 Via Martens, Anaheim, (`A 92806: 7 14/6328820), only the array of sponsors' decals and the nameplate on the muffler provide clues that this is no ordinary (`BR. Ah, hut lurking beneath that blue-and black bodywork is a motor that would he right at home on the Day tona banking.
Velasco is a n~an with experience. Tuner for such racing luminaries as Freddie Spencer. Fred Merkel and Bubba Shobert during their hcvdavs on factory Honda Superhikes. Velasco has strong ties with Hon da Racing Corporation (HRC) in Japan. These days, he finds himself at Two Brothers Racing. home to one of two teams representing Honda on the AMA profes sional roadracing circuit.
The business is a spinoff of the racing efforts of brothers Craig and Kevin Erion, the latter a two-time AMA Pro-Twins GP2 champion who retired this year in order to help Velasco prepare racehikes for Spen cer, Jeff Farmer and Takanohu Koyama: and to help older brother Craig turn Two Brothers Racing into a money-making venture.
Originally dealing onl\ in parts for Honda Hawks. the brothers realized they needed to expand their ho rizons, SO the\ now oiler parts for CBR600s and RC3Os. Many of those components can he found in this particular (`BR.
According to Craig. the cost of their Built For Speed 600 entry -with just over $5000 worth of modifica tions-was kept down "so that it would appeal to con sumers." But to hear \elasco tell it. the story sounds different: "The Honda is just so good that it doesn't need much help," he says.
Indeed. Most of the changes are concentrated in the engine bay. But even there, the extent of the work surprisingly minimal. While the hike does feature aftermarket cams-ground to Velasco's specifications by Me~acvcle-the cam timing remains the same as stock; only lift has been increased. Pistons are 511111lark unspectacular: Made by Wiseco. the\ are noth ing more than 1mm-over versions of the stockers, and are the same pistons used in the race team's supersport ôOOs. Velasco ported the head and milled .020 inch ofito raise the compression. performed a competition valve job. and had Costa Mesa Balancing knife-edge and lighten the crankshaft. A Barnett Kevlar-disc clutch and lightweight HR(' wristpins round out the engine internals.
Carburetion. though. is as trick as it gets. Look un der the tank and you'll find a bank of four sandcast. prototype 36mm Keihin CV carburetors. The light weight 4-into-2-into1 exhaust system is built for Two Brothers by Yoshimura.
If engine mods were fairly uninvolved. chassis changes were even more simple. The (`BR i~ as it came from the factory. with the exception of Bridge stone Battlax radials, an Öhlins shock, braided-steel teflon brake lines and HRC brake pads.
The net result of these changes is a bike with the power of a 750. in a package that weighs a full 22 pounds less than a stock Honda 600.
The next time a CBR rider pulls up next to you at a stoplight, ask him if he's heard of Mike Velasco. if he has, you may want to let him leave fIrst.
Brian Catterson
