Honda Cbr600f4

Honda CBR600F4

Evolution revolution for Honda’s hottest seller

PAUL SEREDYNSKI

NO, IT’S NOT FUEL-FNJECTED. THE 1999 REPLACEMENT for Honda’s lineup-critical 600 sportbike is the new CBR600F4 (not Fi). But even though the new F4 is carbureted, its evolutionary changes are the most radical in the CBR’s history.

The new F4 has been Honda-ized, with the latest design and manufacturing techniques from Big Red’s most recent engineering exercises (RR, VFR, VTR, XX) applied while staying true to the CBR’s mission: exceptional all-around sporting capability. Those expecting a Yamaha R6 killer may be disappointed, but Honda seems to have improved every aspect of what was already an eerily capable allaround streetbike.

Honda has serious reason not to mess with the CBR’s success. Since the bike’s intro in 1987, it has accounted for half of Honda's sportbike sales, and 10 percent of all its motorcycle sales. Honda’s goals were to sharpen the CBR’s performance and sporting image while maintaining road comfort.

The F4 features a completely redesigned engine equipped with a two-stage ram-air system and housed in a perimeterstyle aluminum frame. Weight shaving has been impressively applied to even the smallest details, with a 373-pound claimed dry weight undercutting the F3’s by 37 pounds.

Revisions to the 599cc, liquid-cooled, dohc, 16-valve inline-Four include straighter intake tracts; ceramicand

graphite-impregnated aluminum cylinder sleeves derived from the RC45; 3-D digital ignition mapping for individual cylinder pairs ( 1 -4, 2-3); an 18-percent-larger airbox with revamped ram-air system; a new, lighter, seven-plate clutch (down from nine); and a bearingless waterpump.

Honda claims 110 horsepower for the new mill, and redline remains at 13,500 rpm. Honda reps admit that the engine has given up a little power on the bottom end to gain in the midrange and top end, so it’s likely peak power will arrive at a higher rpm than the F3’s 11,500-rpm crescendo. With 10 percent less weight and 10 percent more power, the F4 is expected to better all the F3’s performance numbers.

Chassis changes include a new diamond-shaped, aluminum “Pro-Frame,” which is 15 pounds lighter and 15 percent more rigid than the F3’s steel tube set. Pro-Frame refers to the mounting of the new aluminum, box-section swingarm, which pivots through both side rails and the rear of the engine, a la the VTR 1000 and VFR800.

The conventional fork’s span has increased 12mm, and fork-tube diameter is up 1mm, to 43. Steering angle has been steepened one degree, to 24. The rear Pro-Link singleshock setup has the damper laying nearly horizontal, and the suspension is fully adjustable at both ends.

The F4 will come standard with heart-attack-serious sportbike rubber, Dunlop D207s mounted to lighter, threespoke wheels in Supersport-spec sizes: 120/7017 front, 180/55-17 rear. Fourpiston brakes replace previous, twin-piston, single-action units.

Sit on the new F4, and the machine feels instantly familiar. Seat/peg/bar distances are unchanged, but you notice the influence of Honda’s latest machines-RR-esque tank, fender and bodywork resembling the XX’s, headlight treatment from the VFR.

Bathed in “Wing” graphics mimicking Honda’s ’98 racebikes, the F4 will be available in

yellow/black and red/black color combos. Pricing was unavailable at presstime, but with Honda stressing value at the unveiling, expect only a small price hike for a machine that’s taken a giant leap forward.

BLACKBIRD BUY-BUY: Honda has updated its muscular CBR1100XX for '99 with fuel injection and a ramair system. EFI was used to boost the XX's already meaty midrange by a further 10 percent. The ram-air system supposedly more than makes up for what was lost in terms of a top-end hit. The engine upgrades include 3-D ignition and fuel-injection maps, a knock sensor and a new clutch. Other notable changes include the updated linked-braking system from the VFR800, plusher low-speed suspension rates and stiffer cush-drive rubber aimed at reducing driveline lash. The XX remains cosmetically unchanged, save for gold-anodized case covers and a "stacked" taillight to match the vertical headlight.