While it's typical for Japanese sportbike manufacturers to update and frequently overhaul popular models every couple of years, Honda's CBR600 is the exception to that rule. First introduced as the Hurricane back in 1987, Honda's middleweight may have matured over the years, but its trademark solid handling, reliable-as-a-tractor engine and muted styling have kept it a popular used bike.
This 1999 model is larger and somewhat heavier than the current CBR600RR, but the older bike still offers some hair-raising performance. It also has the added attraction of more sensible ergonomics, which means you can ride this bike all day without meeting Mr. Charley Horse along the way. For 1999, Honda revisited its engineering drawing board and added a host of upgrades over the 1998 model including a low-friction crankshaft, a slimmer engine head design, composite cylinder sleeves similar to those used on the CBR900RR, flat-slide carbs (remember those?) and a complex two-stage ram-air system. All of this added up to about 116 horsepower at the crankshaft or about 96 at the rear tire. This may not sound like much compared to the dyno-busting figures being offered by the latest 600cc missiles, but don't be fooled--on anything this side of a racetrack the 1990's CBRs offer enough thrills for anyone whose last name isn't Rossi or Stoner.
Top speed is around 155 mph, and on the road the CBR offers the typical smoothness and build quality that Hondas are known and beloved for. Even after eight years of steady use and 31,000 miles, there was no exhaust smoke, which would be a telltale sign that a ring job is in your near future. Likewise, this machine did not shake or rattle--it just rolled on waves of buzzy, linear power.
On the downside, fashion junkies may lament the CBR's lack of upside-down forks, underseat exhaust or on-board lap timer, but as these photos illustrate, this is still a handsome sportbike. That tall, broad tailsection means there's actually some storage space below the passenger seat, an amenity long gone from late-model 600s. Similarly, the wide seat means day-long comfort for a rider and passenger--even ones with ample hind-quarters. There are also plenty of aftermarket parts and speed accessories available to turn a used CBR600 into a real head-turner. This bike sports a carbon rear hugger from Lockhart Phillips, Attack rearsets, Goodridge steel-braided brake lines and Braking Wave rotors. A Eurotail color-matched undertail and a Vortex top triple clamp in polished aluminum add style while a set of Lockhart's hard plastic crash bobbins show that this bike's owner intended to keep his plastic scratch-free. The Leo Vince titanium slip-on exhaust sounds great and sheds weight while adding a couple of horses over the stock system.