Honda CBR 600 RR5 598

My overall rating for the Honda CBR 600 RR5 598 bike was an eight. In all honesty , if I was judging it just as what it is ( a supersport bike) it should be a ten but as a bike to own , operate and go somewhere on , it has it's drawbacks.

This is a magnificent machine. The RR5 has USD forks , radial brakes , tucked-away exhaust ( beneath the seat) and is constructed to the highest standards of finish. After 21,000 miles and 2 and a half years of all-weather riding my CBR still looked like new. The finish is awesome , which is matched by it's performance , which is astounding.

Handling on the open road was brilliant but this was made up for by it's somewhat difficult traits around town. Coupled with the teetering riding position was a quite snatchy throttle at low speeds which meant that a great deal of confidence was required . The bike being so light certainly helped , something had to.......

Fuel economy was pretty much irrelevant of course ( averaged about 35 mpg ) It ate back tyres at about one for every 2,500 miles , front tyres at about 5,000. Brake pads were also a regular purchase. As if to emphasise how smooth the motor was though , the chain and sprockets lasted an excellent 20,000 miles. Not bad at all.

Why haven't I still got it ? The ride and handling , while highly effective for maintaining ludicrous speed , was , nevertheless , not very comfortable. On roads that I knew well , not a problem , on roads that I didn't it was a bit of a pain , quite literally. In hot weather the heat from the exhaust where it passed behind your right leg could be really quite unpleasant .Because the suspension had adjustable everything you could , given time , dial most of the problems out but an adaptable 'mid' setting that would allow you to tackle anything you encountered remained forever elusive. I actually found myself making excuses not to ride it. Bad news. What I ended up realising was that I needed more of an all-rounder to fit me, rather than changing myself to fit the bike. To be fair the CBR was a lot easier to live with than I expected and the noise from the ( stock) exhaust was just spine-tingling.

I miss the extra power and be able to look at it ( it's a very pretty machine) but I discovered that being able to relax a bit when I'm riding turned out to be more important. I shall miss stuffing all those R1's on the bends though...........