Goodbye CBR600 RR

[Doovy]

If only we were out of the EU... oh wait...

[Rogerborg]

https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=cbr+600+rr&commit=Search would suggest that sales tailed away rapidly after 2013 and we never even got the 2014 "E" model. Anything being sold now is new-old-stock.

Could be twonk, but I can't find it under any variant of CBR. For comparison The GSXR 600 has been bumping along at 150 - 200 registrations per year.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[RhynoCZ]

It's not about being in the EU and you still are and you will never leave. You UK-ers are funny.

It's all about Honda not wanting to pump more money into the CBR 600 RR, for some reason (Low sales numbers as Roger says). Even if you left the EU you would still not be able to have two strokes and 4 strokes with no regulation. The EURO I upto V is because of the ''let's save our planet'' movement not because of the EU. It is EURO because it is in Europe. Some of the states of the USA have even more strict regulations. Remember the 90's, all the extra tubes and hoses on US market bikes for blowing air under the valves or whatever was the reason?

Side thought: Yes, your gov. could go 15 years back and bring non EURO compliant motorcycles and two strokes back, but would they really do that? I doubt the 5th largest economy would say feck the planet. Or do you think otherwise?
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'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[Matt B]

[Rogerborg]

[.Chris.]

It's a real shame. I'd be surprised if the other 600s don't end up going the same way.

I wonder if it might be possible to use the MSVA process to bring in a small number, if as MCN says the bike is still going to be produced for other markets. I've seen a few other US-market bikes brought in this way (Honda Rebel, Suzuki S40). Honda itself probably wouldn't want to do it, as it smacks too much of sidestepping regulations, but some enterprising importer might give it a go.

[stevo as b4]

It's an interesting one though and the first I'd heard of it too.
Is there some good solid reasons for the decline of the 600 sportsbike class though? Are they all too samey and thus the market is oversaturated with them?

When I passed my test just before the millennium, 600cc bikes were everywhere and nearly everyone wanted a super sports 600 for a first big bike.

Strange times eh! But I do wonder if:

1, Are more people wanting to go naked for a middle weight bike these days? I guess a naked 600 makes more sense than a naked 1000 or bigger, as it's not comfy to string out big powerful bikes whilst sat bolt upright.

2, has the classic, cult bike, hipster and adventure bike segments ripped the guts out of the sports bike market in general? It would appear so to me, just because of the effort Yamaha as one example is putting into its MT and variations range.

3, how are newbies finding insurance these days? I mean can a 25yr old bloke insure a GSXR 1000 just as easily as a GSXR 600? And is the difference not so significant these days?

4, lastly, are people being swayed or woo'd by bikes with all the race tech and rider aids/ electronics packages that are generally fitted more often as std on the 1000's?

[c-m]

[Rogerborg]

Roads got rubbish and crowded, anywhere fun is staked out by Dibble and Speed Tax vans, and bikers got old.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[ZX-7R]

600 class is finished pretty much.Yamaha sold less than 100 R6's last year in the UK,and Honda 150 CBR's last year,and many of them were for Ron Haslam's race school.

All about nakeds,adventure bikes/tourers and litre sportsbikes now.
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Current Bike - 2000 ZX-7R

[G]

It's hard to justify investment in the 600s - higher power comes at the expense of the smooth 'usability' they've gained over the last fifteen years.
Lower weight pushes prices up and reliability down often.

In the end, people are happy to pay a chunk more for a litre bike with every bell and whistle - but less so to pay the same for a top-spec 600.

Also, there's a much wider range of mid-power options for sportyness compared to fifteen years ago, when there was typically a much bigger step down from the sports bikes.

I suspect most people that can afford a new sports bike can also afford insurance regardless of the capacity.

[Rogerborg]

MT-09 = £7,500
600RRRR = £9,000
MT-10 = £10,000

You really, really need to want racebike.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[talkToTheHat]

I think the same monies buys an inazuma 250 with bonus plastic, an sv650s (is there ever going to be a new one?) 2/3 of a bandit wrapped up with bonus plastic in the pretence of being a katana or half a gsxr with some pocket change between 600 and 750 models. Gsx1000s is possibly the most sensible bike in the range, with an old (chosen for best midrange and most drivable behaviour) gsxr engine and a bandity riding position on a bike that doesn't have the lard of a bandit. Nice sensible bike, subframe is a bit weedy for fat pillions and luggage so the bandit 12 rears its sensible and sedeate head.

Honda are offering the cbr300 and cb(r)500 at a2, boxed in with the cbr650 and nc750 at varying levels of more money and increased boredom. The cbr600rr really does look like an anomaly. So VFR, or the neglected fireblade?

I feel uninspired. Yamaha appear to have made a win out of the MT series. The unsensible part of me wants one. The sensible part that knows i live out of my luggage suggests a tracer.

That said, I'm not seeing anything that has actually made me want to chop in the bandit i got when i was proper broke. I like the screen and projector headlights, and like the lack of fairing lowers to get in the way. 4000 miles and 6 months down the line and I'm reasonably satisfied. The times i get frustrated because i'd like a bit more power and sharper handling are massively outnumbered by the time i get frustrated because i cant thrash the bike properly because traffic or road/weather conditions, and on recent long trips i found significantly more than i needed for each overtake without asking for all the bike could give me.

I am, it seems, one of the many walking contracictions of the motorcycle world. I appear to be bothered that focussed bikes are dissapearing from the market, but I wouldn't buy one myself.
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Bandit. does. everything.

[Matt B]

[G]

And for 20% extra you get about the best performance you can for money with the latest suspension etc.

Though, with little improvement over the years, less justification for going new.

To some degree I've thought sports bikes have the best justification for buying new as often you can't buy that technology for less.

[Rogerborg]

[jjdugen]

Triumph 675?
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The CBR900RR has been sold. Aprilia Falco worms its way into my heart.
Try Soi 23 on Amazon for a good read.... Self promotion? Moi?

[G]

[staffo]

[chris-red]

[G]

Makes absolute sense as they've already got an 800 triple based on the same engine I believe.

Ok, hopefully they'll rework it for peak power, but overall shouldn't be a massive amount of work.

And of course it's a case of keeping up with the Joneses - with Augustas, who've already done that.

[stevo as b4]

I get the whole it's hip to go naked and European in the middle weight classes, and that pointy small hard and focused sports bikes are now an anomaly to many new bike buying folk.

What I don't get is how the pretty low percentage of new bikes sold that are pointy WSB replica 1000's are going to pick up all the slack from death of new 600cc racers on the road? I mean I know we in the UK are still a bit more torch holders for sports bikes than most countries, but there's plenty of people that used to want a 600 for progression, or to learn their craft on, or to keep in the same company as their mates etc. Cost must be a barrier for many when you start looking at £15k sportsbikes, which for most owners will never replace a 2nd car or be a serious A-B vehicle. Its alot to lay out on a sunny day Sunday toy?

And the insurance, well I went out on a new 600cc sports bike in 2000/2001 and paid £1200FC. I really can't see insurance prices having dropped in the last 15years, and 1200 quid then must be at least £1500 now? A litre sports bike brand new must be £2k for a newbie to insure or more. Economics says there's a cut off point where going larger or for more expensive faster bikes with more tech, becomes un viable for the use they will get, or simply unaffordable.

Talk to the hat makes a good point about many of us being wishy washy wankers, but that's not the issue here, I doubt that 600's are not selling because they've become too focused or hard to ride, it's something else and it ain't sports bike shaped that's causing it IMO.

[Matt B]

[.Chris.]

There's also the fact that you can't ride any of them, even restricted, on the new A2 licence. Lots of people used to buy sports 600s as a first post test bike. No such luck now.
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Chris
1985 Kawasaki Z550F

[stevo as b4]

Tis very true! Some sad fuckers used to restrict all sorts to 33bhp back in the day. I think restricting say an R6 to 33bhp was beyond stupid, but then you could restrict a Hayabusa and some silly twats out there probably did too!