CBR600RR, R6 and Daytona 600 - Back to Back

It's not often that you get the chance to ride three of the best 600cc sports bikes back to back.  When I was offered the opportunity to ride the new Honda CBR600RR, Triumph Daytona 600 and Yamaha R6, on the same day, I couldn't believe my luck.  Every year motorcycle magazines are crammed with 600cc shoot-outs that focus on the latest and greatest sports bikes, with the same format that they've used for years.  In most cases they concentrate on racetrack ability and use a test rider with more track experience than some privateer racers get.  In keeping with our real world motorcycle review and using a significantly lower skilled rider (i.e. me), I thought we'd look at how these bikes performed in the hands of your average rider on real roads.

Despite the authorities attempts to banish national speed limits to the history books, (particularly where I live), I was able to find a few challenging routes that would let me explore the road going potential of these three bikes without risking a trip to the local magistrates.  At the end of the day the vast majority of people who will be buying the new Honda, Triumph and Yamaha's are going to be spending their riding time on the Queens highway, with at best a couple of track days a year.  So understanding how the bikes perform in this scenario is probably a pretty useful test.  All three have the same in-line four configuration, twin headlights and separate rider and pillion seats.  The Yamaha and Triumph feature the conventional exhaust position, giving them a similar and ever so slightly roomier riding position than the Honda, with it's under seat pipe.  Despite the similarities each bike has a distinctive feel and requires a different riding approach to maximise the experience.
 

Honda's CBR600RR has the lowest list price of all three, but is still only about £500 cheaper than a new Fireblade.

Honda has really widened the gap between the standard CBR600F and the sports model, with the new double R, delivering more than just a few minor tweaks between the two.  The CBR600RR is £200 cheaper than the R6 and Daytona, but still costs around £600 more than the standard CBR.  It also only comes with just 6 extra horses (115BHP) seemingly from the extra 500 rpm rev limit and is just 1kg lighter.  A quick glance through MCN's dealer pages shows a number of deals - position the CBR600RR only about £500 off the price of a new Fireblade.  On paper at least, you don't get the impression that the extra cash is well spent.  After all, that money could get you a couple of track days and some race school training.  Add that to the extra insurance costs and you might even be able to stretch to some new kit as well.

However, when you ride the CBR600RR, you really do feel the difference.  The first thing you notice is the tall, hard (820mm) seat and forward low bars, which leave you putting most of your weight on your wrists, staring directly at the front wheel.  Once you get going though, the pressure is soon eased as the wind hits most of your upper body unless you adopt a racing crouch.  This was quite surprising, as the screen and fairing doesn't look particularly different from the standard CBR600F.  In comparison the Yamaha R6 and Triumph Daytona 600 feel particularly roomy since both bikes offer better wind protection, comfier seats and a longer reach.  However, it's not until you get out on the open road, that you really notice the difference.  The Yamaha is also the lightest of the three at 162kg and has the most power coming in at 123BHP (with ram air), although most of that seems to be in the last 1,500 rpm, so you really need to work the gears hard to get any where near that output.  Out of the three, the Honda feels like it delivers the best low rev performance, pulling well in most situations.  In contrast the Triumph felt hesitant and even sounded slightly off at below 4000 rpm.  Nevertheless once you've got the revs up the Triumph's pace feels no slower than the CBR or R6 and even manages to deliver a fantastic roar as the power kicks in.

I've no doubt that the new riding position of the CBR will give it the edge on a twisty track, but on the road it takes some getting used to.  The ultra firm ride and quick steering really lets you cut through corners, but is so quick to react to the slightest input, that it is initially a little unnerving.  The Triumph on the other hand reacted in a more predictable way that meant I felt comfortable cornering hard from the start.  Out of all three bikes, I’d say the Triumph was the easiest to ride, closely followed by the Honda.  I found the rev happy Yamaha very difficult to manage when trying to pull away at slow speeds, particularly on poor surfaces.  To get the engine to pull smoothly I was heavily slipping the clutch and paddling with my feet until I got moving.  If the weather had been wet I've no doubt the experience would have been even more undignified, which doesn't give you a good feeling from the start, but once you've got the R6 moving its as easy to ride as the others.  Personally I’d sacrifice a little top end BHP for a more relaxed low speed control and in this department I think the Triumph has the edge.  At the end of the day all three bikes have enough power to give you the kick of adrenalin that sports bike riders look for and still cruise at twice the speed limit, so your selection criteria should not be power or top speed alone.  Instead you should be looking for something that inspires confidence and makes you look and feel like a top rider.  Once I’d got used to the strange riding position of the Honda, I felt confident that there are few situations it wouldn't cope with, on the other hand I'm pretty sure that I’d probably have crashed it or got a ban within a few months purely because it pushes you so hard to ride it flat out.  The R6 is really two bikes in one: there is a fairly competent sports bike below 11,000 rpm and a track day winning super sport above.  This dual personality comes at a cost though and that is slow speed manageability, although the R6 does have the best rear view mirrors of all three.  Nevertheless you wont be able to get anywhere near this bikes limit unless you are a serious track day enthusiast.

One the other hand the Daytona 600 will have you exploring every road with confidence, as it offers the best cornering feedback of all three.  However, the Triumph gets bogged down at low revs and most people will find this a bit frustrating once the power novelty has worn off.  It also has some annoyingly small foot pegs that have your feet perched on the edge most of the time.  While this may appeal to some it was lost on me, as were the rather old fashioned looking dials.  In my opinion the Daytona 600 is about £400 over priced, coming in at just under £7000 list.  This makes the 955i based Sprint RS an attractive, better value option.  However, it is likely that these prices will start to come down significantly and should see the Daytona 600 more competitively priced, towards the end of 2003.  So how do you choose between all three?  Well the Triumph is almost certainly going to be the cheapest to insure and least likely to get stolen, on the other hand the CBR has the best combination of all round power and you're more likely to get a bargain price with the now getting on a bit R6.

For me the CBR600RR would have been perfect if it didn't have you perched up high, leaning on your wrists.  You also have to remember that these bikes are not that much cheaper than their litre class counterparts and cost almost as much to insure.  For me getting a good combination of power, handling and value for money would be important.  For example the Triumph would cost a 32 year old with 4 years no claims £150  less to insure than the Honda or Yamaha, which will cover some of the running costs.  That would put it ahead of the others, despite being the least powerful of all three, although not by much at 110BHP as it is 4kg lighter than the Honda.

Despite the Honda CBR600RR having the best overall performance, in my view the Yamaha R6 is still the bike to beat.  Particularly if you are looking for 750cc performance in a 600cc package.  However, the predictable handling and lower insurance costs of the Triumph Daytona 600 would probably tempt me if I was looking for a single bike that could do sports road riding and regular track days.