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SBK / WSS Overview |
| Nowhere is the direct link between race development and road bikes more clearly demonstrated than in the World Superbike and Supersport paddocks. Contrasting with the exotic prototypes of MotoGP, Honda’s CBR competitive racing programme is constantly helping to develop future production machines. |
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 And it doesn’t get much more competitive than World Superbike and Supersport, where near-stock machines and the skill and courage of the riders leads to ultra-close racing for the thousands of fans.Honda’s record in the World Superbike championship is the envy of many manufacturers, having won the first two championships with Fred Merkel and the remarkable RC30. Fellow Americans, John Kocinski and Colin Edwards have also emerged victorious on Honda machinery - Kocinski regaining the title with the RC45 in 1997. Edwards’ titles came in 2000 on the V-twin SP-1 and two years later on the SP-2. With subsequent changes to the championship rules, Chris Vermeulen took the CBR1000RR Fireblade to fourth place in 2004 and the runner-up slot in 2005. An achievement matched by his successor in the 2006 Ten Kate team, James Toseland. The same Ten Kate outfit has taken each one of the last five World Supersport championships on CBR machinery tuned by Gerrit Ten Kate and his team. The first title in 2002 went to Frenchman Fabien Foret, followed in successive years by Chris Vermeulen, Karl Muggeridge and Sébastien Charpentier, who retained his title in 2006 – the first rider ever to do so. For the 2007 season, Honda Europe continues its comprehensive support programme in the World Superbike and World Supersport championships, with kit-based CBR1000RR Fireblades and HRC kit for the all-new CBR600RR. The Fireblade has undergone significant development with SBK teams since its 2004 debut in the Superbike arena. Two runner-up places in the last two years have led to added determination that Honda’s flagship sportsbike will take the title in 2007. The all-new 2007 CBR600RR has an extraordinary heritage to maintain, but the all-round performance package that it represents for road riders the world over is likely to secure yet more World Supersport wins for this remarkable machine. |
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| Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade |
| A legend since first its launch back in 1992, the new-generation Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade continues the proud tradition of the original machine. On the road it’s a winner, combining litre-class performance with everyday useability while on the track it won last year’s fiercely-contested British Superbike series and has early wins in the 2007 World Superbike championship. And with styling and technology coming direct from Honda’s MotoGP machines, the bloodline and racing pedigree are second to none. |
| Engine | Liquid-cooled 4-stroke 16-valve DOHC inlinefour | |||
| Displacement | 998cm3 | |||
| Max Power | 170bhp/11,250rpm | |||
| Fuel Tank Capacity | 18 litres | |||
| Overall length | 2,030mm | |||
| Overall width | 720mm | |||
| Overall height | 1,118mm | |||
| Wheelbase | 1,410mm | |||
| Road clearance | 130mm | |||
| Dry weight | 176kg | |||
| Seat Height | 831mm | |||
| Caster Angle | 23° 30' | |||
| Trail | 100mm |
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| Honda CBR600RR |
| The new-for-2007 CBR600RR is the most advanced middleweight sports bike EVER. Twenty years old this year, the new 600RR is completely new from stem to stern and features a new motor, chassis, fuel-injection and ram-air system as well as a new electronic steering damper and the lightest weight in its class. The CBR600 family of machines have won the last five World Supersport titles and the last four British Supersport titles. |
| Honda’s CBR600 was a revelation when it first arrived 20 years ago. The leap in performance compared to its middleweight sport rivals was huge and regular updates have kept the machine at the forefront of motorcycle development. From around 70bhp to today’s CBR600RR-7 producing 115bhp, the leap forward in engine, chassis and brake design has been huge, and so have the sales: Honda estimates that more than half a million CBR600s have been sold since the first CBR600F-H model of 1987. Despite only being an all-round ‘F’ model, the early CBR600 was soon made into an amazing race machine. In the UK alone since 1992, Honda has won nine titles from the last 15 available. Since the 2003 introduction of the race-focused ‘RR’ model the bike has cleaned up, winning two titles with Karl Harris, one with Leon Camier and last year’s with Cal Crutchlow. In European and later World Supersport competition things have become just as successful. In the Thunderbike series, Dutch tuners Ten Kate arrived as a serious force to be reckoned with in the mid 1990s. Iain MacPherson took fifth overall in the championship and won at the Austrian GP in the Thunderbike race. In the rival WSB-run series, a Castrol-backed ‘factory’ CBR team in 1998 fielded the late Michael Paquay and a young James Toseland on CBRs. With the dual F1/F-Sport model arriving in 2001, Honda’s intentions of winning the World Supersport title were clear. The win finally came thanks to a partnership between Ten Kate and Fabien Foret in 2002. Since then, the Ten Kate team have dominated, with more titles coming with Chris Vermeulen, Karl Muggeridge and back-to-back title wins with Sébastien Charpentier, giving Honda and the Ten Kate team the last five World Supersport championships! For 2007Ten Kate will field Charpentier and promising Turkish rider Kenan Sofuoglu. |
| Engine | Liquid-cooled 4-stroke 16-valve DOHC inline-4 | |||
| Displacement | 599cm3 | |||
| Max Power | 115bhp/13,000rpm | |||
| Fuel Tank Capacity | 18 litres | |||
| Front tyre | 120/70 ZR17M/C (58W) | |||
| Rear tyre | 190/50 ZR17M/C (73W) | |||
| Overall length | 2,010mm | |||
| Overall width | 690mm | |||
| Overall height | 1,115mm | |||
| Wheelbase | 1,395mm | |||
| Road clearance | 1,395mm | |||
| Dry weight | 163kg | |||
| Seat Height | 820mm |
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