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Honda CB 600F Hornet

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Make Model

Honda CB 600F Hornet

Year

2005

Engine

Four stroke, transverse four cylinder, DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder

Capacity

599 cc / 36.5 cu-in
Bore x Stroke 65 x 45.2 mm
Cooling System Liquid cooled,
Compression Ratio 12.0:1
Lubrication Wet sump
Engine Oil Semi-Synthetic, 10W/40

Induction

4x 34mm carburetors

Ignition 

Computer-controlled digital transistorized with electronic advance
Spark Plug NGK, CR9EH-9
Starting Electric

Max Power

97.5 hp / 71.1 kW @ 12000 rpm 

Max Power Rear Tyre

84.3 hp / 62.8 kW @ 11400 rpm

Max Torque

65.6 Nm / 6.83 kg-m @ 10000 rpm
Clutch Wet, multiple discs, cable operated

Transmission 

6 Speed 
Final Drive #525 O-ring-sealed chain
Frame Steel, Backbone frame

Front Suspension

41mm Telescopic forks
Front Wheel Travel 120 mm / 4.7 in
Rear Suspension Monoshock preload adjustable.
Rear Wheel Travel 128 mm / 4.9 in
Front Brakes 2x 296mm discs  2 piston calipers

Rear Brakes

Single 220mm disc 1 piston caliper

Front Tyre

120/70-17

Rear Tyre

180/55-17
Rake 26°
Trail 96 mm / 3.7 in
Dimensions Length  2055 mm / 80.9 in
Width  745 mm / 29.3 in
Height  1070 mm / 42.1 in
Wheelbase 1425 mm / 55.9 in
Seat Height 790 mm / 31.1 in
Ground Clearance: 140 mm / 5.5 in

Dry Weight

176 kg / 388.0 lbs
Wet Weight 198 kg / 456.5 lbs

Fuel Capacity 

16 Litres / 3.6 gal

Consumption Average

17 km/lit

Standing ¼ Mile  

12.9 sec

Top Speed

214.8 km/h

it's baa-aack! Actually, you probably weren't aware that it left. In fact, if you're like most American riders, you may not even have known that the Honda 599 ever arrived here in the first place. But it did, quietly and without fanfare in 2004, then was dropped in '05 due to meager sales.

Why didn't it sell? For one thing, there's that “quietly and without fanfare” business. Honda did little to promote the 599, merely gluing it onto its lineup like an insignificant Post-It note. Plus, it was expensive, priced $600 to $800 more than its competition—Yamaha's FZ6, Suzuki's Katana 600 and Kawasaki's ZZR600. That's because the 599 is built in Italy, so the euro/dollar exchange rate kills any chance for it to be competitively priced in the States.

Despite that disadvantage, the 599 is back in American showrooms for another go, hopefully supported this time by better exposure and sporting a few mechanical updates. The fork, for example, is now inverted instead of conventional, and a new instrument cluster combines an analog tach with LCD readouts for everything else—speed, odometer, dual tripmeters, fuel and even a clock that includes a countdown timer.

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I spent a few hours riding a new 599 in and around the canyons near Malibu, California, during Honda's press launch of the '06 model, and I found it to be a bonafide hoot, especially in the tighter twisties. The carbureted inline-Four engine, a tuned-for-torque version of the late-Nineties' CBR600F3 motor, is snappy and responsive, always eager to spin up to its 13,000-rpm redline. Power is a smidgen soft at lower revs, though not as much so as with the latest 600-class repli-racers, but it pulls hard in the midrange and comes on like gangbusters between 9000 and redline.

Combining zippy power with a light, agile steel chassis, an upright seating position and a fairly wide handlebar results in a bike that's wonderfully flickable and squirts from corner to corner in a hurry. The new fork helps the 599 track more accurately through fast, bumpy corners while resisting bottoming on bigger thumps. The brakes are powerful and fade-free, and cornering clearance is sufficient for all but the looniest of street riders. The upright ergos and anatomically shaped seat promise not to abuse on long rides, even if the relatively high pegs crank the rider's knees at a sharp angle.

Based on my short ride, the 599 seems to perform admirably in every respect—except price: At $7399, $200 more than in 2004, it remains considerably more expensive than its closest competition.

Until we compare all those aforementioned middleweights, we can't say for sure how the 599 stacks up. But it's important to note that the bike has an outstanding track record in Europe, where it has become the best-selling full-size motorcycle on the Continent. If it's that successful Over There, it deserves a better fate Over Here.

Source Paul Dean cycle World