Honda CBR 600 F. Pretty pointless now. But quite nice.

For many of us, 1986 still feels like yesterday. But a motorcycle from that year, such as the Honda CBR 600 F, is already 35 years young. In the summer of 1986, the motorcycle world was even different. It was the time of fairings and sporty, but usable engines. In the XNUMXs, motorcycles were still supplied as all-rounders. You made them sporty after purchase by means of a low handlebar, rear-set footrests (Raask!) A sports buddy and an exhaust system that loudly supported the sportiness. Touring riders mounted higher handlebars and bags or suitcases. The XNUMXs were also the years when motorcycles became reliable.

And then, in August 1986, there was the Honda CBR 600 F

At that time, the Japanese manufacturers had switched to 'customization' for target groups. At Honda they made the XR series for off-road fun, the VT Hondas were ready-to-wear and the ultimate touring was done on a Goldwing. The CBR line was there for the sporty types. Here in the Netherlands, we were able to buy the liquid-cooled four-cylinder in a leotard in 1987, the Honda CBR 600 F. That machine produced 85 hp (a few generations before that, the extremely sporty Norton 99 600 cc Sport Special had 31 hp). In the Dutch motorcycle press at the time, the Honda was described as a 'sprinter with marathon qualities'. In 1998 Honda increased the power to 93 hp. But that turned out to be 'too little'. That is why the block was thoroughly examined and the bicycle part was also seriously addressed. The four-cylinder, still 599 cc, delivered 100 hp at 12.000 rpm from that moment on. And so you had a middle class that trotted very smoothly to 230+ km/h. And once the sporty 600 cc world was very important!

In the meantime, such a Honda is seriously dated, but not yet 'highly collectable'

You have CBR 600 F's up to 1990 from € 750. At the top of the market you are at about three thousand. And is that a good buy? Could just be. Because the sporty 600 was in fact a very versatile motorcycle for people with a sporty slant. A Honda CBR 600 F could therefore run miles that an owner of such a Norton we just mentioned could only dream of. In any case, we know a Honda CBR 600 F owner who already has a problem-free ton on the counter. But that Honda has always been driven wisely and so far still has a watertight maintenance history. But not all CBR owners were so consistent and certainly from the third owner, such a Honda deserves to be carefully inspected before purchase.

There is a chance that a previous owner had too high a Bokito factor

And if such a machine also has a track history, then it is a must. But even without a track, an experienced Honda CBR 600 F is statistically more likely to suffer from old fall damage than moderate models. A neat looking CBR with 'only two small dents in the tank'? If those dents are near the handlebar ends, that engine may have had a tank slap. In any case, look at the steering stops on the headset and the fork. Ill-fitting fairings are also not as Honda intended them to be. In short: pay attention to fall and sliding damage and preferably buy a copy that is as original as possible. Then you can really enjoy such a frisky Japanese. A bit of a shame that you can hardly drive faster than 120 km/h.

Also read:
- The Honda CBR 1000F. What should we do with that?
- The Honda CB1100RC (1982), a Real Race Replica
- A nice convulsion: the Gilera Saturno Bialbero
- Cees Fick YZ840 Special
- Suzuki GSX-R750. A legend