EICMA 2023: The Honda CBR600RR Is Back!

If you thought it was just the Indian brands that stole the spotlight at EICMA 2023, you’re wrong, because Honda has done the same by launching some new products and bringing back an ICONIC bike! Here’s what the Japanese giant had on display at EICMA 2023: 

Honda CB500 Hornet, NX500 And The CBR500R 

The CB500 Hornet and the NX500 are bikes that’ll be replacing the CB500F and the CB500X, respectively. Both of them have the same lovely 471cc parallel-twin mill making 47.5PS and 43Nm. I say lovely because our editor PD fell madly in love with this engine when he rode the CB500X in early 2021. Apart from a refreshed design, both bikes now also get more tech in the form of a 5-inch TFT console as well as traction control. 

We did get the CB500X in batches here in India so the NX500 could make its way to India. That said, we hope Honda prices it much better than the CB500X, because if its pricing is spot on, the bike will surely have a lot of buyers in India. 

Also present was the CBR500R, which too gets styling changes and the 5-inch TFT that its siblings get. 

More Tech For The 650s

Honda’s two 650s, the CB650R and the CBR650R, both have also gotten some updates for 2024. In terms of styling, both take inspiration from their respective litre-class siblings. The CB650R now gets a new headlight design inspired from the CB1000R, while the CBR650R’s fairing is now more in line with the CBR1000RR. Along with this, they both get a new TFT console and new switchgear.  

Now, we did ride the CB650R last year to see if it rides just as well as it looks. Here’s how that went.

The big news though, is the new e-clutch, which was in the works for some time now. The E-Clutch essentially makes use of two electric motors, controlled by its own ECU, to engage and disengage the clutch. In operation, it has a load sensor that is mounted in the gearshift linkage (pretty much the same stuff that we see in quickshifters) which tells the clutch when you want to change gears. While it adds around 2kg to the weight of the bikes, it should make city commutes much more hassle-free. 

The Legendary Honda CBR600RR Is Back!

But all this sounds pale in comparison to the legendary CBR600RR, a bike that Honda finally resurrected. The new Euro 5-compliant 599cc inline-four mill makes 121PS at a mind boggling 14,250rpm along with 63Nm at 11,500rpm. So when you rev it out to extract max performance, you'll be welcomed with the glorious exhaust note of an inline four. And what makes the deal even better is that the bike gets the iconic underseat exhaust once again!

Of course it’s kitted out with electronics. A 6-axis IMU-based electronics package that’s derived from the CBR 1000RR with multiple riding modes, traction control, cornering ABS, wheelie control, a steering damper and what not, the CBR600RR gets it all. It’s surely a race track enthusiast’s delight and we’d do anything to swing a leg over it. That said, the chances of it making its way to India are bleak. With Kawasaki recently reviving the ZX-6R, the 600cc inline-four supersport segment is now suddenly seeing some spark again.