A Closer Look At The 2021 CBR600RR

Just weeks after the initial teaser, Honda has officially launched the 2021 CBR600RR in its home market of Japan. Prices start at 1,606,000 yen or around Rs 11.40 lakh, and full details are available here. Keep scrolling to take a closer look at the supersport icon.

To help tell the new version apart, Honda has given the CBR600RR a complete design makeover, complete with this sharp fairing design and some very neat-looking slit-like LED headlights. The overall design language mimics the larger CBR1000RR-R Fireblade.

Also included in the redesign are these aerodynamic winglets, which along with the frowning headlights, give the new CBR a pretty mean fascia.

Another area where big upgrades have been made is electronics. The 2021 bike comes equipped with an IMU, which facilitates cornering ABS, lean-sensitive traction control and wheelie control. The CBR also gets power modes, engine brake control, and an optional bi-directional quickshifter. All these functions are controlled via this fancy new TFT dash.

Honda has also reworked the engine. It may externally look the same, but the internals have been tweaked, increasing the redline to 14000rpm and marginally bumping up power to 121PS. Unfortunately, the motor is not Euro 5 compliant, meaning the bike will not be sold in India or Europe.

Underpinnings have been carried over pretty much unchanged from the outgoing model. So there’s a twin-spar perimeter frame holding everything together. It is constructed from aluminium to make it lightweight, and 150 grams have been shaved off from the braced swingarm.

Suspension duties up front are handled by a Showa Big Piston Fork which is adjustable for preload, rebound and compression damping. At the rear, there is a linked monoshock which is fully adjustable too. The CBR also gets an electronic steering damper.

To bring everything to a stop, Honda has given the bike twin 310mm discs up front bitten on by Tokico radially-mounted 4 piston calipers. At the rear, there is a single 220mm disc, and cornering ABS is standard.