2021 Honda CBR600RR Launched Overseas With IMU And Winglets

Could it trigger a rejuvenation of the 600cc supersport segment?

It’s all happened very suddenly, but the 2021 Honda CBR600RR has now been officially launched. Up until a few weeks ago, we had absolutely zero expectations for a new CBR600RR. In all honesty, we thought the model would die an inevitable and somewhat overdue death in the wake of Euro 5 emission norms.

So you can imagine our delight when the teaser broke cover. Since then, there’s been a flurry of spy shots, and now we finally have a price. But before we get to it, let’s first get the bad news out of the way. The new CBR600RR is most likely being put into production only to satisfy homologation requirements for racing purposes. It won’t be sold in Europe, India or in the USA, so its biggest market will probably be its home nation of Japan (where emission laws are more lenient than Europe), where Honda hopes to sell 1,000 units a year.

That means finding 1,000 people who are willing to shell out the 1,606,000 yen (approx Rs 11.40 lakh) asking price. For comparison, the BS4-compliant Ninja ZX-6R was sold for Rs 10.50 lakh in India, making the CBR a rather expensive proposition indeed. In exchange for the moolah, Honda has reworked the engine, upping the redline to a stratospheric 14,000rpm and marginally increasing peak output to 121PS.

More importantly, the little CBR has received an IMU and ride-by-wire, meaning that it now features tech like cornering ABS, lean-sensitive traction control, wheelie control, engine brake control and power modes, putting it pretty much on par with the electronics suites seen on most litre-class superbikes. A bi-directional quickshifter is also available as an accessory.

To help you tell the new bike apart, Honda has given the CBR600RR a design makeover, equipping it with a sharper design, LED lighting and even aerodynamic winglets! To take a detailed look at the 2021 CBR600RR, head here. Closer to home, Honda is gearing up to launch a new 200cc bike (most likely a CB Hornet 200R) that you can read about here.