Honda CBR600RR To Be Discontinued Globally

Honda is discontinuing the iconic CBR600RR by the year end due to non-compliance with Euro 4 emission norms.

It is true, the legend is dying! According to a report by MCN, Japanese auto major Honda is discontinuing the iconic CBR600RR middleweight supersport motorcycle by the end of this year. The current model of the bike is unable to meet the Euro 4 emission and noise regulations which will come into force on January 1, 2017. Also, the company hasn't announced any successor of the bike till now.

Sources close to the development told, “It’s not been an easy decision to make for some at Honda because the CBR600 is a bike that has had a great deal of importance to the company over the years but the fact is this model isn’t selling in the numbers needed to make it viable for another model to be developed. The work needed to get this bike through Euro4 is expensive and there is a lot of detail work to be done to make the bike legal. In order to keep the character of the CBR600RR intact and keep it legal requires a lot more work than it first appears. This work adds weight, complexity and cost. The weight would then need to be removed from somewhere else and then the bike gets more expensive still.”

Launched in 2003, the Honda CBR600RR was the successor to the highly popular CBR600F, which was first introduced in 1987 as the Hurricane. In 1987 the 600 supersport class also made its debut on tracks all around America, and the CBR600F won all nine races that year. Since its inception, the bike received many updates to stay at the leading position and its last model before evolving in the CBR600RR was the CBR600F4i. It was much closer to some of the modern day supersports with advanced technologies like high-pressure programmed fuel injection (PGM-FI), digital ignition and dual stage ram-air intake. 

To evolve the bike in a race replica, Honda used its MotoGP technology from the 2002 RC211V race bike and the CBR600RR came into existence. The bike won every Supersport World Championship title till 2008, and again in 2010 and 2014. The last major update to the bike was given in 2013 and the model is much similar to their current MotoGP bike, the RC213V. The new generation Honda CBR600RR is a sports bike that leads the way, whether you’re at the track or just out for a fun afternoon ride on your favourite back roads.

The demise of the CBR600RR will put a huge void in the company’s product portfolio. However, making it Euro 4 compatible will add more weight, complexity and cost to it, which will also affect the market performance of the bike. We believe that the company will introduce a replacement for the bike soon to keep its 30 years glory in the middleweight supersports segment. After the end of 2016 a limited number of CBR600RR will be sold in the UK and Europe under ‘derogation’ rules.