Sometimes known as the Hurricane, the Honda CBR 600F broke a lot of ground in 1987 when it was introduced, and led to a long line of successors. Borrowing a chapter from the Ducati Paso design book, the CBR bodywork envelopes the frame and engine, but where Ducati had an air-cooled engine inside, the water-cooled Honda primarily needs to cool the radiators.
1989 Honda CBR 600F for sale on eBay
Returning to an inline four from the more complex V-4 in the Interceptor series, Honda hid all manner of structure, plumbing and electrical inside the CBR’s soap bar and used the money they would’ve spent on making the parts beautiful on engineering, producing one of the best balanced, most refined, and accessible sportbikes of any displacement or price.
The over-square 598cc engine generates 93 hp at 9,500 rpm, along with 45 ft-lbs of torque. Visible outside of the Tupperware are the 276mm drilled front disks and 218mm rear. Semi-hidden are the air-adjustable forks ( with TRAC anti-dive ) and Pro-Link monoshock rear. Harder to locate is the magic, the refinement and smoothness that made Cycle World call the 1988 model “The best Japanese motorcycle we have ever tested”.
Showing almost 22K miles, the years have been kind to this 600F, appearing un-restored. Plastics look tight and correct, a surprising lack of wear for that many miles. From the eBay auction:
-ALL original body panels
-NEVER painted
-NOT sunbeaten
-COMPLETELY stock
-1 year ONLY and the most desirable paint scheme produced
-Motorcycle originated in Northern California
-Has a clean, clear California title
-Few little nick here and there but obviously NEVER been down
-Minor imperfections pictured
-NO disappointments here, she is a true & beautiful survivor!!
Though it’s hard to call any Honda 600 sportbike rare, not so many are over 25, surprisingly original, and well cared for. The auction is from a Florida dealer, the owner stating that the CBR is his personal bike. Upgrades to the 1989 model year include 8 horsepower more than the 87-88 models, and the pearl-white with red and blue paint was new in 1989.
I owned the exact same year, model, and color scheme in Chattanooga, Tennessee…looked as good too. I traded it in on an F-3. While the difference was like night and day, this bike stole a place in my heart…my first real sport bike. I will never forget the first time I opened it up…miles of smiles. There won’t be any more this nice come along …
I remember when this came out along with the first edition VFR 750’s…suddenly Hondas were a hot bike company….but personally I would go for the next generation, the F2 or as Frank posted, the F3. This bike was fine but the next generation was where they really started to screaming little machines that put out as much power as the 750 series offered by other companies.
I had this exact bike. Loved it but I nearly killed myself on it numerous times.
I too had the same one…….the way it cleared it’s throat at 7k still gives me goosebumps. Truly wish I’d kept it longer…….
Great bikes for sure, but me thinks 94 hp is pretty darn generous…
More like 71 or 72 ish, but still a great iconic machine.
I’m with you guys. Remember it like it was yesterday! I remember I couldn’t afford it at the time as I was pretty young but someone traded me a ZX10 for my 69 mustang (needed something reliable). The ZX was such a tank so one day I traded it on this very same bike with damage. MAN was the bodywork a chore to put together. The F2’s and F3’s made these feel like a sled once they came out but still…All the 88-92 or so bikes will always be my favorites. Nice to see people keep them so clean and looking like new.
me too ! High speed crash in the middle of nowhere, 6 months recovery time.
Happy days…..
My vote for the best color or the F1 models. Impressive example. Great to see them in this condition still.
If I was building my collection (no money, no space though…) I would include this bike just because it was one of the first sportbikes that I lusted after as a teenager. It was all I could think about for awhile.