When the world moved ahead of two-strokes to be a four-stroke centric world, I knew I was going to miss a lot of motorcycles which will sadly never be built again. Yes, that day has passed but the with emission norms set to become stricter by the day, another legend is all set to bite the dust. The word on the street is that the CBR 600RR will be discontinued soon.
As per a report in MCN, the bike is not going to meet the strict Euro 4 emission norms which will be implemented in Europe from next year. Yes, the bike never made its way to India but it remains the legend which even our hearts respect. The bike which became race savvy in 2003 has been sadly been facing another reason for decline.
The world has moved on from the 600s. With the bikes being more track focused, customers are shying away from them towards the more tamer ones. Honda too offers the more road friendly CBR 650F which can broadly be classified between the CBR 500R and CBR 600RR. The bike at present has a 599 cc liquid cooled, 16 valve, DOHC, in-line four cylinder mill capable of churning out 118 bhp of maximum power at 13,500 rpm and 66 Nm of peak torque at 11,250 rpm.
However, the model will continue to be sold in the US where these new regulations do not apply. The report adds that Honda has a different way than most motorcycle manufacturers when it comes to product development. While most makers have a global development budget, Honda asks regions to pitch in with their share. So if Honda in Europe needs it, why would the US arm pay for it when they can live with the existing product?
India too is all set to follow BS IV emissions norms from April next year for new motorcycles, with a grace period for existing models. Are we also set to see a few models being axed soon?