Living with a CBR600F

Too much cold tyre acceleration ruined the first set of new tyres I put on the CBR but when I had the new Pirellis fitted the different profile made the tyre rub on the Hugger that was fitted to the bike when I got it. It’s been removed now so I need to find one with a bit more clearance.

It looked like the previous owner had never even heard of chain lube so the chain and sprockets had to be replaced only 2000 miles after I got the bike. A new Renthal set (£79 for the chain and £41 for the sprockets, B&C Express 01522-791369) has made the bike so much smoother and quieter to ride and should last a lot longer than the standard items.

With so many CBR600s on the road you need something to set it apart. The Blue-Matrix Airflow screen (£95, 01903-783555) and headlight cover (£35) are a contentious issue in the office, but I love them and that’s all that counts. The headlight cover does reduce the brightness of the headlight so is no good at night but it comes off easily with tough Velcro fastenings and is just the right size to stash in a bag.

All I need now is a full set of Neons!

Angus Farquhar is running a used Honda CBR600F, supplied by DK Motorcycles, as his long term test bike this year. Angus is this site’s Used Bikes Editor…

Do you own one of these, why not discuss it on the CBR600F board in our Have Your Say section.

The standard dash on my long-term Honda CBR600F finally gave out this week after a month of intermittent faults. A new Honda item would have cost me £650 plus fitting so I opted to go for the new SP700 from Acumen (01264-359922) and add a splash of racing chic at the same time.

The unit itself cost £350 but it only has a standard mounting so needed a bracket made up and the wiring is far from a simple job costing around £180.

A Powerbronze seat cover (£45, 01903-783222) gives the CBR a sportier look but can be removed in seconds and chucked in a rucksack when you need to balance a pretty girl on the back. Trouble is it has started to scuff the paint on the tail unit as I move around on the seat.