'Hawk vs '06 CBR600RR
 

Rode and raced a friend's 600RR tonight. His was bone stock, as is mine aside from a bafflectomy and dropping a tooth in the front sprocket. We ran the bikes a relatively big parking lot, it's about 1/4 mile long but only about half of it is useful, afterall, you gotta factor in stopping. :lol: I claim to be no expert rider, I'm 19 and have put on about 4k on the 'Hawk since getting it in December. My previous bike was a '80 yamaha 250 with a building-leveling 17hp and a top speed of 70. I've put on about 10k on the little blue yamaha. My friend has his '06 CBR600rr as his first street bike, and only about 2k on it (Bought it brand new). Hope that helps with the background of the riders

Anyways....what I thought. In the 1/8th mile, that cbr had no chance in hell on catching the hawk. I dusted him every time, doing a total of about 6 runs. After running them, we decided to switch steeds for a bit. I then realized just how comfy the stock crappy 'hawk seat is. (Does that make anysense? Ha...) The CBR seat felt like a piece of cardboard wrapped in black duct tape. I hated, hated that cable clutch feel. I LOVE the hydraulic clutch on the hawk!! The CBR felt like it was a damn mini bike. I'm 5'10" and the whole thing just felt a lot smaller. The bars were definitely closer together also. I almost soiled the front of my pants when I grabbed the front brakes while putting it into 1st. Wow, did those brakes feel good!!

I ride it around a bit. Initial reaction? No balls! None, whatsoever. I know the 600's are top end screamers, but holy cow, this thing has NOTHING below 9,000RPM. Nada. Once in the powerband, it felt similar to doing about 3/4 throttle on the 'hawk. These things are a big illusion, they feel so fast because they are so slow initially. The bike handled awesome, no doubt. The brakes were astonishing. I've never raced on an official, closed course track, but I could see the 600 being alot of fun on it. If I had to choose on which bike sounded better, it'd be a dead on even tie. Those I-4's just sound so badass revved up. But for my lifestyle? I use my bike as a spring/summer/fall time commuter for work, and going out after work and on Sundays finding new twisty back roads. I'll take the 'Hawk anyday over the 600 for my riding purposes. With the 'Hawk, I will usually stay in 4th and run it. You can just be so lazy with the shifting, it'll pull from 3,000RPM to 10,000RPM. With the 600, you would constantly have to be on top of it. Sure, it's fun for awhile, but not when you are forced to do it.

Cliff notes? Unless the 600 rider has tucked away quite a few miles under his belt, I'm not going to worry about any 600, old or '07 models, smoking me on the backroads. It would take one hell of a rider on the 600 to make the dated 'Hawk look really slow!

mmmmm


but the CBR's are so liiiight

hawks are great for in town. which is what I like to do. mmmmmmmm

The aera where the 600 will shine is carving tight curves around the track, the bike is light and have light internals so it flicks trough the corners in a blink of an eye. If I had to buy a 4 banger bike, I would get at least a literbike, why buying a 600 since they are almost as expensive as the bigger bikes and we don't have class restrictions like in races, unless the insurances rates justify it. They may be easier on gas... a bit.

starting from a dead stop is not ideal for the 600's. once moving though... any new 600rr is going to hand you your hat. ( rider being equal of course )

i sold my last 600 just because i got tired of having to ring it out all the time
:lol: having the revs at the moon get's old after a while.


tim

It's not hard to make time on a 600. Sure, they're gutless down low, but a good rider on the new 600RR could run off and hide from a Hawk on backroads. It's fun to wring the neck of a 600 because they don't have the torque to really break the tire loose in a scary way. You can absolutely fly on one, but it just takes a different mindset to do it.

:( Man ,I hate to tell you but any late model 600 will walk away from our Superhawks stock vs stock with an average rider on it. The latest 07CBR posted better lap times than the newest GSXR1000 in one of the latest mags. I didnt buy my Superhawk because it was the fastest but because it was different. Now in the right hands the Superhawk can embarass many late model sportbikes in the twisties. The Superhawk will go down in history as one of the most fun bikes ever built and that alone is what make the Hawk cool.

+1, reguardless of any trap speeds or lap times the superhawk is just plain fun & and easy to throw down a lot of miles ( without a lot of pain ) - probably from all the fuel stops :lol:

tim

+1 here.

Quite simplily the 600rr will smoke a vtr with equal riders. I've done a lot of drag racing and pretty much smoked every 600 I came across but it wasn't the bike. I have the best 1/4 mile of anyone I know on a vtr and I beat it the first time I ever rode a 600. If your buddy ever gets better he is sure to smoke you.

If you know how to ride a 600 is about the fastest bike you can get your hands on. You just have to keep it in the powerband and at low speeds slip the shit out of the clutch. Off the line I pull 13k and have no problem hovering the front tire until I get into the powerband, then you just bang gears.