Ride quality & brakes
4 out of 5 (4/5)
You could almost ride the Honda CBF600 with your eyes closed, it was that simple. Thanks to plush suspension, which offered up a superb compromise between ride quality and handling, the Honda glided over bumps and kepts all but the nastiest pot-holes isolated from the rider.
The riding position was very natural with an easy reach to the high bars, there was lots of legroom and the seat was three-way height adjustable too. Ground clearance was more than enough for this type of machine and even when pushed hard the CBF600 wouldn’t get itself into a wobbly mess. Honda opted to fit old-generation Michelin Pilot Road tyres, which didn’t have the grip, especially in the wet, of the more recent Pilot Road 2.
Reader query: tyre pressures on Honda CBF600
Q: I have been using my Honda CBF600 for six months. I had got it into my head that the front tyre pressure was 42psi, which has always seemed fine. The other day I went to check the pressures and the front tyre’s valve came off in my hand!
I wheeled it down to the local bike garage for a replacement and the technician informed me that the front should be 36psi (I double-checked this and they’re bloody right.)
However the bike now feels completely different. It turns in much quicker and goingover white lines or parallel ridges in the road seems exaggerated. What on earth is going on?Ryan Finn, Northampton A: One of two things is happening. Either the bike is now handling the way it should have in the first place, with faster steering, and you just have to get used to it. Or, the pressure has been so high for so long that it has introduced some unusual wear characteristics and the tyre is now super sensitive to surface changes.
