Honda’s renowned CBR600 is one of the Japanese giant’s most successful models ever. Since its launch way back in 1987, the sporting middleweight has sold in huge numbers, captivating more than 350,000 buyers with its near perfect blend of sporting ability, excellent comfort and user-friendly manners.

It’s lost out a little to some rival manufacturers’ more focused offerings at times during its reign as one of the best sellers in the class. But that’s simply because of Honda’s reluctance to build anything that would compromise its famous all-rounder character. And even though the firm launched a harder-edged version with the CBR600 F4i in 2001, the ‘racier’ version wasn’t really different enough to tempt some buyers away from stuff like Yamaha’s R6 or Suzuki’s GSX-R600. But there’s been a significant change in the design philosophy in 2003, and the F4i will be joined by Honda’s sharpest CBR yet – the CBR600RR.

With its RCV Grand Prix bike-inspired style and engineering, Honda seems at last to have a choice for both traditionalists and hardened scratchers alike. Ironically, it was poor weather at the Estoril GP track in Portugal that helped to underline the RR’s surprisingly alternative character.

The track is extremely risky to ride on when it’s wet, and the thought of trying to manage what I expected would be more of a wild racer than a friendly road bike wasn’t making me feel at ease with the idea of lapping the track. Ex-Grand Prix racer Ron Haslam, on hand at the launch, advised us to wait a while to see if things might improve, and that gave me a chance to look at the new 600 in closer detail.

What a great looking bike the RR is. The RCV influence is obvious, with its sleek and sexy shapes mimicking the MotoGP bike very closely. The bodywork style, chunky-looking frame and swingarm, trick underseat exhaust, and diminutive size make it one of the snazziest Japanese sportbikes on the market. But sitting on it thankfully helped to dilute the impression of it being a tricky and uncompromising machine to manage. And, though the new CBR is very compact, its riding position was a lot less radical than I’d anticipated. I’m not saying it will rival a VFR800 for comfort, but it won’t be as far behind as you’d think.

Some of the tallest testers mumbled on a bit about it being a fraction too cramped to tuck in tidily, but I’d reckon anyone under six-foot could consider longer trips without packing any pain-killers. The riding position for those of a less gangly nature is relaxed enough, and the fairing and screen seem big enough to fend off the worst of the elements.

When we did finally get going, following Haslam’s lines at a very slow pace, the way the Honda dealt with the conditions was nothing short of amazing. Within a single lap the RR model revealed itself as an absolutely perfect tool for the job.

The most remarkable part of the bike at that stage was its engine. Instead of a manic and peaky animal, which I’d thought Honda must have been forced to build in order to get it to deliver its claimed maximum of 115 bhp, the new fuel-injected motor couldn’t have been more flexible. Just like the riding position, the engine is much less focussed that you’d expect. It’s a daft or docile as you want it to be.

Through Estoril’s very tight uphill chicane, where I’d guess none of us were going any faster than 20 mph, the bike pulled cleanly and smoothly without a single hiccup. All the way round the rest of the track there was nothing less than a fluid and friendly drive whatever the rpm, speaking volumes for the linear power delivery and glitch-free fuel-injection set up. Its superbly broad and smooth spread of power made me suspect the bike was not 600cc but actually something around 100cc bigger. We’re definitely talking VFR-style power delivery here. Brilliant.

Handling manners are crucial when you’re trying to stay upright on a slippery surface, and again the surprises continued to unfold. Helping matters are a claimed dry weight of just 373 lbs and bike dimensions of something more akin to a 400. But the real ally to cornering composure and faith in making it to the other side was the result of what Honda call ‘mass centralization.’

Packing as many parts into a small and concentrated area near the front of the bike, including the rider who now sits 70mm further forward, helps to make the RR feel very light and responsive, and the design of the frame and suspension give plenty of feedback. Overall the Honda was a piece of cake to ride, despite the dreadful lack of grip offered by the greasy circuit.

Even though we had yet to put the RR through its paces when the track was dry, I was totally impressed by the new CBR. It's obvious Honda engineers aimed to retain the famed user-friendly spirit, which has characterized the CBR right through its 16-year history.

There are some shortcomings compared to the previous standard-setter for civility, but in the whole scheme of things they’re quite minor. Underseat storage is virtually non-existent thanks to the silencer being where the storage once lived, and the tool kit has been ousted to behind the fairing panel as there’s nowhere else to put it. Although the riding position isn’t quite as relaxed, there isn’t much that the RR can’t do as well as the F4i. And when the track dried and we could ride a lot harder, we discovered that there’s plenty it can do better.

Slowly but surely the dry line on the track got wider, and the sportier side of the Honda showed its class and composure. The handling which had proved both nimble and manageable in the wet turned out to be just as kind when the speeds rose, and without a hint of instability. Even sudden direction changes couldn’t fluster the CBR, and they could be made without doing much more than thinking about them. It’s a bike that needs the very minimum effort to steer.

On longer corners where the power needed to be fed in little by little, the tiny Honda stayed glued to its line perfectly. And though the track is a lot smoother than many roads you can encounter, the planted feel of the bike throughout the lap at Estoril suggests you’ll still be able to depend on it to stay settled on all but the worst surfaced of public roads.

The accuracy and dependability offered by the CBR’s chassis shouldn’t really raise too many eyebrows. Looking at one of the bikes with its bodywork stripped off reveals a very serious looking frame. Its main cast alloy twin spars might not appear to be that massive at first glance, but with another two hangers dropping down from them on each side of the motor to form a beefy alloy triangle, rigidity is clearly not in question. Neither is the way its wheels track the road.

The quality of the suspension cannot be over-emphasized. We did firm up both ends a little before riding harder, but only a few of the hardest riders had to turn up the damping settings significantly. All agreed that the influence of the adjusters was immediate and apparent, so there was a setting within the range to suit everyone.

It’s hard to say whether the unique Unit Pro-Link rear suspension (which has no link between the shock and the frame behind the tank) is the main reason why the rear end feels superbly suspended. But the system, which instead has the shock attached to a cross-member behind the engine via two tie-rods, is fitted on the RCV Grand Prix bike and it worked well enough there! Along with the big 45mm conventional forks, the exceptional feel and feedback given through the seat and bars is a massive boost to confidence.

They undoubtedly make life easier for the Michelin Pilot Sport road tires too, and the French-made rubber could be taken right to the edge of its grip in complete confidence. The tucked-in exhaust and smaller and narrower engine are designed to improve ground clearance, and if you can scrape anything on this Honda you’re either very talented or you’re about to crash!

The 4-piston Nissin calipers and 310mm twin discs provide a near-faultless arrangement. Whether you’re just scrubbing off a few mph mid-corner or hauling the bike down from something like 145 mph in just a couple of hundred yards, the result is always the same - sharp, progressive, and highly impressive deceleration, with enough feel to take you to the limit of the tire and hold it there.

There’s no doubt that the CBR is a flier when let loose, but the linear delivery of power does occasionally mask its potency - until you look at the speedo and shock yourself. It’s quite simply a case of more revs and more power, with the midrange grunt being the most exceptional part of the output.

The four-cylinder mill revs out all the way to a heady 15,000 rpm, with a shift light blazing on the dash to nag you to click up another cog of the surprisingly (for a Honda at least) slick gearbox. Then the rev-limiter gives you a final nudge a fraction of a moment later.

The slightly more focused RR is without question the very best CBR600 yet made, and I’d actually argue it’s one of the finest Hondas ever. Very few bikes can match its versatility, refinement, civility and high sporting credentials. At $8599, the RR is the most expensive 600 on the market, and is $400 more than the F4i.

Only a back-to-back test with the other new 600s will reveal whether the RR is the best of the bunch, but they’ll have to be really good to stand a chance of topping it. It’s that brilliant.