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"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--  I took the one less traveled by,  And that has made all the difference." 
-Robert Frost (1874 - 1963),

The Road Not Taken
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2004 BLACK / SILVER HONDA CBR 600RR SUPERSPORT BIKE

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The story of my '04 Honda CBR600RR-  I was about to purchase a brand new, '04 Suzuki GSX-R600 (trying to decide between what color scheme I wanted since none of the three schemes really grabbed me) when I thought to give my Honda dealer one last chance to stir my soul. I'm a Honda man from way back (try 1984 VF500F Interceptor followed by a 1993 VFR750F) so I knew the bikes were both fast and well made. Basically, I walked into the Hattiesburg, MS Honda shop on Friday, after lunch, not really expecting to find anything I was interested in.  My wife had asked me to even look at a cruiser or a standard, so I entered the shop with the last thing on my mind being a new CBR.  I was interested in buying a new '04 Shadow or VTX.

Lucky for me, the black / silver '04 CBR600RR was parked right near the front door, so close, in fact, that I almost tripped over it walking in. I walked into the Honda shop and walked around the black CBR600RR as it grabbed my soul like a tractor beam. I didn't even wait on anyone to help me with the bike as I walked right back out with the instant inner understanding that this black CBR600RR was my next bike.

On Saturday, I went to my hometown Honda dealer in Columbia (trying to spend some money locally to help the economy, you know) to see if he had a CBR600RR. He did, but it was an '03 model, a red / black paint scheme for $7499 but that wasn't the color I wanted. I know he had a black and silver one just a week before, but he didn't remember it, even though I had seen it in the window and now there was a very tell-tale vacant space between a 600F4i and a 954RR where the black 600RR USED to be. No, he didn't have a black 600RR but he said he would try to get me one and that he'd have to trade a bike for it from another dealer. When I asked him what the price would be, he was very non-committal about it. I told him that I knew there was a black CBR600RR in Hattiesburg, but the local dealer said he didn't deal with the H'burg people (there's some really bad blood between them because this dealer actually worked for them ten years ago). I've always dealt with the H'burg people, they're the best in local Honda dealers, so I decided to go back to them instead of deal with this guy.

Well, to make a long story short, I just picked up the 2004 black / silver CBR600RR (in Hattiesburg, MS).

The Honda shop was closed on Mondays, so Tuesday, June 15, I went in as soon as they opened, put down $500 cash and had them run the credit app. Thirty minutes later, I owned the black CBR600RR. The purchase price was $7899 under the Honda "Real Deal" special (they gave you $500 credit). I put $500 down and financed the rest for 60 months at 6.9% which is a pretty smurfy deal.

Truly love at first sight for this bike in this particular color scheme.

Naked.

Ram air box and fuel tank detail

Fake fuel tank cutaway showing ram air box,
upper mounted fuel injectors and fuel tank

Engine view showing air box (with upper mounted
fuel injectors), thermostat and lower fuel rail.

16 valves, 8 fuel injectors, 6 gears, 4 cylinders, 2 overhead cams.

599cc inline 4, liquid cooled, DOHC, 16V

IMPORTANT DATES
 

• June to August, 2004-  Just a few pictures and some musings on riding during a really bad rainy season.
   

• May, 13th, 2005- The Dark Horse goes down on Friday the 13th... Hit from behind in a turn lane in Lamar county by a careless driver.  Who would have thought that?  A careless Lamar county driver.  Duh.
   

• July 16 - 22, 2005- Vacation in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.  I've been wanting to ride this area for ten years, long before I got married and now I finally get the chance.  Deal's Gap is a year or two in the future. 
   

• August 2005-    Replaced the OEM front and rear tires at 11,500 miles.  Not bad for a sport bike (most riders get half of that kind of mileage).  The dealer didn't have the replacement tires but I wasn't too keen on them anyway so I went back with a set of Battlax.  I could tell a big difference in handling.
   

• May 15, 2006-    Upgraded to some Miracool software, namely a cooling bandanna, cooling helmet pack and a cooling doo-rag (triple approach) but the doo-rag tends to cut my vision somewhat so I stopped wearing it after two days.  Upgraded to Smith and Wesson Magnum series safety / riding glasses with 100 % UV filtering, smoke lenses and wrap around style with safety impact features.  I picked up a clear set of the S&W's for any night riding I do.  Now I can leave my visor open more than "just cracked" on hot days and not worry about small pebbles or rocks thrown up by traffic putting one of my eyes out.
   

• July 21, 2006-    Upgraded to a mesh style Joe Rocket silver / black Phoenix 4.0 jacket and Cortech GX silver / black air gloves.  Required after two years of riding in Mississippi's triple digit heat index complete with identical humidity.  The difference is night and day for comfort and cool.  The old black and silver Joe Rocket will be retained for cooler riding.  The helmet stays the same.  Upgraded to a better backpack, one that can carry my laptop as well.  Upgraded to a Miracool double wide chill bandanna.  With the new jacket, when the heat and humidity indexes reach over 105 degrees, you can still ride comfortably.
   

• August 15, 2006 - Replaced the original chain with a new one at 16,500 miles.
   

• June 15, 2007 - Three year anniversary of owning the 2004 CBR600RR.  As always, she's trouble free and purrs like a kitten.  I'm putting less miles on her per day now since I cut my mileage from 70 miles down to 20 miles round trip.
   

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