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2004 Honda 599

Friday, 29 August 2003

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2004

Honda 599

This bike is not all about going along as fast as its little legs would carry it, it seemed just as happy as a freeway/boulevard sleeper as it does as a canyon blaster. On either road the suspension is a little.. ahem, cheap, but if it hits a bump, even mid corner and regardless of speed, it'll settle right into the job at hand with nary a shake of its super fabulously taut steering head.

One of the reasons for the surefootedness of the smaller bike is partly due to it weight, 401lbs dry, and the rest due to the sum of its parts. It's got those parts sourced from the venerable F3 part's bin. This includes the engine, which turfs out around 90 BHP and about 43 lbs of torque, the 43mm forks with slightly beefed up internals and that healthy sized rear swinger. All this is tied together using a box frame derived from the original 250 Japanese-only version. The frame is particularly unobtrusive and sturdy. The first for looks ('cause you can't really see it) and the second, because it's almost flex free.

The motor is that anvil-like 16-valver from the 98' F3. Yes, that one. The same engine that resists most maintenance expenses; how about 16,000 miles between valve adjustments? It's liquid cooled with a bigger radiator than of old. Oh, and a 6-speed tranny carefully matched to the engines power band no less. All you need is gas and oil and a twist of that loud handle and you're set.

Honda handily stepped up to the plate with this bike by adding a decent 5.5-inch rim to the rear ready for some sticky or tour quality rubber for whatever floats your dinghy. With a generous 4.5-gallon tank you can tour or sport for some decent mileage in between refills. The seat is tier-style and passenger friendly with its big grab rails for those with large fisted girl or boy friends. It's a little firm but it's a good enough shape to hang a bum cheek off if your looking for a rest.

The brakes are all you'll need too, with pretty meaty dual floating 296mm rotors and twin two-piston calipers coddling them. Feel was good and a healthy squeeze saw you stopping or stoppying depending if you used two or four fingers. I was into them pretty good a number of times over the course of this ride with no fading or groaning of any kind.

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