Among the many improvements bestowed upon the 2013 CBR600RR is one that’s a little more difficult to spot until you know what you’re looking for: the new inverted 41mm Big Piston Fork (BPF). The giveaway is the distinctive fork cap with adjusters for compression and rebound (tension) damping settings. As you may remember, the CBR1000RR introduced the Big Piston Fork to the Honda lineup just last year, and while it is a 43mm inverted BPF, the design, operation and advantages all carry over to the new CBR600RR Big Piston Fork.

25 years after sampling Honda’s first inline-four Superbike, we take Duhamel’s CBR1000RR Superbike for a spin and compare the two bikes.

The museum at Honda’s spectacular Twin Ring Motegi racing facility in Japan houses every significant motorcycle Honda ever created—from the early production Dreams, to hundreds of exotic racing machines. Arguably the rarest among Honda’s exotics is the NR series of oval-piston road racers.

Things have changed for 2013, though, with the CBR600RR receiving an upgraded ECU, relocated Ram-Air system, a new 41mm Big Piston Fork, and MotoGP-inspired bodywork.

In taking its premier super-tourer and stripping it down to the essentials, throwing in a darker spirit without losing any of its original prowess, Honda has re-molded the classic Gold Wing to produce a motorcycle that will appeal to the more aggressive rider – aggressive in style as well as in performance.