In a move to foster creativity, Honda encourages its associates to think outside the box. Perhaps no two machines embody this tribute to creativity more than two purpose-built racers created in the back rooms at American Honda: the 1984 RS750 flat-tracker and 1991 XR680RN Baja Monster.

In 1992, Honda kicked off the CBR®-RR series of open-class motorcycles with the 1993 CBR900RR, much to the delight of big-bore sportbike aficionados. Since those early days, we’ve traveled 20 years down the road, and the latest generation CBR1000RR demonstrates that a concept that was once breathtakingly innovative and impressive has only grown more so over the ensuing decades.

Actually, “reinvents” probably is an overstatement; 95 percent of this motorcycle, the new-for-2013 F6B, has been in existence for well over a decade. “Redefines” might be a better word. That’s because the 5 percent that’s no longer there has made a world of difference, and not just in the bike’s name or intentions; the effect on its performance is a few clicks short of remarkable.

When Mitsuyoshi Kohama was designated Chief Designer of what would eventually become the new Honda CB1100, he set out to create a motorcycle in a very different way than most of us could imagine. For starters, this bike didn’t fit into any existing category. This was not to be a new generation of supersport bike or a more comfortable touring machine or a way-out cruiser. Instead, this would be something very different.

The 2002 debut of the Honda CRF450R heralded a sea change in the motocross world, as top pro competitors and then amateur racers transitioned from two-stroke single-cylinder race bikes to four-stokes. In terms of engine design, in order to extract maximum, race-ready performance from a four-stoke single, a liquid-cooled powerplant with a four-valve head was a foregone conclusion. Why so? With four valves instead of only two, engine breathing increases significantly, opening the way to more power and higher rev limits.