2009 Honda CBR600RR Project Part I

Crashing always sucks, especially on a brand new 2009 Honda CBR600RR, but with destruction comes creation.

It happens to everyone, we ride, we haul ass and inevitably we crash. It really sucks, so when we tossed our Supersport runner-up 2009 Honda CBR600RR down the bottom of Thunderhill’s Cyclone, damaging every square inch of the bike’s bodywork while also breaking off a few bars and levers, we decided to do a trackday bike re-build.

Take a look at the post-crash carnage. It is amazing how much can happen so quickly. Then again, that’s why some people decide to replace their pristine OEM bodywork with aftermarket fiberglass before they go flogging their new cycle around the race track. Follow along as we transform our road-rashed RR into a trick trackday weapon.

A few shots from the Cutting Edge Illusions online gallery of the CBR600RR's progress.

The first order of business is to procure new bodywork and Sharkskinz is one of our favorites. Their fiberglass looks great, it comes with fasteners in place and the factory-primer finish is good right out of the box. We handed the blank slate over to our pals at Cutting Edge Illusions out of Eugene, Oregon, where our blank bodywork is going to be transformed into a Freddie Spencer-inspired blast from the past with a modern twist.

“We are planning on keeping an overall traditional look the paint scheme,” explains Jeremy Kruempel, Designer for Cutting Edge Illusions. “But of course we will be adding plenty of our signature effects. So far the bike has been prepped (sanded). Then sealed and based. Then color sanded with 1000 grit paper. Next we laid down a super smooth white base with a pearl topcoat. We then put an intermediate coat of clear on then sanded that. Finally we added on a mid coat adhesion promoter. Now the bike is ready to begin laying out the racing graphics and logos.”

Watch the process as the Cutting Edge Illusions team works their magic with their standard target turnaround of four weeks. If you’ve ever had something custom painted before you will understand how quick that actually is. They will be updating photo gallery images on their website throughout the process, so check that out Cutting Edge Illusions online gallery.

No, this isn't a prop from the recent Terminator movie; this is the beginnings of a new and exciting CBR600RR project.

On the performance side of the equation we bolted up an FMF Apex Slip-on Exhaust, ditching the stock exhaust for a much more-stylish carbon canister versus the stock unit. The stock suspension is pretty damn good but it can always be better so we ripped-off the fork and shock and shipped them to Race Tech where they will lay hands on them. Stay tuned for performance details.

Last but not least, the final piece of the Stage 1 rebuild will be a set of Vortex clip-ons and rear-sets. So there you go, we’ve got the bike stripped and the parts are being shipped. If there are any CBR600RR owners out there with some suggestions for our little Honda, we would love to hear about them. Sound off and let us know in the comments below.