Church of MO: Top 600s, 1997

Twenty-five years ago was three years before Al Gore conceded a too-close US presidential race to George W. Bush, as we collectively decided to kick the global warming can down the road a bit further. Honda’s first bike with a catalytic converter was also three years in the future – the VFR800FI. Just before all that hit the fan, 600cc Japanese inline four-cylinders were all the rage: carbureted, basic, cheap, and expendable. Ninety horsepower in a 420-pound package was all you really needed. And in 1997, the top 600s were still even pretty good streetbikes. The MO crew was positively giddy over all of them.

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