It may have taken more than 14 years of pleading by sports riders, racers and many biking journalists, but the wait has been worthwhile.

As long ago as 1987, Honda launched its middleweight sports bike - the CBR600F - and right from the beginning it set the standard as a user-friendly machine that could do everything demanded of it.

If you wanted a daily commuter or a refined touring machine and yet still have the option of going for a full-bore blast on a track day, the well-made Honda was the perfect choice.

But it did not take long before fans of the marque began to besiege the Honda engineers with pleas for a more focused performance version of the CBR600.

It was a dilemma for the Japanese company's project leader, Satoru Horiike. How could he bow to the pressure without alienating the many thousands of owners who were using the machine for travelling to work and for weekends away.

The answer was remarkably simple - offer two CBRs.

One is the revamped but traditional 'F' model that retains all the practicalities of its predecessor, and the other is a purpose-designed racer - the CBR600F Sport.

As I was saying, the wait has been worthwhile.

The Sport version - liveried in the same colours as the World Superbike-winning Honda VTR1000 SP-1 - benefits from the same improvements and refinements as its more civilised sibling, like fuel injection, but has declared its race credentials from the outset.

Weight has been shaved down to 169kg by disregarding such items as a centrestand and passenger grabrail. Changes to the engine have boosted power to 108 bhp and the chassis has been stiffened to ensure crisp handling.

Supersport racers will be rubbing their hands with glee.

Like Superbikes, Supersport racing is a production-based formula but with even fewer modifications allowed to the machines. To all intents and purposes the bikes are virtually street legal and even compete on road tyres.

And while we all can't take our bikes racing, there is nothing more gratifying than riding to spectate at a race meeting and then seeing some star of tomorrow winning a race on the very same model that you have just locked up in the car park.

The 2001 Sport version is a sharper and more aggressive CBR600F than ever seen before - and it is not just the snarling new front nose with its dual multi-reflector headlights, radical new solo seat and tail section that has changed its once rounded character.

At its heart, the liquid-cooled 16-valve DOHC inline four-cylinder engine is ultra-responsive, thanks largely to a computer-controlled PG delta I programmed fuel injection system.

The hi-tech engine (which also features a direct air intake system, race-style plugs, uprated valve springs, lighter flywheel, new eight-plate clutch and an air injection system in the exhaust ) provides useable power across the whole rev range.

There is no need to keep this engine 'on the cam'. But the build-up of power just keeps on smoothly growing right up to a 14,000 rpm red line. Acceleration is so easy and shatteringly fast that it is deceiving. It's a good idea to keep one eye on the digital speedo!

I found that a quick twist of the wrist along a country lane often had me grabbing for the brakes as I ran out of road.

And while I was impressed with the silky-smooth engine and six-speed gearbox, I was even more impressed with the brakes. They were phenomenal.

After getting used to some real late braking using the Honda's sensitive front brake - which used dual four-pot aluminium callipers with race-compound pads - I got back on to my own bike, rode off towards a roundabout, went for my own brakes. I nearly went straight across the grassed island. My brakes were working properly - but nowhere near as well as the CBR's.

Handling is as sharp as a surgeon's knife. A stiffer frame, with new reinforced frame castings, allow the 43mm fully adjustable front forks and pro-link mono-shock with remote reservoir to work at their best.

You can literally chuck this bike on its side, pull some G's and then realise that the bike could have taken the same corner 10mph faster.

I have no doubt in my mind that this bike, costing £6,999 on the road, will be a winner for Honda - on the race track and in the showroom.