I wouldn´t say it´s a question of which is a better bike... BUT which one you can afford. If you live in the U.S. then your insurance will vary from WHOA JESUS ($$$) for the larger displacement honda to somewhat affordable for the yamaha 600. The bikes over 600 are much cheaper to fully insure. IF your question is speed related then my R6 (2002) tops out at 156 mph, but the CBR will pull a little higher than that. Let´s put it this way I pay less for my bike in the long run and I can keep up witht he CBR´s all the way to the top end.