Turbo Bikes

In the 1980's the big four Japanese manufacturers were experimenting with different technologies in search of the next big thing in motorcycles. Motorcycles of the 70's were more or less evolutions of the Honda CB750. The 80's would bring improvements such as plastic fairings, aluminum frames, and liquid cooling. One such improvement that didn't quiet catch on was the turbo-charger. Turbo's had been becoming around for some time in the auto industry but it was new ground in the world of motorcycles. Honda was the first to market with their CX 500 Turbo in 1982. The CX had been around since 1978, and was an odd choice for a turbo charged machine. Honda's CX was far from a high performance motorcycle, and the turbo charger just added more complexity than performance to the design. Meanwhile the other Japanese motorcycle giants were getting into the game. Yamaha came out with a turbo-charged version of their Seca platform. Suzuki produced their higher performance, and oddly named, XN85. Finally Kawasaki came along with their 750 turbo. The Kawasaki had a 100cc advantage over the other turbo offerings and was created with all out performance in mind. With well over 100hp it was enough to keep up with the fastest motorcycle of the day. Despite this turbo motorcycles never caught on. Factors such as weight, complexity, and price, limited their appeal. Eventually turbo bikes became an interesting footnote in moto-history.


Honda CX Turbo 1982-83Yamaha Seca Turbo 1982-83
Suzuki XN85 1983-86?
Kawasaki KZ 750 Turbo 1984-?