1983 Honda CX 650 Turbo motorcycle
One year-only turbocharged motorcycle with computerized fuel injection.
Increased displacement and boost pressure for better performance.
US-only distribution with high horsepower tariff-beating mid-size engines.
Pearl White Honda CX650 Turbo with Red and Blue graphics shown here was Honda’s final entry into the turbocharged motorcycle craze that lasted only a few short years in the 1980s. Turbocharged engines were developed to extract more horsepower out of smaller displacement engines in both automobiles and motorcycles and were viewed as favorable alternatives to large engines that gulped fuel and had poor exhaust emissions. Honda combined computer-controlled fuel injection technology with turbocharging to create an entirely new motorcycle market.
In 1982 Honda shocked the motorcycling world with the first ever fuel-injected factory turbocharged engine in a motorcycle and used the somewhat sedate CX500 liquid-cooled V twin as the host engine. Only offered in 1983, this “next generation” CX650 Turbo improved on the CX Turbo platform with increased displacement and higher compression ratio to create a true superbike while decreasing its weight by 12 lbs. The 51mm Turbo doubled the horsepower of the standard CX V2 pushrod engine up to 100hp but the increased power came at the expense of added complexity and reliability of components. Boosting intake pressure to 19 PSI, the turbo used 2-stage bearings and spun over 20,000 RPM at full boost. The result was exhilarating acceleration equaled only by liter displacement bikes. By late 1983, all 4 Japanese motorcycle builders offered a turbocharged bike. Honda also adapted the single shock Pro Link rear suspension and an anti-dive front fork to manage sporty handling, but the CX Turbo was never to become a race machine. Unique features such as silver anodized alloy ComStar wheels, a sport touring fairing made the CX Turbo the flagship of Honda’s performance line up and was best suited to high-speed sports touring.
In 1983, the success of Japanese bike industry in the US caused concern among American bike manufacturers and looked to legislators to keep pace with the competition from Asia. Due to a common practice of selling motorcycles in the States at a lower price than in Japan, the US government imposed a 50% tariff on imported Japanese motorcycles for motorcycles over 700cc mostly to protect Harley Davidson who only manufactured larger displacement bikes. The CX650 Turbo, with fewer than 700cc and already an expensive motorcycle, avoided the protectionist import tariffs but Honda and other Japanese manufacturers saw fewer bike sales amongst rising prices in a difficult economy. With its complexity and weight, the CX650 Turbo was replaced in Honda’s line up with various V-4 normally aspirated models ranging in size from 500 to 1100cc’s and avoided the import tariffs by building many of their bikes in the new Marysville Ohio factory. With fewer than 2000 built, all of which sold in North America, the CX650 Turbo remains an iconic performance statement at a time when turbocharging was gaining popularity in motorsports.
Specifications
Engine: Transverse V-2 4-stroke pushrod engine, 4 valves per cylinder, liquid-cooled, shaft drive, 5-speed transmission, computer-controlled fuel injection
Horsepower: 100 hp
Top Speed: 140 mph
Quarter Mile time: 11.9 seconds
Curb weight: 573 lbs