They are without a doubt one of the best motorbikes ever built, beautifully made, full of character, reliable, just a work of art!!!! Ive ridden the CX500TC and compared to the standard CX Euro it felt sluggish, no go, but when the turbo kicked in it was phenomenal.... Absolutely love the 650 version, awesome bike!!!!! After all these years I still think they are a beautiful bike!
Absolutely love everything about this bike. It absolutely reeks of the 80s - and I love it! Really nice example - nice effort with the finishing touches. Love that car-style big broad dash. There are so many cool features.
What a beautiful mashine. TURBO written all over the place, gotta love the 80`s :D. hard to believe that thing is one year older than me, looks really nice!
Sweet! I owned a 1982 CX500 Turbo. Bought it with 300 miles on it in 1983 in Sacramento, California and rode it all over the U.S. Southwest. Sold it in 1988. It's one of the few motorcyces that I really wish I had never sold!
I put 45,000 miles on my CX650T in about 3 years back in the 80s. Bought it new in '84 and saved a few bucks. Absolutely my favorite bike ever! It's drop-dead gorgeous and Millennium Falcon fast! When that turbo kicks in at full boost, it's an effort to hang onto the handlebars. This thing is the best sport-touring bike ever made. Love the sound, too. Should have kept it, but I say that about nearly every bike I've owned. Thanks for the ride down memory lane, sir.
Couldn’t buy one in the 80’s because I was still in school. Can’t buy one now because they are so rare. So thank you very much, for sharing this video.
I really enjoyed watching your video! I bought a CX500TC brand new back in the 1980's when I worked at a Honda dealership. My favorite bike of all time. Seating posture is outstanding (very comfortable ride) and the roll on brings out the giddy in the rider. Glad you found one, respect it and are taking good care of it. Enjoy!!!
Walking to work (first job) i would see one of these every day,brings back memories.Ditto the suzuki kettle as a schoolboy.Rose tinted specs maybe but nothing stirs me as much now as they did then.Must be getting old :)
It's like a toy or something we used to play with, only it's a real motorcycle. Somebody should seriously recreate those types of touches. Small displacement modern tech turbo twin with digital boost gauge.
mmmbetter55 I know right, it would be so cool. Kawasaki has two concepts currently which are 650cc turbos, the Soul Charger and the Spirit Charger. Hopefully they get to making them, it would be great.
I dispatched one of these for 180,000 miles in 89 - 90. It was by far and away the best bike I owned. It was fun seeing the look on GPZ900r owners faces when they catch up with you at the traffic lights and realise they had been passed by a blown plastic maggot. I had the charging system die on me not long after buying it, which was a big job to replace and the cam chain tensioner go at 80,000 but apart from that it was just standard maintenance. Those mirrors are great but I lost so many hitting transit van mirrors in London and it would take forever getting replacements from Japan. At the time there were very few makers of the correct tyre sizes and the bike would eat the rear tyre in no time. I cut away some of the padding in the seat to drop me lower behind the screen. The bike was powerful, comfortable and could also be very economical if ridden at legal speeds. Enjoy the bike, I am so glad that I was so lucky to do so many miles on one.
I've had mine since 2008, but yet to have it on the road. Starter clutch needed to be replaced, and there has been much procrastination. However, I just bolted up the rear cover and the motor is now ready to go back in with it's newly rebuilt starter clutch. I'm looking forward to soon taking her out for the first time.
Nice review. I used to own a CX650E (in Australia) and it was a wonderful bike for touring and also for the sporty stuff. I really wish I had the turbo version after seeing your video. The exhaust sound really brings back memories. Well done!
Oh, you took me back there! I owned a CX650ED for over twenty years, I only found out recently that there was a turbo version. I bought mine, about three years old, from a dealer in West Kingsdown, near Brands Hatch. It was A472LKL. I paid £1100 plus a CB200 for it. I sold it a few years ago for £250, but it went to a good home. I could not afford to buy it back on my pension! Thanks for the memories! Lovely video.
That was my bike when I was going to LSU in the later 80's. Everyone knew I was coming by the whine of the turbo. I used to smoke GSX600's on the Interstates with a 60mph rolling start. I would top out at 145-150, then they would blow by me. It was a top heavy bike, but one hell of a lot of fun to ride; especially through the LSU campus and parking right by my classes with the bicycles. Thanks for posting this video. The memories came flooding in when I watched.
I'm the third owner of my (normally aspirated) CX500. I've had it for 27 years and 300 000 km. Very stable handling, huge seat, 50hp 500cc. The engine was designed from the start to be turbo-ised and so it is incredibly strong. I've had it up to 187 km/h.
My first bike. It took me to the highlands and back to Germany in 1993. But, the engine had a crack and consumed water all day long. It was trip, I will never forget.
@@RoadcraftNottingham After that experience, I decided to buy an aircooled bike. The crack was nearly invisible and was located right below the cylinder head. Some radiator fluids brought me home again. But the CX 650 T is perfect for touring. Very low gas consumption and nice engine.
Nice! They always knocked the 'Plastic Maggot' which these were based on. The CX500cc punched out 50bhp which more than exceptable. The old Triumph TR6 650 only puts out 40bhp. My Old mate invested when they first arrived on the scene, showed me the way a few times. Now for the downside I had that lump out a few times, the camchain tentioners was crap, so was the update, the ignition was also crap and those Comstar wheels were dreadful items. I do hope these problems were sorted for the 650Turbo. I must admit to havin' 'Bike Envy'. My stable = '77 CB440f2, '65 Triumph TR6 and the everday hack a Kwaker GT550 G9 which I luv.. Cheers and thanx for the upload..
Honda was extremely innovative in the 80s. They have not made an ounce of meaningful progress since the early 90s. Although theyve recently showed signs of life again. Grom, CRF450L, Africa twin, etc etc.
You'll be happy to know that I am 19 and love the site of these old bikes. I have seen one of two around my town and I track them with my eyes down the street their that cool. Brings back memories I don't even have of bikes at that time :)
I was sitting here reminiscing about a bike I had a chance to ride in 84 when I was in the U S Air Force . So I searched it and found your video . Brought back a great memory of riding a CX650 turbo . I’ve looked for one ever since and now I know why I can’t find one . Thanks for letting me relive that ride . On the funny side , the guy who set me up with it told me to speed shift at about 3900 rpm from 1st to 2nd . I did . Scared the s@&t out of me when it seemed the back wheel came round to meet the front . Don’t know how I didn’t loose it . Think I was still shaking when I got back .
If this bike was 3.5 - 4k pounds when new in the 80s, that would actually be 14-16k pounds in todays money because of inflation of the currency. So wasn't that cheap
Love it :) I have a 1980 CX500 B to me its special and one bike I will keep for as long as I possibly can. I feel bikes like that have amazing character and getting to 60 or 70 or whatever speed you do is so much more fun than a modern bike. I go rides with friends that have new £25,000+ bikes but my old CX gets much more attention and love than any of those bikes could dream of lol. I bet you get a stupid amount of people asking you things and admiring it :) Happy riding.
Wow, a choke on an injected turbo motor? Someone really loved that machine to have that many miles on it, and still look brand new. You Sir, are a lucky man, and sound to be deserving and knowledgeable.
Very good review if a little biased... I have to confess that I used to have a CX500 in fact I had 2 of them. Best bike I've ever owned and ridden. Excellent faring, excellent power delivery, shaft draft for low maintenance and fun and fuss free to ride. I loved it. I even worked as a courier using it, fortunately doing mainly nationwide deliveries. It was so smooth and long legged, I used to cover hundreds of mile a day and thousands a week. You're a very lucky man :)
Takes me back a good few years..a couple of mates had the eurosport 500's and they went on forever. A fantastic classic you have there and surely a collectors piece due to lack of numbers and condition.
Well, you are fantastic! Scribed! Can't ride anymore? I'm 62 and just started riding 3 years ago after 35+ year pause...now I live for riding! I'm on my old classic Cbr1100xx- quite a bit of kitty, commute daily, but I just sold my 84 Honda Cb650- these 80's bikes are justfantastic, and there were so many, many still on the road, or hiding in garages, basically sound but need some tlc. There's just so many great classic bikes! They just had a style, a soul that these new bikes are lacking..
I had a brief ride on a Kwawsaki GPz750 Turbo and Suzuki had their XN85 turbo which was slated as being a waste of time as it had virtually no power whatsoever off boost and was a real pig to ride through traffic and not really a huge surge of power when you wound it up either... The GPz was very much like my old GT550 to ride power wise in the lower range and easy to ride through traffic with a good throttle response , but get it on boost, and it was a bit of a Hooligan which was a very on-off affair. When you got to 4500 RPM it would propel you forward like someone had thrown a switch with little warning as to how brutally it would do it. Like you said, A real "Two-stroke" power band. I remember at the time that the Honda 650 turbo was by far the most user friendly of them all and was hailed as the best of all the "factory" turbos and had a very imposing presence on the roads with that huge white faring. Drivers would often slow down as they thought it was a police bike behind them!! Great to see one again and in top condition too!
As I remember, the CX500 Turbo cost as much as a 1000cc bike when it came out and I could never figure why would anyone choose one, so thankyou for explaining why in your video
They are an awesome bike. When they first came out in 83 it was my dream bike and I bought one in 1987 off the showroom floor, still have it and I love it, although I will have to admit that yours is much nicer looking than mine. I currently have about 19000 miles on it and hope to fully restore it to showroom condition in the near future. I would really like to get a slightly higher windscreen for mine, if you know where to get one I would be very appreciative. Thanks and enjoy what you have. You should keep and eye on the stators as they seem to go out on these, my second one that just went out and now I have to have a third one put in.
Absolutely gorgeous bike. Honda should update it and bring it back! Had a standard CX500 in the 80s and loved it. Only snobs/idiots derided them. Most twins are lumpy at low revs, it's endearing, you know they're going to straighten out as soon as they start to come on-cam. The performance figures you quoted are almost the same as for my current twin, a BMW R1200R from 2012! It would be interesting to speculate about why turbocharging (for bikes) didn't catch on - it's pretty big in the car world right now.
I was 22 years old when this bike came out. I was also enlisted in the U.S. Air Force stationed in West Texas, a base named Dyess AFB. While I was stationed there, I lived in the barracks and drove a 1981 Kawasaki 550 GPZ. Once, when I drove my bike to the local dealership for some required maintenance, they had this bike displayed. I was really looking this bike over when a salesman approached me. I told him I really loved the bike and would love to own it, but being in the military, I was required to relocate about every three years. Later, this was proven true. About one year later, I received orders to Japan and had to sell my Kawasaki because I could not take it with me. However, I remember this "period" of bikes. Others were playing with the Turbo idea as well. I remember the Suzuki Katana had a Turbo bike. I really loved the look of those Turbo bikes but never had the pleasure of owning one. The one you own looks like it is in MINT condition! Well, again thanks for sharing, I made a trip back in memory to my younger days. :)
I feel really happy that I enjoyed having a CX500T for several years. At the time, I couldn't afford insurance on both and car, so it was my daily driver. The complexity finally got to me, and the reality that I couldn't really afford some of the repairs that could be coming. I was so gifted. I also had a CBX for a while, and that was kind of mind blowing.
Great to see my old bike again Russ, don't know how I missed this 'tube'.... Hope it's still blowing sweetly... Regarding the back story which may be of interest to others commenting here, I went to Bill Smiths in Aigburth (Liverpool) in the mid-late 80s-ish to look at a used 650 turbo they were adverting but whilst there, I saw 'your' bike in the line-up. Apparently it had been in their stock from new un-registered for quite a while and yes you're right, the list back then was £3600. I did the deal with them for £ 2999 as it had been there for so long. Because they knew I worked for one the Emergency Services, they put the treble 9 plate on it for a laugh. I sold it to a friend after 10 enjoyable years having come across another another 650 Turbo with an interesting back story with around 5k on the clock in 97. My 'new' one to me had been first Registered in early 92 on a 'J' Plate having been on display at Honda UK prior to that for the best part of 10 years.... I still have that one and another on a 'B' plate as back up. That whistle and torque kick are addictive for sure...I call the boost gauge the giggle gauge as you found the first you wound it up... Best wishes ..
That's a great story Mike, thanks. I thought I'd shown you the link to this but obviously not. I hope your friend is still OK. The bike is safely tucked up in the garage and I've since fitted an uncut rear mudguard and the missing rear brake caliper "spat" or whatever you call it. ☺
Holy shit, a 999 plate! We used to play a game back in the day of spot the 999 reg. This turned into quite an addictive OCD for me, I couldn't stop looking for it. I'm glad they changed them over time or I'd probably still be out there looking for them now. P.S My bike's still waiting for you to do that review on it!
Very nice Russ. I own two CX's, but mine are full power 125s made in Italy by Gilera! Only around 2000 Gilera CX125s were made too and the single sided telescopic fork and enveloping bodywork draw a lot of attention.
I've ridden the 500cc version. Hitting the throttle off idle until about 5000 rpm, it runs like a 250cc. When it comes on boost at 6000 rpm it turns into a 1100cc superbike. The power band comes on very very quickly! The Kawi GPZ 750 Turbo is the king of the TURBOS!
My dream Honda 650 turbo, the bike I always wanted and still do even though I'm 64,You've done a great job with her, at last I've heard the turbo thanks for sharing keep safe Peter in St Helens Merseyside
This is a video I shall watch more than once. Eighties bikes had much more character than anything they put together nowdays, can't say as I've come across that model before. Had a cx500 after passing my test on a 250 superdream, just before the law changed to 125cc Max for learners, happy memories.
Wow! Venus's arms right there! I haven't seen one of these in 20 odd years, when I was a courier riding a CX500 in Manchester. What a nice clean example, great stuff!
i owned a 650 turbo and a 500 turbo. traded the 500 in on my first 08 tuono. sold my 650 turbo cheap because the 2nd stator winding melted and i was not doing that repair again. it appears that your 650T has just 41k on it so it has already likely has had the stator winding replaced. they only last 25-30k miles. nice bike, fun to ride, handle good for a top heavy bike. The right handgrip is called the transposer-whatever is in front of you will be transposed into the rearview mirror with a twist of the right handgrip!
I had a CX500 and it was a lovely bike to ride, they all have that whistle as you accelerate, and it was unbelievably easy to wheelie two up, for the size of the thing, I suppose it was the shaft drive that gave it that ability.
Bought one from a dealer in Doncaster in '86 when I was at Finningley and took it to Germany in '87 - awesome on the autobahns. Stupidly sold it in the early '90s and have regretted it ever since. I recall getting clocked at a really excessive speed on the M5 and the copper couldn't believe a CX could do that speed so let me off thinking there was something wrong with his kit.
I own one of these, bought it in 89 off the showroom floor at a dealer, 18000 miles on it. They do have issues with the stator, but great bikes. Keepers. Want one other bike, a CBX, and I'm good.
The CX 500cc 'plastic maggot' was a good bike, with 50bhp from 500 a push rod motor, for the day it was amazing. Downside was the appalling cam chain tensioner, I replace two on my pals bike even the updated unit was crap. So keep a ear out for timing chain slap, it can wear a nasty groove in the block. Quite easy job just pop the engine out and split . Also the ignition unit were suspect fitted a few. Maybe it was all ironed out in the 650 Turbo. Quite envious, like one in my collection that's for sure. Keep the shiny side up..
I LOVE that bike! I've got 3 1983 GL650I "Silver Wing"s and a 1983 CX650 Custom, always wanted the turbo though. Hard to find any, even here in the USA. When you do, the seller knows what he has and wants a fortune for it.
Although I do not understand everything English you have conjured me with your video tears in my eyes. Although I drive only the cx 500 turbo and yet I am happy as you drive over every ride and enjoy it like you. I bought my machine from an older man in the year 2000 for 1000 Euros and I actually only bought them because I found them so ugly back then. After that, I won you over like you really love and enjoy every ride. Please have a lot of nice hours on your turbo! Michael from north germany (sorry google translater)
My son bought a used 500 Turbo a few years back, and it ran quite well until an internal head gasket leak thinned his oil and it ate a rod bearing. I have ridden both the 500 and the 650 Turbos, and like them both. You do want to be careful accelerating out of curves with more than 1/2 throttle, or the turbo may spool up and have you on one wheel before you are going straight, and, yes that did happen to me once on the 650! They can be quite easy on gas, actually, because the turbo does operate at lower throttle and helps give more efficient power with less fuel. The 500 Turbo is very good at this, and maybe the 650 too, but it is hard not to be tempted to use that full-acceleration-kick of the Turbo! Although the other 3 built a Turbo in 82 as well, Honda was the only one to use a v-twin, and twice, no less! These were actually a test-bed for Honda's EFI computer which had yet to be put into cars. There was one EFI Goldwing edition in 1984 or 85, but again, was just a preliminary test. It was not until 1988 that the Goldwing 1500 got EFI standard. They have not done a Turbo bike since 1983, and I think it is a shame, but makes having one of the originals something very special indeed! I have to add that I agree with you about it being very normal to ride, and then when you want the beast, bang! These are like having 2 bikes in one; first just a tame, well handling, comfortable 500 or 650 sport-tourer, and second, an adreneline-fed rocket that kicks you in rear with just enough civility to be ever-so-seductive, so as to make you do it repeatedly all day long, LOL! Considering they did this beefing up the already existing pushrod 500 & 650 being built for their cruiser and Silverwing series, is quite efficient in itself. And yes, the Turbo series is still a pushrod engine with 4-valve heads, as the twisted head angles had always prevented an ohc design. The non-turbo motors have a redline of 9750 rpm, and run quite well between 6K & 7K RPM all day long. Got to the end of your vid and saw your RZ350, lol! I had one of those too, and boy, that IS a kick in the pants 350 with that fabulous YPVS System! (and they go even better with expansion chambers instead of the OE catalytic converter EPA exhaust system) Big cc motors take big bikes to hold the motors, which is why I love smaller cc bikes that can go outrageously fast like the RZ350 and the Honda Turbos do! Cheers!
Thanks for that really interesting comment. The 650 certainly is two bikes in one. I've now fitted micron expansion Chambers to my 350 so will see if I can get a shielded microphone near them and go for another ride. ☺
Excellent review, thank you. I'm on the lookout for one of these but as you noted they were never imported to Australia, so my searching will naturally extend to UK and USA. I've had two CX500s and two CX650s which were excellent machines, but this is the king. I'm currently on my second ST1100 as well. These Honda vees are excellent engines.
I have owned 10 CX Turbos over the years, both 500's and 650's. Back in the early '80's I had both Honda Turbos, a Yamaha Seca Turbo, and a GPZ 750 Turbo all @ the same time. The CX650 was the best all around for speed, comfort, power, and comfort. Still one of the best looking and best all around bike of the 122 I have owned. Both the GPZ and the CX Turbos had that digital boost meter, we called it the grin meter. The wider the digital display got so did our smile.
UPdate. Ever since I saw this video I have been looking for another. Just bought a 1983 CX650Turbo. Bought from the original owners estate. 11,230 miles and every receipt since new. It's everything I remember and more. Paid a lot for it but it is literally like new.
Honda needs to bring back that turbo :D since kawasaki has a supercharger why not :D
JoeGo101 I heard Suzuki is working on a turbo 600cc parallel twin.
Liam J sweet :D they need to bring it like yesterday :D
Analysis
They are without a doubt one of the best motorbikes ever built, beautifully made, full of character, reliable, just a work of art!!!!
Ive ridden the CX500TC and compared to the standard CX Euro it felt sluggish, no go, but when the turbo kicked in it was phenomenal.... Absolutely love the 650 version, awesome bike!!!!! After all these years I still think they are a beautiful bike!
Big kid on a bike ;) Awesomely to see you appreciate it and put a more than 300 miles over the years
Absolutely love everything about this bike. It absolutely reeks of the 80s - and I love it! Really nice example - nice effort with the finishing touches. Love that car-style big broad dash. There are so many cool features.
+Rob S Thanks. You're spot on.
Man it feels great to hear you talk about bikes. I love the way you see them
What a beautiful mashine. TURBO written all over the place, gotta love the 80`s :D. hard to believe that thing is one year older than me, looks really nice!
Sweet! I owned a 1982 CX500 Turbo. Bought it with 300 miles on it in 1983 in Sacramento, California and rode it all over the U.S. Southwest. Sold it in 1988.
It's one of the few motorcyces that I really wish I had never sold!
Glen Barringer I am so sorry i sold mine.sob sob
Remember seeing the cx500 turbo at a dealer show day. This was the star and it was like looking at the future. Still looks good 38 yrs later.
I put 45,000 miles on my CX650T in about 3 years back in the 80s. Bought it new in '84 and saved a few bucks. Absolutely my favorite bike ever! It's drop-dead gorgeous and Millennium Falcon fast! When that turbo kicks in at full boost, it's an effort to hang onto the handlebars. This thing is the best sport-touring bike ever made. Love the sound, too. Should have kept it, but I say that about nearly every bike I've owned. Thanks for the ride down memory lane, sir.
Couldn’t buy one in the 80’s because I was still in school. Can’t buy one now because they are so rare.
So thank you very much, for sharing this video.
Possibly my favorite bike of this era. Tons of subtle style
I really enjoyed watching your video! I bought a CX500TC brand new back in the 1980's when I worked at a Honda dealership. My favorite bike of all time. Seating posture is outstanding (very comfortable ride) and the roll on brings out the giddy in the rider. Glad you found one, respect it and are taking good care of it. Enjoy!!!
I owned one of these for 14 years and loved it. It was the best motorcycle I have owned. I had to sell it as I moved abroad. I wish I had kept it.
Walking to work (first job) i would see one of these every day,brings back memories.Ditto the suzuki kettle as a schoolboy.Rose tinted specs maybe but nothing stirs me as much now as they did then.Must be getting old :)
The UK Honda Turbo Association keeps these beauties on the road. Plenty of 500 and 650 members all over the UK (and members in Europe). Nice review.
DIGITAL BOOST GAUGE SO 80'S!!!!
It's like a toy or something we used to play with, only it's a real motorcycle.
Somebody should seriously recreate those types of touches. Small displacement modern tech turbo twin with digital boost gauge.
mmmbetter55 I know right, it would be so cool. Kawasaki has two concepts currently which are 650cc turbos, the Soul Charger and the Spirit Charger. Hopefully they get to making them, it would be great.
CockatooDude please let that happen🙏🏻
So sexy tho
You can hear the grin in your voice as the turbo spins up :-D
I even grin when I THINK about the turbo spooling up. ☺
When you started laughing when the boost kicked in reminded me when I did the same thing long time ago. Wish you the best with your 2-wheeled Gem!
BlueRoseRocketBand my first turbo car was a Audi TT 225 Quattro, was amazing when I first put my foot down, can't beat the feeling of a turbo.
I dispatched one of these for 180,000 miles in 89 - 90. It was by far and away the best bike I owned. It was fun seeing the look on GPZ900r owners faces when they catch up with you at the traffic lights and realise they had been passed by a blown plastic maggot. I had the charging system die on me not long after buying it, which was a big job to replace and the cam chain tensioner go at 80,000 but apart from that it was just standard maintenance. Those mirrors are great but I lost so many hitting transit van mirrors in London and it would take forever getting replacements from Japan. At the time there were very few makers of the correct tyre sizes and the bike would eat the rear tyre in no time. I cut away some of the padding in the seat to drop me lower behind the screen. The bike was powerful, comfortable and could also be very economical if ridden at legal speeds. Enjoy the bike, I am so glad that I was so lucky to do so many miles on one.
I've had mine since 2008, but yet to have it on the road. Starter clutch needed to be replaced, and there has been much procrastination. However, I just bolted up the rear cover and the motor is now ready to go back in with it's newly rebuilt starter clutch. I'm looking forward to soon taking her out for the first time.
Nice review. I used to own a CX650E (in Australia) and it was a wonderful bike for touring and also for the sporty stuff. I really wish I had the turbo version after seeing your video. The exhaust sound really brings back memories. Well done!
An absolutely gorgeous example of what a Honda CX650 Turbo should look like, and sound like !
Great job on keeping it beautiful !
This brought tears from my eyes as I had a CX 500 turbo back on the days as my first bike and I really miss it.
My old bike, I miss it very much. It was the best bike I ever had. Enjoyed it for 13 years.
Love your passion for an 80's bike.This was the iPhone of its time.All these years later not much has changed.
I love seeing these special motorcycles, so different from anything else you see on the road these days. Keep it up!
What a strangely pretty thing! Glad to see it's found a good home.
Oh, you took me back there! I owned a CX650ED for over twenty years, I only found out recently that there was a turbo version. I bought mine, about three years old, from a dealer in West Kingsdown, near Brands Hatch. It was A472LKL. I paid £1100 plus a CB200 for it. I sold it a few years ago for £250, but it went to a good home. I could not afford to buy it back on my pension! Thanks for the memories! Lovely video.
bike is nearly my age and I can totally appreciate this mechanical engineering of this bike, sounds and looks amazing.
I really didn't expect to like this bike but there's definitely something cool about it! Nice job fella.
That was my bike when I was going to LSU in the later 80's. Everyone knew I was coming by the whine of the turbo. I used to smoke GSX600's on the Interstates with a 60mph rolling start. I would top out at 145-150, then they would blow by me. It was a top heavy bike, but one hell of a lot of fun to ride; especially through the LSU campus and parking right by my classes with the bicycles. Thanks for posting this video. The memories came flooding in when I watched.
Another 80s' gem! The bike in the video is very clean. Kudos!
Love it. A good friend of mine had the '82 500 Turbo in Pearl White I believe. What a sweet bike it was.
I own the GL650 Silverwing and my reg ends XFM as yours is OFM they were probably registered at the same dealership. Love the sound of the V-Twin.
That looks amazing, you can't beat the 80's turbo logos everywhere - just in case you didn't know it was turbo charged
I'm the third owner of my (normally aspirated) CX500. I've had it for 27 years and 300 000 km. Very stable handling, huge seat, 50hp 500cc. The engine was designed from the start to be turbo-ised and so it is incredibly strong. I've had it up to 187 km/h.
It’s so nice to see these older bikes still riding 👌🏻
My first bike. It took me to the highlands and back to Germany in 1993. But, the engine had a crack and consumed water all day long. It was trip, I will never forget.
Scary!
@@RoadcraftNottingham After that experience, I decided to buy an aircooled bike.
The crack was nearly invisible and was located right below the cylinder head. Some radiator fluids brought me home again.
But the CX 650 T is perfect for touring. Very low gas consumption and nice engine.
@@vanlendl1 that must have been a freak happening, you were just unlucky
Nice! They always knocked the 'Plastic Maggot' which these were based on. The CX500cc punched out 50bhp which more than exceptable. The old Triumph TR6 650 only puts out 40bhp. My Old mate invested when they first arrived on the scene, showed me the way a few times. Now for the downside I had that lump out a few times, the camchain tentioners was crap, so was the update, the ignition was also crap and those Comstar wheels were dreadful items. I do hope these problems were sorted for the 650Turbo. I must admit to havin' 'Bike Envy'. My stable = '77 CB440f2, '65 Triumph TR6 and the everday hack a Kwaker GT550 G9 which I luv.. Cheers and thanx for the upload..
Congratulations on an amazing find! I get goosebumps just looking at it.
Honda was extremely innovative in the 80s. They have not made an ounce of meaningful progress since the early 90s. Although theyve recently showed signs of life again. Grom, CRF450L, Africa twin, etc etc.
That whistle is gorgeous
I don't know anything about older bikes, but really enjoyed this review mate. Thanks.
You're welcome (only 5 years late 😂)
Haha, better late than never!
You'll be happy to know that I am 19 and love the site of these old bikes. I have seen one of two around my town and I track them with my eyes down the street their that cool. Brings back memories I don't even have of bikes at that time :)
I was sitting here reminiscing about a bike I had a chance to ride in 84 when I was in the U S Air Force .
So I searched it and found your video . Brought back a great memory of riding a CX650 turbo .
I’ve looked for one ever since and now I know why I can’t find one .
Thanks for letting me relive that ride .
On the funny side , the guy who set me up with it told me to speed shift at about 3900 rpm from 1st to 2nd . I did . Scared the s@&t out of me when it seemed the back wheel came round to meet the front .
Don’t know how I didn’t loose it .
Think I was still shaking when I got back .
... Pleased I could assist with your memories. It certainly is a great bike. ☺
Great bike seems so soft to ride. My friend had the Yamaha seca Turbo 650 1982....so fun to play with the Turbo boost.
What a great old bike.I always liked the looks of these and it's so clean.Thanks for sharing and bringing back some memories once again.
Paint looks great and those gold wheels are pure sex! Shame about the quality of the shaky ride by shots though...
Yer only jealous I found someone better than you... Now get back to drowning your sorrows. X
What a beaut! You've done a great job with the faithful restoration. Looks like a lot of fun to open her up too!
***** Thanks, makes me grin every time. I feel fortunate to have this.
That was my dream bike as a kid. Great to see it again... and running.
If this bike was 3.5 - 4k pounds when new in the 80s, that would actually be 14-16k pounds in todays money because of inflation of the currency. So wasn't that cheap
I worked at a Honda shop when they came out - VERY expensive tune-ups!
Love it :) I have a 1980 CX500 B to me its special and one bike I will keep for as long as I possibly can. I feel bikes like that have amazing character and getting to 60 or 70 or whatever speed you do is so much more fun than a modern bike.
I go rides with friends that have new £25,000+ bikes but my old CX gets much more attention and love than any of those bikes could dream of lol. I bet you get a stupid amount of people asking you things and admiring it :) Happy riding.
Still got it? Still got mine ☺
Wow, a choke on an injected turbo motor? Someone really loved that machine to have that many miles on it, and still look brand new. You Sir, are a lucky man, and sound to be deserving and knowledgeable.
Absolutely beautiful. Have to love the Hondas of the 1970's and 80's.
Very good review if a little biased... I have to confess that I used to have a CX500 in fact I had 2 of them. Best bike I've ever owned and ridden. Excellent faring, excellent power delivery, shaft draft for low maintenance and fun and fuss free to ride. I loved it. I even worked as a courier using it, fortunately doing mainly nationwide deliveries. It was so smooth and long legged, I used to cover hundreds of mile a day and thousands a week.
You're a very lucky man :)
Colin Robertson.. Believe it or not, it's not biased. If I didn't love it I'd sell it. ☺
Takes me back a good few years..a couple of mates had the eurosport 500's and they went on forever.
A fantastic classic you have there and surely a collectors piece due to lack of numbers and condition.
Well, you are fantastic! Scribed! Can't ride anymore? I'm 62 and just started riding 3 years ago after 35+ year pause...now I live for riding! I'm on my old classic Cbr1100xx- quite a bit of kitty, commute daily, but I just sold my 84 Honda Cb650- these 80's bikes are justfantastic, and there were so many, many still on the road, or hiding in garages, basically sound but need some tlc. There's just so many great classic bikes! They just had a style, a soul that these new bikes are lacking..
good rider, he always keeps on the right side to not have his head in the upcoming lane in a turn
I had a brief ride on a Kwawsaki GPz750 Turbo and Suzuki had their XN85 turbo which was slated as being a waste of time as it had virtually no power whatsoever off boost and was a real pig to ride through traffic and not really a huge surge of power when you wound it up either... The GPz was very much like my old GT550 to ride power wise in the lower range and easy to ride through traffic with a good throttle response , but get it on boost, and it was a bit of a Hooligan which was a very on-off affair. When you got to 4500 RPM it would propel you forward like someone had thrown a switch with little warning as to how brutally it would do it. Like you said, A real "Two-stroke" power band.
I remember at the time that the Honda 650 turbo was by far the most user friendly of them all and was hailed as the best of all the "factory" turbos and had a very imposing presence on the roads with that huge white faring. Drivers would often slow down as they thought it was a police bike behind them!!
Great to see one again and in top condition too!
As I remember, the CX500 Turbo cost as much as a 1000cc bike when it came out and I could never figure why would anyone choose one, so thankyou for explaining why in your video
They are an awesome bike. When they first came out in 83 it was my dream bike and I bought one in 1987 off the showroom floor, still have it and I love it, although I will have to admit that yours is much nicer looking than mine. I currently have about 19000 miles on it and hope to fully restore it to showroom condition in the near future. I would really like to get a slightly higher windscreen for mine, if you know where to get one I would be very appreciative. Thanks and enjoy what you have. You should keep and eye on the stators as they seem to go out on these, my second one that just went out and now I have to have a third one put in.
Thanks for the tip, I'll keep my eye on it. Nice to see someone has kept their bike from new. ☺
Absolutely gorgeous bike. Honda should update it and bring it back! Had a standard CX500 in the 80s and loved it. Only snobs/idiots derided them. Most twins are lumpy at low revs, it's endearing, you know they're going to straighten out as soon as they start to come on-cam. The performance figures you quoted are almost the same as for my current twin, a BMW R1200R from 2012! It would be interesting to speculate about why turbocharging (for bikes) didn't catch on - it's pretty big in the car world right now.
I am living my life through you at the moment!
Gorgeous bike!
Thanks buddy. Looking at dragging some old footage out
I was 22 years old when this bike came out. I was also enlisted in the U.S. Air Force stationed in West Texas, a base named Dyess AFB. While I was stationed there, I lived in the barracks and drove a 1981 Kawasaki 550 GPZ. Once, when I drove my bike to the local dealership for some required maintenance, they had this bike displayed. I was really looking this bike over when a salesman approached me. I told him I really loved the bike and would love to own it, but being in the military, I was required to relocate about every three years. Later, this was proven true. About one year later, I received orders to Japan and had to sell my Kawasaki because I could not take it with me. However, I remember this "period" of bikes. Others were playing with the Turbo idea as well. I remember the Suzuki Katana had a Turbo bike. I really loved the look of those Turbo bikes but never had the pleasure of owning one. The one you own looks like it is in MINT condition! Well, again thanks for sharing, I made a trip back in memory to my younger days. :)
Nice story, thanks. ☺
I feel really happy that I enjoyed having a CX500T for several years. At the time, I couldn't afford insurance on both and car, so it was my daily driver. The complexity finally got to me, and the reality that I couldn't really afford some of the repairs that could be coming.
I was so gifted. I also had a CBX for a while, and that was kind of mind blowing.
Great to see my old bike again Russ, don't know how I missed this 'tube'.... Hope it's still blowing sweetly...
Regarding the back story which may be of interest to others commenting here, I went to Bill Smiths in Aigburth (Liverpool) in the mid-late 80s-ish to look at a used 650 turbo they were adverting but whilst there, I saw 'your' bike in the line-up.
Apparently it had been in their stock from new un-registered for quite a while and yes you're right, the list back then was £3600. I did the deal with them for £ 2999 as it had been there for so long. Because they knew I worked for one the Emergency Services, they put the treble 9 plate on it for a laugh.
I sold it to a friend after 10 enjoyable years having come across another another 650 Turbo with an interesting back story with around 5k on the clock in 97. My 'new' one to me had been first Registered in early 92 on a 'J' Plate having been on display at Honda UK prior to that for the best part of 10 years.... I still have that one and another on a 'B' plate as back up.
That whistle and torque kick are addictive for sure...I call the boost gauge the giggle gauge as you found the first you wound it up... Best wishes ..
That's a great story Mike, thanks. I thought I'd shown you the link to this but obviously not. I hope your friend is still OK. The bike is safely tucked up in the garage and I've since fitted an uncut rear mudguard and the missing rear brake caliper "spat" or whatever you call it. ☺
Holy shit, a 999 plate! We used to play a game back in the day of spot the 999 reg. This turned into quite an addictive OCD for me, I couldn't stop looking for it. I'm glad they changed them over time or I'd probably still be out there looking for them now.
P.S My bike's still waiting for you to do that review on it!
Beautiful scenery and beautiful bike. Lovely
Very nice Russ.
I own two CX's, but mine are full power 125s made in Italy by Gilera! Only around 2000 Gilera CX125s were made too and the single sided telescopic fork and enveloping bodywork draw a lot of attention.
I've ridden the 500cc version. Hitting the throttle off idle until about 5000 rpm, it runs like a 250cc. When it comes on boost at 6000 rpm it turns into a 1100cc superbike. The power band comes on very very quickly! The Kawi GPZ 750 Turbo is the king of the TURBOS!
My dream Honda 650 turbo, the bike I always wanted and still do even though I'm 64,You've done a great job with her, at last I've heard the turbo thanks for sharing keep safe Peter in St Helens Merseyside
My sons boss has one of these in mint condition. Keeps it locked inside his factory. Stunning condition and not ridden for years.
Real bit nostalgic there and also none of this retro stuff excellent video It brought back so many memories for me thank you
Stunning bit of great design and ergonomics. Current manufacturers should take a look! - especially re seat comfort. + great value too.
This is a video I shall watch more than once. Eighties bikes had much more character than anything they put together nowdays, can't say as I've come across that model before. Had a cx500 after passing my test on a 250 superdream, just before the law changed to 125cc Max for learners, happy memories.
i was 10 when this bike first appeared. always wanted to ride one. great job, mate. 👍
Thank you for posting, I'd heard of these fabled machines but have yet to see one in the flesh. your video is most certainly the next best thing!!
Remember seeing the 500 version in "ryes of fulham" show room window 80/81 when I picked up my then new cx500 b
I had the 650 Custom model. Loved that bike.
Wow! Venus's arms right there! I haven't seen one of these in 20 odd years, when I was a courier riding a CX500 in Manchester.
What a nice clean example, great stuff!
Those gold “boomerang” wheels are killer.
i owned a 650 turbo and a 500 turbo. traded the 500 in on my first 08 tuono. sold my 650 turbo cheap because the 2nd stator winding melted and i was not doing that repair again. it appears that your 650T has just 41k on it so it has already likely has had the stator winding replaced. they only last 25-30k miles. nice bike, fun to ride, handle good for a top heavy bike. The right handgrip is called the transposer-whatever is in front of you will be transposed into the rearview mirror with a twist of the right handgrip!
I love these still my dad had two of them. I can remember going round matlock from Warsop when I was little on the back
Loved the close-up on the turbo meter, awesome.
I had a CX500 and it was a lovely bike to ride, they all have that whistle as you accelerate, and it was unbelievably easy to wheelie two up, for the size of the thing, I suppose it was the shaft drive that gave it that ability.
Hey Fella - Good piece you have put up here - brings back memories when I had a Yamaha XJ650 and my friend had one of these. - best wishes Roadcraft
Very cool classic. Looks like right good fun. Thank you. Plus, new subscribe here. Right on.
I'm green with envy...lovely bike mate, I'm sure you will enjoy it for many years. What a machine...
Bought one from a dealer in Doncaster in '86 when I was at Finningley and took it to Germany in '87 - awesome on the autobahns. Stupidly sold it in the early '90s and have regretted it ever since. I recall getting clocked at a really excessive speed on the M5 and the copper couldn't believe a CX could do that speed so let me off thinking there was something wrong with his kit.
I own one of these, bought it in 89 off the showroom floor at a dealer, 18000 miles on it. They do have issues with the stator, but great bikes. Keepers. Want one other bike, a CBX, and I'm good.
Great looking CX650 Turbo! Well done!!!
"lets enjoy just a bit more of that road" Yes lets.
The CX 500cc 'plastic maggot' was a good bike, with 50bhp from 500 a push rod motor, for the day it was amazing. Downside was the appalling cam chain tensioner, I replace two on my pals bike even the updated unit was crap. So keep a ear out for timing chain slap, it can wear a nasty groove in the block. Quite easy job just pop the engine out and split . Also the ignition unit were suspect fitted a few. Maybe it was all ironed out in the 650 Turbo. Quite envious, like one in my collection that's for sure. Keep the shiny side up..
I LOVE that bike! I've got 3 1983 GL650I "Silver Wing"s and a 1983 CX650 Custom, always wanted the turbo though. Hard to find any, even here in the USA. When you do, the seller knows what he has and wants a fortune for it.
This must be one of the last machines from when we actually thought we had a future we could improve upon... How quaint!
And still loving the uniqueness. Check out my latest "triple bypass" upload of this.
Although I do not understand everything English you have conjured me with your video tears in my eyes.
Although I drive only the cx 500 turbo and yet I am happy as you drive over every ride and enjoy it like you.
I bought my machine from an older man in the year 2000 for 1000 Euros and I actually only bought them because I found them so ugly back then.
After that, I won you over like you really love and enjoy every ride.
Please have a lot of nice hours on your turbo!
Michael from north germany (sorry google translater)
My son bought a used 500 Turbo a few years back, and it ran quite well until an internal head gasket leak thinned his oil and it ate a rod bearing.
I have ridden both the 500 and the 650 Turbos, and like them both. You do want to be careful accelerating out of curves with more than 1/2 throttle, or the turbo may spool up and have you on one wheel before you are going straight, and, yes that did happen to me once on the 650! They can be quite easy on gas, actually, because the turbo does operate at lower throttle and helps give more efficient power with less fuel. The 500 Turbo is very good at this, and maybe the 650 too, but it is hard not to be tempted to use that full-acceleration-kick of the Turbo! Although the other 3 built a Turbo in 82 as well, Honda was the only one to use a v-twin, and twice, no less! These were actually a test-bed for Honda's EFI computer which had yet to be put into cars. There was one EFI Goldwing edition in 1984 or 85, but again, was just a preliminary test. It was not until 1988 that the Goldwing 1500 got EFI standard. They have not done a Turbo bike since 1983, and I think it is a shame, but makes having one of the originals something very special indeed!
I have to add that I agree with you about it being very normal to ride, and then when you want the beast, bang! These are like having 2 bikes in one; first just a tame, well handling, comfortable 500 or 650 sport-tourer, and second, an adreneline-fed rocket that kicks you in rear with just enough civility to be ever-so-seductive, so as to make you do it repeatedly all day long, LOL! Considering they did this beefing up the already existing pushrod 500 & 650 being built for their cruiser and Silverwing series, is quite efficient in itself. And yes, the Turbo series is still a pushrod engine with 4-valve heads, as the twisted head angles had always prevented an ohc design. The non-turbo motors have a redline of 9750 rpm, and run quite well between 6K & 7K RPM all day long.
Got to the end of your vid and saw your RZ350, lol! I had one of those too, and boy, that IS a kick in the pants 350 with that fabulous YPVS System! (and they go even better with expansion chambers instead of the OE catalytic converter EPA exhaust system) Big cc motors take big bikes to hold the motors, which is why I love smaller cc bikes that can go outrageously fast like the RZ350 and the Honda Turbos do! Cheers!
Thanks for that really interesting comment. The 650 certainly is two bikes in one. I've now fitted micron expansion Chambers to my 350 so will see if I can get a shielded microphone near them and go for another ride. ☺
Excellent review, thank you. I'm on the lookout for one of these but as you noted they were never imported to Australia, so my searching will naturally extend to UK and USA. I've had two CX500s and two CX650s which were excellent machines, but this is the king. I'm currently on my second ST1100 as well. These Honda vees are excellent engines.
I have owned 10 CX Turbos over the years, both 500's and 650's. Back in the early '80's I had both Honda Turbos, a Yamaha Seca Turbo, and a GPZ 750 Turbo all @ the same time. The CX650 was the best all around for speed, comfort, power, and comfort. Still one of the best looking and best all around bike of the 122 I have owned. Both the GPZ and the CX Turbos had that digital boost meter, we called it the grin meter. The wider the digital display got so did our smile.
UPdate. Ever since I saw this video I have been looking for another. Just bought a 1983 CX650Turbo. Bought from the original owners estate. 11,230 miles and every receipt since new. It's everything I remember and more. Paid a lot for it but it is literally like new.
I had a picture of one of these on my bedroom wall next to a Yamaha Genesis, Honda NR750 and Kawasaki GPz750 Turbo!