Turbo Bikes - The Coolest Failure
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- Опубліковано 24 чер 2024
- What would be cooler than putting a turbo on a motorcycle? Nothing. That is correct. It was indeed a cool idea but then why did it only last two years? This videos answers all to why the Turbo Bike era was so fascinating but short lived and why it even happened.
Check this out - My other video on the Golden Era of Motorcycles:
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All video clips, sounds and music credit given to each individual creator during the ending credits. - Авто та транспорт
I own a Kawasaki GPZ 750 Turbo. Great bike! Reminds me a lot of my old GPZ 900 Ninja. They did do a great job with the turbo on the GPZ 750. At 5500 rpm it goes from being the slowest 750 on the market to the fastest bike of its time!
Both of those are fantastic bikes!
No such bike . It was a Z750 turbo
only in europe it was a gpz 750 in the states@@johndawson9736
@@johndawson9736 Huh? I had a GPZ 750 turbo in the late 80's
@@lddeckert a lot of us had the GPZ750 with the little puffer.
there was a z1000 turbo iirc though, very limited run?
and im sure yammie did a litre as well...
The technology race of the big 4 in the 80's was amazing. No one could touch the Japanese bikes in the 80's.
I own a 1982 CX500 Turbo, and the 'Turbo Lag' boogeyman isn't half what it's cracked up to be. The power is extremely controllable. The turbo wheel is small enough that boost starts to become available above 4,000 RPM, and is fully developed at 5,000 with the throttle wide open. If you're already riding above 5,000 at low throttle and snap it open, the boost takes about 1-1.5 seconds to get the engine to full torque.
This is not problematic. It's very easy to feel the boost building and to control it by modulating the throttle. below 5,000 RPM, it rides exactly like my GL500I Silvering of the same year. Above 5,000, you can either open the throttle fully and have the torque of a liter bike on tap, or you can use partial throttle and it continues to run like the GL.
Sitting down and actually doing the math on this, Honda chose a good set of gear ratios for the drivetrain. the CX500 Turbo weighs enough and has its CG far enough forward that even though first gear puts 800 lbft of torque to the rear axle, the front wheel will stay on the ground (unless you pop the clutch).
The CX650 Turbo, on the other hand, will lift the front wheel in both first and second when the boost arrives, but it also makes 50% more torque than the 500.
Either way, the Honda turbocharged CX bikes were excellently executed. They have a very unfair reputation, and people who regurgitate the claims about them being "scary" and "dangerous" without actually having ridden one (cough, cough) are part of why.
I have to agree, the 500 was a pleasure to ride. I did like the higher compression of the 650, this improved off-boost power, but either one was a fantastic ride. In those days, I had both an 81 and an 82 CBX. Yes, two of those beasts in the garage, plus a Silver Wing Interstate and several Wings too.
You are among the few that can really understand beyond the hype. Back then, the CBX was known as the widow maker, the C models had the ultra cool Cal Fab aluminum swingarm and mono shock, a marked improvement from the naked CBXs.
Truth, I came oh-so-close to taking a 500 Turbo power train and installing it as a homologation in the 500 Wing. You know it, that would have been absurdly cool.
Remember when Harley complained so much about people buying Japanese bikes over their bikes, that the government helped them out and made all the Japanese bikes too expensive to be worth buying? Yeah. Just Harley Things lmao
Pepperidge farm remembers
Good story bro, but that's not how it happened....
I mean jeep did a similar thing. Making all import 2 door SUVs too expensive making jeep the only option.
More reliable
A brilliant slice of biking history thank you. As an owner of a CX650 TURBO for 11 years in the late 80's early 90's I feel that it was marketed wrongly as a sports bike whereas in fact it was a superb GT bike,comfortable,reliable,great tank range and able to cruise effortlessly at high speed back in the days when you could. I have great memories of touring all over the UK and Europe on mine,happy days 😃.
Built with, 2023 computer and injection systems, the CX650 TURBO would be the best GT Bike for sure.
Still one of the most beautiful bikes build.
Much better, and sure more beautiful, than the Yamaha 650 Turbo, I only 'trusted' that one on a circuit.
That's exactly what the 650T was - a touring bike that was head and shoulders above the rest in the mid 80's. I did tens of thousands of miles across Europe on mine and to this day it's been hard to find anything better. Certainly one of the best bikes I ever owned.
I still nurse an feed a CX500T. Best tourer ever. Even my 6'5" find a comfy place for effortless long distance rides.
I had a cx650 obrut for 10 years the best bike I have had used regularly to commute from the UK to Europe far superior to the st1300 I am stuck with naw( I prefer my Honda pc50's or c50lac's to the pan or any of my other bike's)as my obrut was destroyed with 2 cagiva Elefant's 1 Ducati & a st1100( good as well)all stolen then destroyed+ other bike's.
I've discovered a gem. I look forward to seeing your numbers go up, dude. Good work.
Thank you, my friend! I really appreciate that.
Agree, this is the first and only video I have watched from this channel and I felt the need to subscribe.
@@da_garage383question,could you make a video about the 2 stroke periode ? Especially Yamaha and there Yamaha PowerValve System??
Greetings from a new subscriber😊
And yes,i subscribed❤
@@tommyhijmensen6257 Thank you! Yes, I've planned to make a video on the two-stroke era. I think it's a fascinating time period as well. I'm working on a video on a specific bike right now but after that I'll be working on the two-stroke era video.
Congratulations on your discovery. And congrats to @da_garage for being discovered by @gabrielfraser2109.
The CX500 Turbo is kind of a masterpiece, as Honda deliberately chose the worst candidate in their lineup to turbocharge - an 80 degree longitudinal pushrod V twin - as a demonstration that they had the chops to make literally anything work if they put their mind to it. As well as all the innovations with the extra tiny turbine, variable tuned intake plenum, 3d mapped ignition/injection etc; they also introduced pro-link suspension, torque reactive anti-dive, one piece molded seat upholstery and lots of other smaller innovations on the same bike.
The V-Twin engine in the Turbo was developed for turbocharger use. Honda started this project back in the '70s. The engine was ready to go before the CX500 TC Turbo was, so why not use it as a normally-aspirated motorcycle? That's exactly what they did with the CX500 in 1978. (Ever wonder why these engines were so bulletproof?) Why a longitudinal V-Twin? The best way to reduce turbo lag is to route the plumbing THROUGH the engine. Simple. I got this information second hand years ago from a Honda engineer who was part of the Turbo development team.
It’s not longitudinal it is obviously transverse V Twin
@@johndawson9736 Longitudinal and transverse refer to the positioning of the crankshaft, not the pistons.
So basically, Honda's R&D toy?
@@johndawson9736it's longitudinal because the crank is in line with the bike. Imagine if you narrowed the angle of the V to zero ; you'd have a longitudinal straight twin.
I started riding in the mid 80s and remember the turbo bikes (and the hype)quite well.
My first bike was a '85 Honda VF 500 Interceptor. Had a riding buddy that had a Yamaha 650 Seca Turbo.
I rode the turbo Seca several times. It was actually quite comfy, rode smooth and the futuristic fairing offered good wind protection. The engine did suffer from turbo lag. From a roll (55 mph) my Interceptor would pull a couple of length until around 100 mph; when enough boost built up, the Seca Turbo was relatively strong for its day.
Great video that brought back a lot of memories.
I had a XJ 650 Turbo for three years. A real fine bike of that time. Handled pretty okay, had the same amount of power as the CB 900 Bol d’Or, XS 1100, XJ 900 and a very fine fairing. You could cruise all day at 180-200 km/h in comfort and in a fuel range from 10 km/l up to 25 km/l, depending from the revs.
A very fine GT.
The real Glory Days of motorcycling. I miss them.
Turbo bikes and two stroke rockets in race livery. Damn but the 80’s were a hell of a time to be into bikes
The XN85 may have been a failure, but it was a fantastic looking failure! 🤩
...sort of a less radical styling version the Katana. The XN85 was also the best handling of the Turbos and -- according to Motorcyclist magazine -- the best handling motorcycle of the time, period (at least here in The States). Of course, better road-hugging bikes were already in the works.
@turbosteve84 I recall reading those articles too. The XN 85 was one of the first production bikes with a radical (for the time) 16 inch front wheel.
Of all the turbo bikes from the Big Four, the XN is the one that I have never seen on the road. The other three (especially the Yamaha) show up occasionally but that Suzuki is rare bird.
@@billymc2681Guy with the local gas station here in Scotland bought an XN85 new...I wonder where it is today, he's long dead?
I had one in 86. Rode all over canada and to Florida. Was dead reliable. Sold it to my little brother. He destroyed it!. Wish I kept it.
My dad had one, that he bought used in italy and got shipped back to Denmark. He had it around 10-15 years, but sold it Again some years ago. I always thought it look sick in that retro Way, but never knew it was such a poor Machine 😛
Why did the Turbo bikes fail in the 80's? The simple answer was the Turbo bikes competed against the sales of liter sized bikes which often costed less and performed better. I always wondered why the market chose to take small displacement bikes and tried to make them perform like a liter bike when they could have placed a Turbo on a liter bike and truly raised the bar. In the end, Kawasaki made the best Turbo bike of the era with the GPZ750 Turbo, but it still fell short against the liter bikes which were being developed.
I don't agree 1% with what you said. I had a KAWASAKI GPZ750 turbo back in 87 and it ran the full 10psi through the air channels to the injectors. It absolutely ate litre bikes for breakfast. It would spin the back wheel and fire off the line like a bullet. Even used to leave all fords new xr, xs, and gt cars in the distance in my mirrors.
Ok I'll agree some turbos were awful but the gpz was a missile when on full bore breathing. 👍😉
The GPZ600R was faster just a few years later. Then came the GSXRs, FZRs and Hurricanes. Already miles ahead of the 70's tech with a snail on it.
The GPz 900 that came the year after the GPz Turbo was faster, handled better and was cheaper too.
@@granite676 So you are comparing a 'tuned' bike to standard. Also spinning the back wheel and 'firing' off the line contradict.
My review of my old SECA.
Boost goes in.
Oil comes out.
Can't explain that
My dads friend had a seca turbo, he described it like a weird 2 stroke with the powerband and he mentioned the insane lag but slam of power it had, he said it barely built boost through the lower gears and would then try to flip you off the back.. insane bike to even try and build, let alone push hard
I had a CX500 euro when the 500 turbo came out. When I took my bike in for a service, the dealer gave me a 500 turbo as a loan bike, and offered me a very good trade in deal. At the time I was living in Berlin (UK armed forces) and most of my riding was through city traffic. The main road through, then, West Berlin is called the Heerstrasse. A 5 lane road. Which, depending on the time of day is 3 lanes in one direction and 2 in the other. I was travelling along this road, and thought I'd see how well the Turbo accelerated away from the lights. Opened it up, and it seemed pretty much the same as my non turbo. Then all of a sudden the turbo kicks in, and I am suddenly accelerating towards the back of a car, that I thought I was a safe distance away from, at an insane speed. Not only did the bike have massive turbo lag. The turbo was also completely ungraduated. It was either on, or off ! When I took it back to the dealer, he asked if I liked the bike, and was interested in trading mine in against it. I told him that I'd keep my non turbo bike. As, exhilarating as it was, I thought I'd kill myself on the turbo, before I learnt to ride it properly.
Of all of those bikes, The only one I had the chance to ride back in the day was the GPZ 750. Guess I got lucky as it was everything you said about it. Crazy fast, handled well, and like most Kawis looked great.
I put 50K miles on my CX650 t... luved it!!! The extra displacement helped so much in the low to midrange power and the chassis was mostly stable considering the suspension at the time. Good brakes and flawless FI made it a treat to commute on.
Gorgeous looking bike too!
I would love to get a cx 650 turbo some day.
I like that Jay Leno has one in his collection, it (and the CBX) have been on episodes of his garage show. Its been almost 20 years since I last saw one (a Honda CX650T). Their hiding the last few in collections I'm sure.
I had a Yamaha XJ650, The fun part was you just whacked the throttle, and kept shifting until you hit 5th. The worst was the pogo stick shaft drive combined with the instant on-off power during any curve
Watched from Old Harbour Jamaica and I remember those turbo Hondas well. Your presentation is very good, keep up the good work.
Love your videos. I learn something new every time!
Thank you! I'm glad to hear that 😊
I really appreciate the little clip of the Yamaha v' Porsche on the twisty course. That commercial I've looked for on YT for years thinking some how it made it into the digital space. It was a real hit at the time (1983).
My Uncle Bill had a GPz 750 Turbo back from the late 80s till the late 90s. It had already been laid down when he got it cheap. It was tuned, the tank was bondo'd, it was a wild rat bike monster. Bill passed away this spring, he was like a father to me. We always had a good time, riding in his MGB, his old Chrysler Ski Boat, Jet Skis, Jeeps, his Power Wagon, the 750 Turbo, it's amazing how much more fun a bunch of old junk is than one or two expensive things. I follow that rule today. If I can't buy it with cash, I don't need it. Speaking of which, my 2004 GTO 6M needs to finally have it's junkyard LQ4 with 706s, a Sloppy Stage 2 cam, springs and headers installed and I need to get out there and bang some gears before I sell it and switch to turbo Buick 3800 Chevrolet Omegas in my new home of Brazil. They sell for $2,000-8,000 in running condition, many are armored, love Holdens. Maybe I'll import an LS and do a swap. I have a 1994 F-250 with a 393w, AFR165s, lightning lower, Explorer upper, Doug's Tri-Y longtubes, ZF5 reg cab long bed, 2wd, lightning seats. It's almost over 30 years old so I might import it depending on the cost and if I can't get a reasonable offer for it. They sell Ethanol pump gas everywhere here so high compression and boost is highly attainable and it costs $2.50 a gallon. Now I just have to figure out something with the goofy gun laws. Great vid, got my sub.
You don't have to spend loads of money to have a ton of fun on some wild machines! Thank you for sharing that and thanks for the sub!
Haha someone's having fun in Brazil 😈
"pig bike"
so i painted it pink and stuck LOTS of pigs on it.
hilarious when i got pulled over every now and then.
only dropped it once, on sawdust through a hairpin. prick to get back up...
still, i did way more damage to myself on a honda 90. was a bit of an upgrade, 90 to turbo 750...
the older the bike and the more peculiarities it has, the better! mad max road warrior all the way!
except for a tendency to drift left. thats annoying on any bike.
There is a guy who used Guzzi engines and added the supercharger (compressor) from the Mercedes CLK. The advantages over turbo engines are clear, the power output increases much more linear, wich is less spectacular but much easier to control! And the increase of power and torque is significant. I wonder why Moto Guzzi never tried this on their own. The layout of the engine is ideal. Köhler placed the screw compressor between the cylinders and by that got a very compact design. And today as emissions are permanently more restricted but people still want to have more power this should be a good alternative to more displacement.
That's awesome! I've never heard of that but it sounds much better. Very cool, thanks for sharing that.
Broooo, I thought your channel was much bigger o love the quality and topic - I'm not even a bike guy but I downloaded this now I'm gonna follow😆
That's awesome, thank you! I've got plenty more ideas for videos so you'll have lots of fun content to watch here!
A friend at my church had a CX650 Turbo. He was shocked at the power it had & it did look radical for me. I wasn't even riding bikes any more by the time, but I still loved it. I have only seen one twice since then - one was in the National motorcycle Museum in Birmingham.
I am so impressed! Very intriguing story and great visuals.
The CX500TC was too expensice and so complicated it put people off buying them. I have one. I love it .
Very good quaility of the video, i hope your numbers will go up, you deserve it!
Thank you! I'm trying my best.
Great video!
Always been fascinated by boosted bikes, never ridden one though.
This was an excellent concise history, unlike any other online.
It’s amazing how well made and documented this video is considering you’re still a small channel
Thank you! I love motorcycles so I go all out on doing the research. I enjoy it and usually learn some new things myself.
Looking at the quality it seems like you've 100k+ subscribers! Definitely deserve a lot more
Thanks! I'm definitely trying to work in that direction.
@@da_garage383 perfect direction you're going in!
I'm glad to see the video you've recomennded in this one that had 432 views now sitting at 102k views❤
Miss my mint '79 z1R TC! Stolen. Worh quite a bit now. Great video!
Thank the insurance companies for tanking turbocharged motorcycles, among other reasons listed in here.
I installed my own turbocharger kit from the now-defunct American Turbo-Pak on my '79 CBX many years ago, and made that bike an absolute rocket. Still have it at age 65!
Kawasaki also used these turbo kits as a dealer-installed option on the Z1R motorcycle and made an absolute animal out of it. The Z1R-TC was a pretty unique bike, although it wasn't an actual factory turbo installation. They are worth big $$$ now if you have one!
Bring back the turbos! Think how much more fun a Grom, Cub, Baby Ninja, etc would be turbo'd out.
Turbo Grom? Heck yeah! That would be a blast.
I had friends back in that ear that had three of the four. Never knew anyone that rode the Suzuki Turbo bike. I've ridden the Honda 650 Turbo, The Yamaha Turbo and the Kawasaki Turbo. Loved that Kawasaki!!
I've got a 1985 GPz 750 Turbo. Its only got 6,000 miles from new! It is a pretty crazy bike and the only motorbike I own that gives me a slight feeling of trepidation when I take it out. Still looks very cool after nearly 40 years. Nice video btw! 👍🇬🇧
It's still brand new! Very cool.
@@da_garage383 it's not easy to find mechanics who really know how to work on these bikes. I'm lucky to have one in my local area who specialises in old Kawasakis. It is perfect condition but the side stand warning light comes on intermittently and I think I've left the indicators on! I've stuck some black tape over it 👍😄
Great video... I owned two Honda CX500T's in the late 80s. Back then I could pick them up for 1500 quid (that's GB Pounds). Best bike I've ever own and miss them terribly. I was aware of the turbo lag but just learn to reprogram my wrist and brain to compensate. I had no issue with it. In fact I was a motorcycle courier/messenger on them (I had one OB1 and my brother rode OB2 OB from the name on the front of the fairing that read OBRUT which people would see as TURBO in their mirrors before I flashed past them). I remember many a long ride on it. One being doing over 350 miles in a day without any fuss and in perfect comfort. The bike I owned before this was the Honda CB900F2-B which had a similar fairing but was not as quick or refined. The turbo handled better and with Automatic Choke and shaft drive was really fuss free. Great machine of it's time.
Kawasaki GPZ 750 Turbo put ‘em all on the trailer back in the day and there are plenty of them still running around.
I didn't know much about the GPZ 750 Turbo until after doing the research for this video. I can definitely say I'm a fan now and want one of those!
@@da_garage383 - I have a lifelong Friend who still has his 2nd year production model and as fast as it was he put an even bigger blower on it. It’s absolutely Insane! Love what you do with these videos. Keep bringing it!
No such bike as the GPz750 turbo , it was and has always been the Z750 turbo
Hell yeah brother 🤘😎✌️😎 loved it!!
Thank you!!
you got me with the thumbnail!
I've had ALL the factory turbo bikes over the years, and know them inside/out...the Honda CX500 turbo was O.K. but far too complicated and the stators would go on them...the CX650turbo was a VAST improvement in every way...a really FUN bike to ride! the Yamaha Seca turbo had a blow thru system that blew boost thru the carbs. it had a futuristic look to it and the best fairing in motorcycling...only 1 exhaust pipe was functional on the turbo side. the other was a dummy put on just for looks + a more balanced appearance....The Suzuki XN85 turbo was the rarest of the bunch, but didn't have much of a turbo "kick" to it..looked something like a Katana a little,had a 16" front wheel ,handled well ,but was a "dog" as far as the boost kick was concerned
the gpz 750 turbo was the best turbo bike
I've have more turbo bikes than you. I had the Hazegawa 1200 and the Mitsukoko 900Z.
never heard of them @@jimdavis8391
I just became your 1000th subscriber.
Let's gooooooo!!! Thank you! You have no idea how much I appreciate it :)
I own both a CX500 turbo and a CX650 turbo - glorious bikes. For casual riding the turbo lag isn't even noticeable. Even for aggressive riding it's exaggerated. Check out my cx powered recumbent motorcycle build - which is going to get one of these turbos.
My Seca Turbo absolutely did not tank slap. It also didn't brake very well, felt like it was powered by Chernobyl on a sunny day, smoked like a laboratory beagle if left unridden for a few days, was the hardest starting bike I ever had, and made my GS1100 feel like a lightweight in comparison. Pretty as a smacked arse. When it spooled up, it was a toss up whether you got a power wheelie, a back tire sliding sideways out from under you, or some deep fried clutch plates. Wind buffeting was atrocious. I'd have another if I could get it cheap enough just to see how much I could lean on it before it blew.
Nice work.
Still have my old CBR down there.
Someday it will be terrorizing the raod again.
Really would love to try the H2 out...
Maybe a video on the supercharged versions??
Let's try out the H2 someday!
@@da_garage383 keep an eye out for the Caldwell motorcycle store demo days. I went out and tried the speed triple r when they were first released and they took over the triumph franchise for the treasure valley. I believe they are also one of the main sellers for the Kawasakis in the valley... And I'm sure they probably wouldn't mind partnering up if you say you're doing a video on that bike and you give their company a shout out for sponsoring the demo
I owned a CX500T and I loved that bike. It was a work of art. Best bike I ever owned. Turbo lag is overstated
and never gave me any trouble. Become familiar with the bike and there are no issues. I could ride that bike
all day long. Good gas mileage and I could pass a line of cars five at a time in a few seconds. I never had any
problem with controlling the boost. That bike was heaven to ride and fast as stink and has usable speed.
Great content! I had a 1985 GpZ - 750 Turbo and if I could have any of my motorcycles back it would be that one.
Wow, such a cool bike! Definitely one of my favorites.
i''m thinking of getting another one right now..I've had 4 of them over the years...drive it normally ..its a 750....get it on boost..and its an 1100 cc biike! one of my GPZ750's had 185 H.P. at the rear wheel! modified...they can keep up with almost ANYTHING even today....
I hear you: nice ones in the uk 20+k, loved mine, she was heavy in the turns, but in a straight line fanastic
As a ca 10 year old, the Suzuki Turbo was my dream bike, purely based on estetic :-) . In Sweden we had at the time the car SAAB Turbo, which was a great everyday performace car.
Garage owner in this small Scottish town had an XN85,my dentist had a new Saab 99 turbo...childhood memories
Excellent work!!! Spot on the history of the turbo bikes! The only turbo bike I rode, back then, was a kz1000 turbo that had a fixed waste gate. It had no traction above 5500 rpm no matter what gear you where in!!! That of course was a dealer installed option!
Also I’m now a subscriber!
It was a Z1R-TC should have called it -TCI I for insane!
Thank you! It was a wild time for bikes. How exciting!
The silver lining is that lessons were learned and knowledge advances.
The problem with turbos on bikes: the power comes in the wrong place. You want the power coming out the apex. It takes time for the power to spool up.
I owned a CX 500 turbo. It was a nice cruiser. It still looks good even in 2023
I would like to posit again the idea that motorcycle manufacturers should relook at abandoned innovations (turbo, i6 engines, rotary’s etc) now that they have technology that’s caught up with the ideas
In the 1980s I had a normally aspirated Honda V45 Sabre with the sport touring Hondaline frame mounted fairing. Honda briefly used V30, V45 and V65 cubic inches nomenclature. The V45 was a tariff beating 698 cc. With a V4 overhead cam engine it made plenty of power. I routinely cruised at 115 miles per hour. I had to calculate speed from the tachometer because it also had the Federal mandate 85 mph speedometer. They were odd times for motorcycles but still fun.
The engineering of that V-4 motor was crazy good too. That much power and smooth as glass. I rode a friends Magna, was very impressed having had experience with the DOHC 750F (1979).
Turbo lag was big in the 80's because turbos were relatively larger than now. Many cars today build peak boost at 2000rpm (not a good thing) because they run tiny turbos.
I was at the BMW museum in Munich Germany. I saw a picture from the 1930's of a BMW motorcycle with a very small chain driven twin screw supercharger. It set speed records that weren't broken for many years. I found the actual supercharger in the Duetche Museum also in Munich. It was 3 or 4 inches tall and 8 or 9 square.
That's really cool! I'd like to see that.
@@da_garage383 The supercharger was on a late '30's BMW super bike. It was built for serious road speed. I saw the actual mini twin screw supercharger for this bike across town at the Deutsche Museum. Just a short flight to Munich.If they were building this setup in the '30's why is no one doing it now?. A kit to add a supercharger to BMW?. It would sell.
A new bike could do a turbo really well with modern antilag and computer control
Very interesting video. I remember thinking, cool turbos on motorcycles what a great idea ! And thought it was strange they never caught on. well thanks riddle solved 🤪
Your videos are always interesting and informative plus you are so cute! ;)
When I was in first grade grade school during like early 90s there was a chewing gum called Turbo, in which you also got stickers of cool cars, that was back in Poland. Turbo was the IT back in the late 70s, 80s and early 90s :)
I owned the 84 GPZ750 TURBO. The turbo came in early at 3000rpm but if you gave it a good Rev before letting of the clutch, you had boast right off idle. On a cool morning it would lift the front wheel with a tiny bit of throttle. Also any load on the engine would close the waste gate making the bike pick up speed without giving it more throttle. It was stupid fast but the drawback was weight!
The GPZ900 made its way to Top Gun movie and poster. A year before GPZ750 turbo was launched. Wonder if the movie had a role in popularizing it.
You should do a video about the air ram intake on motorcycles. 👍🤙✌️
Ive ridden or owned so many bikes..vfr, r6, blackbird, cbx, h1 etc you name it
Many have come and gone but my 750 turbo..i just CANT get rid of ever. Its way too interesting and fun and makes the best turbo sounds.
Ive also heavily modified it with late model suspension/brakes, bodywork, intercooler, bov,, more boost... 😎
That's awesome! Sounds like a cool bike. Yeah, they're definitely fun and full of character
I tried the CX-500 and 650, the GPZ turbo and the Yamaha back then and, the Yamaha pulled like a full bag, vacuum cleaner, nooo power. The 650 Honda was pretty well better then the 500 and, the Kawasaki was an awesome bike!.
I owned one for four years it rocked and with a few mods and lightning fast ,digital fuel injection ,great bike .
Moto Morinin had a prototype ready earlier then Honda and showed it in Milan in 1981, it never got produced because it was to expensive
I owned an 82 Honda CX500Tc ... on criticism I had was this it was heavy with the weight high in the chassis ... and wasn't all that fast...and too many electronic (impossible to replace) parts ... folks said the stators failed prematurely because of the high oil temps. I checked my oil temps after each ride and they were 190-210F and I never had any stator issues ...but what a great museum piece these days!
Stator failure on the CX was common (early goldwings too I'm told), I ended up replacing mine ~50K. Eventually the oil just melts off the winding insulation and that shorts one (or more) of the coils to case. Still loved my 78, I put almost 100K on it.
You can beat the lag. You have to spool it up with the clutch in or in neutral. Reve it close to red line then let the clutch out no more lag. Good luck handling the beast now!
I was lucky enough to be a motorcycle mech from the early eighties and got to experience the wild ride of development through that era. I was super keen on my first ride on a turbo bike. It was the yamaha. What a dissapontment. Came back and straight up thought there was something wrong with it, gutless, told the other mech it felt like it was only running on two cylinders. He said " did you see the boost guage light up?" , "what boost guage?" Was my reply. So out i go again and this time i held onto the rpm way further than is legal on australian motorways. Suddenly, guage flickers and it seemed like it went from 20hp to 80+ in about a second! Totally unusable powerband at a time when the NA 900/1100,s were awesome.
Thanks for the comment. I like to hear stories like that from people who lived it. Very cool.
Loved my Kawa Turbo back in the 80's, until a grandpa ignored a stop sign in his SAAB and that was the end of my GPz Turbo...
Nooooo! ):
Exceptional use of that green screen bro 😂
I like that green 🤷♂️
I remember there was a joke going around in the early 80s....it was -
knock-knock who's there ?
CX500 !
🤣🤣
It all depends how much psi the turbo is set for the gpzed750 was 10 psi
GPz750 was the best turbo boosted bike, there was an incredibly engineering work. Kawasaki always knew how to reach the rider's heart, SPEED 😀😀
I had a Yam FZ750 and my mate had the Kwak 750 turbo... that 750T could really accelerate, although he did have the cams replaced twice in less than 10K miles. People forget that Kwak 750T was air cooled, even though it was sold next to the water-cooled GPz900r and had similar branding. Blistering acceleration, but my FZ750 had much faster terminal speed and I would catch him up before we hit 3 figure speeds.
Just be happy you had the FZ. The best bike I ever had - apart from the seat....
I had both, I wouldn’t have said the FZ was faster, handled better but my god that seat so uncomfortable. In fact checking the specs they are almost identical.
I have a 1982 Honda nighthawk cb750 and it's got some nice power couldn't imagine a turbo nighthawk 🎉
The CX engine started development in 1973 as a turbocharged engine.
I owned the CX-500 Turbo, hated the graphics, so stripped it down and repainted black with gold pinstripes... much better. Never had an issue with turbo lag or "sudden" power coming on mid corner. The only scare it gave me was the first time I punched it off at a set of lights... front wheel in the air, grab 2nd, front wheel up in the air, and the distance to the next bend with a big tree outside was... GONE!! Awesome all round bike with brilliant handling and brakes too.
...I've known many, many factory Turbo bike owners over the years and have never heard any of them having the issue of "sudden" power surges in corners.This, I believe, is a myth concocted without evidence, sort of like urban folklore. Another example of UF is the Nava plastic helmets of the day splitting down the middle on impact. This was not a seem running down the center of the helmet -- it was a molding mark. Nava just wouldn't spend the extra few cents (or lira) it would have cost to sand the mark smooth.
It’s not a myth
@@turbosteve84 I own a CX500T, and have absolutely no problem keeping the front wheel on the ground. My father had the chance to ride the 650 version, and he reported that he did accidentally lift the front wheel in a curve because he was using the same engine management appropriate for his CB750F - keeping the engine at around 6,500 RPM and rolling the throttle all the way open 2/3 of the way through the turn.
Yeah, obviously riding a bike that makes 90 lbft of toque across a very wide RPM range the same way as one that makes 45 lbft across a very narrow range will get you into trouble. I think that's what the stories come from - people who didn't respect the fact that a forced induction engines behave differently and tried to ride them like NA engines.
Probably felt like a 2stroke . 😂 when the power kicks in.
Oh yeah, definitely!
With the XN85 Suzuki made their ground work thoroughly , the most sportbike of them all , it can easily be taken to 200 hp , the rest of the engine can take it , the frame sort of goes off song at 170hp , And the Nicco Bakker derived Full Floater rear end has it's geometry wrong , FAR too progressive ! i ended up with a spring from a BIC pen ..STILL too progressive but still a better bike than the 1100 ....do not think the frame was weak ...far stiffer then the rest of it's contemporary siblings , I just added the oil cooler from the 1100 R which did away with all and any heat...........d-pendable as a brick !!
and here I am, looking online on how to turbo my 150cc bike LMAO
I personally think that the Suzuki XN85 is the best looking factory turbo bike except for the GPZ750 Turbo of course.
Sure the turbo placement is flawed, but you could just relocate it, and hopefully have a good end result.
Fix some other minor 80s bike flaws and maybe a brake and suspension upgrade then you probably have a very good 80s turbo bike.
What happened to the XN85?
It wasn't made for very long. They discontinued it shortly after since it was overly complicated and expensive to produce.
I made a turbo kit for my WR250R and will likely be switching back to NA for MPG reasons. If anyone is interested in buying it let me know.
I loved the look of the cx650 , would have loved one but not the turbo 😁
Ah yes , Honda , the company responsible for Middle aged women's SUVs , also turbo & 6 cylinder bikes .
And my lawnmower!
I've been riding for forty years and I never connected the US tariffs with the development of production turbo motorcycles.... until now... DOH! Even today Kawasaki uses a supercharger for the H1, ultimate machine for performance.
I bought and owned the Seca Turbo. And what you say about it is BS. After owning it for several years, I sold it. Reason? It would not stop. It would go like crazy, but the rear drum was nearly worthless. Front brakes alone was not enough.
With the difficulties of putting a tubo on a motorcycle, why didn't anyone go down the supercharging path?
I thought harley bribed congress to stop these turbos?
Are they worth the 5k to 6k they are going for today??
That really depends on whether the buyer believes it's worth it or not. These bikes are rare and unusual, so "fair prices" are up for interpretation. Personally I love the CX500T and 600T so if I could buy one for 5k, I'd jump on it. Someone else may think that's ridiculous because they probably need work. Parts and labor will be extremely difficult to find. So in the case of these bikes it really comes down to what you personally are willing to pay. There's isn't really a solid set price for these things.
Honestly I think turbo bikes might have more viability now, with modern technology, especially turbo technology reducing spool and turbo plumbing technology like boost control and wastegates, which could allow for much more controllable and useable turbos, also 4 cylinders and powerful motorcycle engines are becoming much more difficult to produce due to emissions standards, so it might finally be time for us to see turbos on motorcycles again
I agree with all of that. Maybe we will see some modern turbo bikes in the near future?
The Suzuki is probably the best looking of the four manufacturers' bikes though they're all peak 80's motorcycle styling which is problematic at best.
It looks like the turbo cooling issue could have been solved with some ducting built into the fairing.
It's nice to see Reagan being such a supporter of the free market ;-)
Not the first time HD needed Govt help, they did a similar thing to stop the Brit bikes in the 60's or 70's, IIRC.
i love how much 80s bikes fucking kill in the looks department, we will never get bikes like them again, they were SO good looking, and their seating positions were so good, not quite as upright as hyper nakeds, not quite as forward as sport bikes, just the perfect middle.
Lagg was never an issue if you rode a GT,RD or KH with a set of race pipes..