Tagged: Turbo

July 7, 2016

Rocket Man: 1979 Kawasaki Z1R TC for Sale

Lots of sportbikes, even vintage sportbikes do many things well: handling is almost always part of the package. Many are very fast, some are reliable, and a few will even take you on long journeys in relative comfort. The Kawasaki Z1R TC does only one of these things, but it does so with such enthusiasm that it’s hard not to give it a pass on the others. In the 1970s, Kawasaki built bikes that seemed to be in-tune with the American Psychology of Going Fast that stressed straight-line speed over handling prowess, very much like musclecars of the era. Their H1 and, to a lesser extent, H2 two-stroke triples had power that easily overwhelmed their limp chassis and got miserable gas mileage, but that hardly mattered for folks interested in beating the car or bike next to them away from a stoplight. The four-stroke Z1R had acceptable handling and decent brakes, but slap a big, uncivilized turbo on there as seen on the TC and all that went out the window.

The Z1R TC was the first bike of the turbo craze that afflicted all of the Japanese manufacturers to a certain extent in the 1980s, a trend that was largely a dead-end at the time. Modern turbos are refined and smooth, giving us engines with durability, increased power when you need it and good gas mileage when you don’t, all with minimal lag. These characteristics are largely the result of modern fuel injection systems and the electronics that control them. Both of which are missing here.

Early turbo engines needed to have low compression-ratios so they wouldn’t explode when the boost was up, which exacerbated “turbo lag,” the delay between when you put your foot to the floor and when the power kicks in, a result of the turbo needing to time to spin up and begin generating boost and thus power. Turbo lag was notoriously tricky to manage in sports cars of the era and is even more challenging when combined with skinny tires, marginal handling, and the lean angles you’re looking at when riding a motorcycle aggressively.

And that was assuming the bike didn’t just grenade between your legs. Early test bikes were “built” with stronger engine internals, but bikes sold to the public only included these at an additional charge, and many went without what should have been a mandatory upgrade. Shopping online, you’ll find that they often have had significant engine overhauls, because of blown motors or smart owners looking to prevent hot, fast-moving engine parts from sharing space with vital organs…

From the original eBay listing: 1979 Kawasaki Z1R TC for Sale

I have decided to sell my dream bike of my younger years. If you know what you’re looking at and your youth was in the late 70’s and early 80’s this bad boy was likely on your wish list along with Farrah Fawcett and the Whale Tail 930 Turbo Porsche. Next to Farrah this was the wildest thing you could throw a leg over! What more could a bulletproof wild child ask for?

Make no mistake this bike was the things fantasies were made of and the tool required to make them come true. Much like the efforts that delivered the Shelby to Ford, Motion and Balwin cars to Chevrolet and the Hurst Hemi’s to mother Mopar, Turbo Cycle and Kawasaki teamed up to build a two wheeled rocket that would clean the clocks and wallets of whoever stepped up to the line against it.

This bike is all original with a copy of the original sales certificate registered in the archives of Turbo Cycle confirming this is the matching numbers motor and frame and truly one of the original 250 produced. All original manuals are included as are all original parts less the Warblo fuel pump that was long gone when I bought the bike nearly 10 years ago. The bike is shown with and currently runs a newer Mikuni flat slide and K&N air filter but the original Zenith carb and triangle air filter are included.

The bike is shown with the white tank emblems and shorter LTD shocks on the rear but again the originals are included and in excellent condition.

The bike has newer tires, battery and had one quality repaint years before I bought it with new original Molly Graphics. This is not a kit/clone or wanna be-it’s the undisputed real deal that any collector or museum would be proud to own and display.

The bike runs great and is a piece of styling art to behold. Mad Max would be proud to spool it up down under. When this old girl comes on the boost you better have your toes under the shifter and brake levers and a firm grip on the bars because just like when you hit hyperspace playing Space Invaders things are going to get blurry in a hurry. This thing is no game or toy-it is still scary fast.

While I had had the privilege of owning I have displayed it a many vintage / classic bike shows and was honored to be invited to display it at the AMA display and the Kawasaki featured marque display at Mid-Ohio Vintage Bike Days a few years back. The bike deserves to be on display and in the hands of a curator to insure this piece of history is enjoyed and around for years to come.

It’s not clear if the engine in this bike has had any serious work done from the listing, or if it had the upgrades installed originally, but it appears to otherwise be in excellent condition: many that come up for sale are pretty rough cosmetically, seemingly the fate of many Japanese bikes of the era. The seller is looking for $25,000 as a Buy It Now price, which is top-dollar, but these are certainly some of the rarest and fastest streetbikes of the era and have been steadily increasing in value.

-tad

Kawasaki

August 10, 2015

Hang On For Dear Life: 1978 Kawasaki Z1R Turbo for Sale

Today’s one-owner Kawasaki Z1R-TC is a potentially combustible combination of explosive power, unpredictable handling, and overtaxed mechanical components, a milestone in the Japanese motorcycling industry’s efforts to distinguish itself and find a truly distinctive voice. Turbo bikes were, in general, a bit of a dead end: the added complexity of turbocharging and non-linear response of a boosted engine didn’t outweigh the power gains.

The TC ended up being an exercise in self-control: keep the throttle pinned and the bike was hideously fast, but you’d also be almost guaranteed to be picking engine parts out of your chest. Because the ZR1-TC wasn’t a refined, heavily tested factory bike: it was a lash-up put together from stock machines sitting on showroom floors by a third-party turbo manufacturer. And without modern electronics to moderate boost and ignition, simply slapping a turbo onto an otherwise stock motor is a recipe for disaster.

But that’s what Kawasaki sold the public. Sure, beefed-up internals were available for purchase, even recommended… But how many buyers plunked down that extra dough for what amounted to a fully-built engine? Not many.

So you have an engine that will almost surely grenade itself if you actually, you know: use it. And Kawasaki’s safeguards to make sure you don’t mess with the technically adjustable boost setting? A sticker that says, basically: “Don’t adjust the boost level. No seriously: don’t. You’re thinking about it right now, aren’t you? Stop thinking about adjusting the boost level!”

And an even bigger problem with adding 50% more horsepower to the Z1R was that the bike really couldn’t handle the original 90hp to begin with: the frame was outdated and notoriously bendy. The bike was heavy and clumsy, with handling that varied wildly, depending on tire choice, but at least it had triple disc brakes to try and bring the whole thing to a halt if things started to get out of hand.

When things started to get out of hand…

In the original listing, the seller suggests it’s a “TC1” but this looks like it’s a “TC2:” that stripey paint job and “spider” style header were both second-generation additions. First generation bikes were painted a very cool silver-blue color and has a much simpler exhaust.

From the original eBay listing: 1978 Kawasaki Z1-R TC for Sale

All original only one owner. Has new tires, chain and sprockets the entire exhaust system was just rechromed and added factory ATP water injection system. This bike will sell itself it is amazing shape never get to ride and enjoy as much as I would like anymore cause of health reasons. hate to sell but want someone to enjoy it. I still have every invoice and all paper work for any work done to the bike dated back to when I bought it. it has 14,650 miles motor has never been out of the frame. I’m the only person to drive this bike and still dives like I just bought it a week ago every thing works no issues. Oil has been changed every 500 miles and never been rode rough.

This Kawasaki is in very good shape for 38 years old. The bike shows its age on lower front end tubes but paint looks good to be original paint and speedometer has small crack but not very noticeable

It’s very cool to see that water-injection system that’s been added, which should help keep the engine from blowing itself to bits when used enthusiastically. It’s obviously not perfect, but it’s very nice and, perhaps even more importantly, is all original.

Bidding is active with four days left on the auction and is north of $14,000 with the Reserve Not Met. While recent prices of many 1970s Japanese bikes have seemed a bit outrageous, considering how many were originally produced, this is one classic that is truly rare and very special, if slightly dangerous.

-tad

Honda

July 28, 2015

1982 Honda CX500T for sale in Ohio with only 8,300 miles!

The 80s were a revolutionary time. Technology was crashing the old school party and promised to make everything better. The Honda CX500 Turbo was supposed to lead this charge, featuring fuel injection, a digital dash and a turbocharger that nearly doubled the horsepower of the standard CX500. It promised all of the power of a literbike with the efficiency of a 500. While it didn’t quite live up to that promise, it was still a valiant effort by Honda. The CX500T was only produced for one year as Honda bumped the displacement up to 650cc the next year. It’s limited production, classic 80s styling and interesting history make it a favorite for collectors.

This one isn’t a museum piece, but appears to be a pretty clean starting point that could be the basis of a full restoration, or just a really cool vintage rider for the occasional Bike Night at your local hot spot. It’s sure to draw a crowd.

Note: This is a repost from our sister site, Rare Sport Bikes For Sale.

1982 Honda CX500 Turbo for sale on eBay

From the seller:

This is a original 1982 CX500 Turbo very rare bike It is in very nice condition runs and rides well. I am the second owner first owner parked bike when starting a family, bike sat in a garage for 20 years. I purchased it, and went over the bike cleaned the tank replaced the tires with new hi speed avons greased bearings changed fluids put in new gel battery, new fuel pump. The original worked but would stop now and then and I would have to tap on it to get it going again I got tired of this and replaced it . bike comes with original pump if someone wants to try and fix it I purchased the correct plug end and made replacement pump a plug in nothing was modified to install it. Bike has a scratch on a turn signal housing small scuffs and scratches normal for its age there is oxidation on the engine (see pics) paint is worn off the center stand from sitting biggest problem is front fork seals have started to leak and will need replaced at some time . The bike is a good solid rider but could be a show bike with a little effort. everything works runs rides nice handles well, very quick. bike comes with original fuel pump owners manual and original Honda tire gage bike does not have the tool kit first owner said he never received one. Bike was originaly purchased from Fischer Cycle Sales N bend rd Ashtabula Ohio Original owner said they have the records of work he had done on it 20 years ago.

Suzuki

February 18, 2015

The Turbo Kid: 1983 Suzuki XN85 Turbo for Sale

Getting away from the race bike theme today, we’re headed back to the wild and wooly 1980’s with a nice Suzuki XN85 Turbo. Built for just one year in very limited quantities, with only about 1200 produced, the XN85 was an odd, developmental dead-end for Suzuki, and a very strange bike to produce with the iconic GSX-R750 likely already on the drawing board…

But it gave Suzuki a player in the very weird Turbo Wars of the 1980’s, where every manufacturer needed a boosted model to remain relevant, and the word “turbo” became a byword for “cool,” even when you weren’t talking about cars or motorcycles. At least I’m assuming that the character named “Turbo” in the movie Breakin’ didn’t actually have a Mitsubishi TD04HL-19T in place of a heart…

In any event, unlike what Kawasaki’s did with their Z1R-TC, Suzuki didn’t simply slap an aftermarket kit on a very dated platform, and the XN85 was very much state of the art, with clip-on bars, rearset pegs, 16″ front wheel, and a monoshock “Full Floater” rear suspension. The engine was a 673cc four cylinder that gave the bike the 85hp for which it was named…

And check out those 80’s-riffic LCD boost, fuel, and oil temp gauges!

From the original eBay listing: 1983 Suzuki XN85 for Sale

This is a one owner bike that was found in a barn.

Please Google Suzuki NX85 to read all about the bike.

We had gone completely through the bike and everything works like it should. It starts up with a push of the button and purrs like new.

Brand new tires with zero miles.

Inside of the tank is brand new.

The miles are correct and was never raced on a track which is what it was intended for. If you are competing in the vintage road course races this is a must have and you will not see another one.

Although it is a little bit disconcerting that the seller calls it an “NX85” in the listing and talks about some non-existent racing heritage, this does look like a very nice example of a pretty rare motorcycle. In spite of their eminent usability and practicality, the prices for many early 1980’s Japanese sportbikes remain relatively low, and, assuming you’re okay with the so sharp you might cut yourself styling, these are very cool. Although “relatively low” ain’t what it used to be, with this example apparently bidding up to $8,500 at a recent Mecum auction.

Pick this up and you will likely generate lots of attention, although it will probably be from 50-year-old dudes coming up to you at bike nights, telling you, “I used to have one of those…”

-tad

Kawasaki

November 25, 2014

White Line Fever: 1978 Kawasaki Z1R-TC for Sale

One of the things I love about vintage cars and bikes is their experimental quality: new ideas were implemented left and right, although some of those ideas were less well-developed than others. “Half-baked” even, you might say… While this may not have led to the most satisfying customer experience, it certainly made for an interesting ride.

The Kawasaki Z1R-TC is one such bike, a glorious nightmare of potential litigation: buyers signed waivers and were sternly admonished by a Very Serious Sticker not to adjust the wastegate and increase boost beyond factory settings. Designed as a stopgap to move product and stimulate interest in the obsolete Z1R before the introduction of the much more modern GPz, work on the turbocharged version was farmed out to the Turbo Cycle Company. Kawasaki simply bolted “fully-developed” turbo kits onto completed Z1R’s.

Note the quotation marks.

The TC was anything but fully-developed: lag was so bad on early turbo bikes that passing technique generally involved holding the throttle open to keep boost up while dragging the rear brake, waiting for an opening in traffic. Bolt-on turbo kits generally run very conservative boost to reduce the chances of grenading stock internals that were never designed to handle the hellish pressures generated by primitive turbochargers. The TC ran 8-10psi, certainly not a patch on modern systems running 30+, but more than enough to turn engine internals into externals.

Upgraded internals were available for purchase at the dealer, but most buyers didn’t bother, and that might have kept some riders from killing themselves by encouraging a gentler throttle hand. Which is not a bad thing: the Z1R wasn’t exactly well-endowed in the braking and suspension departments. Or the frame-stiffness department, for that matter: handling that was best described as “stable in a straight line, at least” only got worse with the addition of 50% more horsepower that came on in an unpredictable, laggy turbo rush.

Too much boost in a corner and you could do a really good impression of an extra in a Michael Bay action movie, highsiding into the trees while your motorcycle explodes.

From the original eBay listing: 1978 Kawasaki Z1R TC for Sale

1978 Kawasaki Z1R TURBO “TC”

NOT A CLONE!!!

Here is your chance to own a rare vintage Japanese sports bike. Opportunities like this do not come very often. There were only approximately 250 of these bikes in this particular color combo made. This bike has less than 6,300 miles on body / original engine. Rebuilt (1250cc) motor has very few, if any miles on it. I have owned this bike since 1980 with only 50 miles on it! This bike is in great condition for its vintage. It has been stored indoors for many years and fired right up when it was taken out of storage.

This bike is incredibly unique and is certainly an excellent example of a rare vintage sport bike. Paint and decals are all original and chrome is still looking great!

The photos will speak for themselves.

Great cruiser bike with enough power for low 1/4 mile ETs
This bike went through an $11,000 rebuild with a 1250cc engine right before it was put in storage.
This bike has a Cal-Fab Swingarm which is 3 1/2 inches longer
The original engine (1015cc) is included in this sale.
This bike features an American Turbo Pak turbo charger:
Model Number 370-F-40-A
Serial Number 00075935
Part Number TC-247-99
Original Engine Number (1015cc): KZT100DE 005674
Built Engine Number (1250cc): KZT00AE015961

This example has very low miles and, aside from the some rust on the chain, looks to be in excellent condition. The new motor should make even more power, but at least be able to not explode when it comes on boost. So likely the engine will last longer than an enthusiastic rider… That extended swingarm will do the handling no favors, but this thing never went around corners anyway, and it should help with straight-line stability and hard launches from stoplights.

Aside from the obvious collector value and bike-night posing, that’s what this bike is really good at: burnouts and stoplight drag-races. Imagine the hilarity: buy some beater Z1 bodywork to stick on it, and go out superbike trolling on a Friday night.

-tad

Honda

October 20, 2014

Boosted Classic: 1982 Honda CX500 Turbo for Sale

Here’s a bit of an odd duck: a cherished Honda CX500 Turbo! For a period in the early to mid-1980s, all of the major Japanese motorcycle manufacturers flirted with forced-induction, although it seems to have been a bit of a fad. The main advantage of a turbocharged motor is efficiency: some wasted exhaust energy is scavenged and repurposed to the production of more power, and obviously you can get much more volumetric efficiency with a turbo than you can with normal aspiration. But the benefits of forced-induction in a motorcycle are outweighed by the additional complexity they bring to the table, especially when a simple bump in displacement or revs might, at least in a motorcycle, provide the same power increase.

But in the automotive world, the word “turbo” was all the rage, and bike manufacturers didn’t want to be left behind. Many of these early attempts were fairly crude, and while turbo lag and a big hit of power can be a rush in a car, they’re especially dangerous qualities for a bike. Porsche’s early 911 Turbo developed a reputation for lethality because mid-corner boost from the primitive turbocharging combined with tricky lift-throttle handling to surprise more than a few owners, testing their cars’ build-quality and crash durability as they headed off the road backwards.

Now imagine that same dynamic, on a bike leaned over at 45° on 130-section tires…

When Honda joined in on the craze, they did it with typical refinement, although their choice of a platform might seem odd at first. Instead of a signature sophisticated and smooth four-cylinder, they chose their almost retro-tech, slightly ungainly CX500 v-twin. But while the spec sheet for the CX500 looks low-tech, it was actually a very sophisticated design, with many thoughtfully designed aspects designed in: the pushrods were required by a slight twist to the angle of the heads so the carburetors didn’t try to occupy the same space as a rider’s knees, and the transmission spun counter to the longitudinal crankshaft to minimize torque-reaction to the shaft-drive rear.

Most importantly, the engine was liquid-cooled and could easily handle the additional heat and pressure that the turbo would add, and the simplicity of the 80° twin left plenty of space for intake and exhaust plumbing. The resulting package was far from pretty, but with 19psi, the little 487cc motor put out 82hp and could push the bike north of 120mph. The bike also featured modular ComStar wheels and tubeless tires, a relative rarity at the time.

From the original eBay listing: 1982 Honda CX500 Turbo for Sale

Well, you found it! My pride and joy. And if you are looking at this listing I can pretty much guarantee you already know alot about this motorcycle. Its super rare and hard to find. It has been in my possession since around August 2005. It appears by paperwork I have in the shop manual that I am the third owner and that it was originally purchased in CT.

This bike is in original condition with a few exceptions. I replaced the front brake lines with Galfer SS lines just this past weekend. Along with the new lines I did a complete rebuild of the front calipers, polished caliper pistons, new piston seals and dust caps, new pads, master cylinder rebuild, and of course new fluid. Also shortly after I got it the paint on the exhaust was chipping off on the “TURBO” shields. I removed the paint with intentions of painting it back black and never got around to it. Besides that this bike is stock and unmolested. Adult active duty military owned, kept in a climate controlled garage and was the Queen of all the bikes, always covered up and sheltered from the elements.

However, this bike is not perfect. It does have imperfections and most of them common to this model. A paint chip in the front fender, a scratch here and there, the crack in the right side fairing that is common due to the heat off the exhaust, a small crack in right front turn signal (cant see it unless your looking for it), Small imperfection in the windscreen, etc. Remember this bike is 32 years old!!! Also the bike was laid over in the garage by previous owner and probably contributed to the crack in the fairing. The left side battery compartment cover was cracked real bad when I bought her. I replaced it with an original equipment one soon after I bought it. There is a piece of gauge cluster foam gasket material that has slid down on the tachometer. It does not affect the function of the tach and I was going to replace but am scared to take it apart that far. I’ve tried to take pictures of all her imperfections and am representing the bike to the best of my ability.

Thats the bad, now the good. Bike has a new battery, original owners manual, shop manual (which I used to rebuild brakes), and runs like a top! I just rode this bike this past weekend with my dad and it still makes me grin ear to ear when the boost kicks in and the turbo gauge ramps up to max psi! It is definitely like no other bike I have ever had and I hate to see her go and hope the next person will appreciate her and take care of her as well as I have.

The CX500 was produced for only one year, and was followed by the more refined, slightly bigger CX650 Turbo. While ultimately a technological dead-end for motorcycles, the flirtation with turbocharging has led to a few very funky, affordable collector bikes, and many can be found in very nice condition if you poke around.

There are still a couple days left on the auction, although the reserve has not been met at about $3,000. It looks to be in very nice, original shape: the cracks are unfortunate, but speak to the originality of this machine and the bike is in otherwise very nice shape. The stainless front brake lines are a welcome touch and the bike appears to have had very careful maintenance.

Turbocharged bikes were a bit of a gimmick at the time, but can be a real blast on the road: that lag and boost can be a bit of a pain if you’re looking at lap times. But on a back road, that rush of power can be a whole lot of fun! And modern technology that smooths power delivery, reduces lag, and improves safety might see the return of forced-induction to motorcycle manufacturing… Fun, collectible, reliable, and affordable, snap one of these up before prices shoot up: 80’s bikes are still a bit uncool, but these things tend to be cyclical [pun!] and interest is on the upswing.

-tad

Honda

August 9, 2014

Just Add Boost: 1982 Honda CX500 Turbo

The CX500 motorcycles from Honda are pretty strange machines, considering the source: for a company whose calling card had become sophisticated range of four-cylinder motorcycles, it seems strange they would introduce a longitudinally-oriented, shaft drive, pushrod motorcycle.

In fact, every aspect actually seems like an attempt to one-up Moto Guzzi: the longitudinal v-twin, but with 80º between the cylinders to keep the engine more compact. A slight twist to the heads themselves that required pushrods instead of overhead cams, but allowed the carbs and inlets to keep clear of the riders legs. A transmission spinning counter to crankshaft rotation, to help cancel some to the inherent torque reaction caused by the engine’s north-south orientation. The bike was water-cooled and featured the first tubeless tires on a production motorcycle, mounted to Honda’s Comstar wheels.

Unfortunately, while all this made sense, it was pug-ugly and pretty appliance-like.

But when other Japanese manufacturers began turbocharging their bikes, Honda turbocharged their first-ever v-twin because it was liquid-cooled and could handle the additional heat and stress generated by forced-induction. The pushrod twin may not have looked very sophisticated on paper, but it provided a great foundation for the innovations Honda applied, including advanced, computer-controlled fuel injection, a mono-shock rear end, and anti-dive fork, and 19psi of boost.

The result was 82hp from 497cc’s and a tested top speed of over 120mph.

From the original eBay listing: 1982 Honda CX500 Turbo for Sale

Rare 1982 honda cx 500 turbo bike , bike runs and rides good, Stator was replaced a few years ago, new battery, new brake pads, original Honda tool kit, side covers have no broken tabs, do not let the miles fool you this bike runs great, this bike has some small scuffs on the right side fairing near the front, that was there when I bought this bike, clear MN title in my name and plated , this will need a rear tire soon, other wise bike starts rides good and has good power

The CX500 Turbo was a real one-year wonder and was superceded by the CX650 that actually displaced 673cc’s… Turbo bikes in general were expensive to produce and provided horsepower gains more easily achieved by simple displacement increases. But while not necessarily the best way to go fast, they do provide exciting power delivery and turbocharged motors are a great deal of fun when the boost kicks in.

Bidding is still under $3,000 with just a day left. It’s not perfect and does have some wear on the left-side fairing, but this is a real steal for such an interesting and rare motorcycle.

-tad

Honda

May 4, 2014

1979 Honda CBX Turbo for Sale?!

Honda’s CBX was always about excess, a bike designed to impress, to demonstrate Honda’s engineering excellence. It wasn’t about speed on the track, or back-road carving, or even touring. It was all about that engine, that glorious, straight-six engine making exotic shrieking noises.

So how would you improve it? Upgrade the suspension? A good start, but it’s really too heavy to ever really be a sportbike. And with the engine sticking out like that, you’d be terrified of a lowside… Spondon frame? Same problem. So what about slapping a turbocharger onto it?

As they say, “Nothing exceeds like excess.”

The style may not appeal to everyone, but the pure excess of turbocharging one Honda’s epic straight-six sure does push some interesting buttons. Oddly enough, there’ve actually been a couple of these up for sale of late. This one, believe it or not, is the more tasteful turbo’d CBX of the pair…

From the original eBay listing: 1979 Honda CBX Turbo for Sale

TIMS has a custom CBX we built a few years ago available for sale– it is a totally awesome turbocharged CBX that we built from the ground up–it has an extremely rare Blake turbo (one of only 8 thought to have been built by Blake in the 1980s)–it is unique in that the cast plenum intake is totally round with no square edges for choppy fuel intake like the typical ATP or Mr Turbo intakes and a smooth streetable 42 Mikuni carburetor –it has TIMS exclusive low-compression pistons, heavy duty valve springs with TIMS exclusive titanium retainers and shim under bucket set up as well as Falicon rods and chromoly studs,our exclusive extended oil pan for an additional quart of oil to keep her running cool, TIMS exclusive hydraulic clutch upgrade, and the coolest item we have ever had is the totally trick custom gear driven offset euro alternator that allows for removing with out taking off the turbo plumbing for a bullet proof ride–we put a inverted shock front end on it with 120/70-17 inch tire and wheel and modern brakes, we integrated a custom heavy duty rear swingarm with a 160-60-17 tire and wheel and a pair of showa piggy back custom shocks for an awesome handling ride like no other cbx–the paint is tims second to none and we flush mounted an aircraft type fuel filler cap and put a corbin gunfighter seat on it –it has lots of chrome and custom billet parts to numerous to mention all here…

The execution looks top-notch, but I could do without the garish, logo’d white-face gauges and the flames on the Corbin saddle. To me, that boost-gauge mount looks too much like those huge, 10k rpm Autometer tachometers that were stuck on the dash of every Civic DX for a while there in the 90’s… I’m not saying a voltmeter isn’t useful, but I’d swap in that boost gauge and just do without knowing how well my charging system was charging.

I assume you have more important things to worry about on this bike.

Minor styling choices aside, it’s a really nicely put together bike, obviously no hack job cobbled together in a shed and left for the next buyer to finish. With lots of rare or one-off parts, it’s difficult to put a value on this one, but it’s no surprise it still hasn’t hit its reserve.

I just hope that the turbo doesn’t muffle the exhaust sound too much.

-tad

Kawasaki

May 3, 2014

1978 Kawasaki Z1/R TC Turbo for Sale

Look, safety is great, and technology is amazing: it keeps us from flying ass-over-helmet into a ditch when our ambitions overreach our skill, and modern bikes pushing 200bhp surely need some kind of rider-assistance. But we’re obsessed today by basically pointless numbers: with performance of modern bikes so far beyond the average or even skilled rider’s ability, abstractions like quarter miles, Nürburgring lap times, and horsepower numbers become our only yardsticks.

But unless you really are competitive in some form of club racing, it’s really all just bragging rights. What I think we’re all really looking for is the sensation of speed, the thrill of motorcycling, and sometimes the best way to feel that is through something not so perfect.

That’s the reason bikes like the Kawasaki Z1R TC are sorely missed.

Wild and wooly, unrefined and possibly even dangerous, the Kawi is from an experimental time in motorcycling, where some slightly unfinished ideas got unleashed on an unsuspecting public. Originally, the bike was a bit of an improvised stopgap, a way to shift slow-selling Z1R’s, a bike at the end of its production life. The whole package would give Kawasaki’s attorneys nightmares in today’s litigious culture: the turbo kit was simply bolted on to an otherwise stock engine, along with a boost gauge, “TC” badges, a liability waiver, and instructions not to tamper with the wastegate and increase boost.

Right, because no one would ever do that….

This particular example looks to be in good shape, but the owner doesn’t seem to know all that much about the bike’s history.

From the original eBay listing: 1978 Kawasaki Z1/R TC Turbo for Sale

I am not an expert but I would say that this bike has oiginal paint and has never had anything done to it other than a tune-up.

*** Had a call from a guy in Florida aho says that the exhausts are not original *** He sounded like he knew what he was talking about, so just passing it along.

I bought in about 8 years ago from a dealer in St. Louis . If these miles are not correct, the bike certainly has very low miles. I rode it one time for about 3 miles, and yes it’s very fast! I have a 2012 VMAX, this bike is very fast! Different, but comparible.

I am listing it today and I will clean the carbs and put a new battery in her this weekend – It will be sold in running condition even if i have to re-list it to get it right.

In its day, the bike was a handful: the power easily exceeded the chassis’ handling limits and the rev limiter-less engine was basically an explosive device disguised as a powerplant… So it was expensive, dangerous, and fragile, but it did the job and gave Kawasaki some performance credibility while they developed the all-new GPz1100.

Bidding is very active and already up to $11,000 with the reserve not yet met. Look, for a day-in, day-out ride, maybe something this raw and finicky isn’t your best bet. I’m hoping my next daily rider has ABS, TCS, and a whole bunch of other acronyms on the spec sheet. But for pure giggles, this kind of point-and-squirt motorcycle really can’t be beat.

-tad

Suzuki

October 14, 2013

1983 Suzuki XN85 Turbo for Sale

A one-year-wonder, the Suzuki XN85 Turbo was an odd, stop-gap bike that Suzuki all but denies and, just a few years later, Suzuki set the sportbiking world on it’s ear with their GSX-R750. That bike was a nearly perfect distillation of racing technology in a reliable, streetable package. The XN85 was nearly the opposite: a quirky, unconventional machine, albeit with the same sporting mission: while other manufacturers’ turbo bikes were pitched towards the sport-touring or “gentleman’s express” end of the biking spectrum, the XN was a no compromise sports machine, with clip-ons, rearset pegs, and a monoshock rear: this was one of the first uses of the “Suzuki Full Floater” system that would feature on other bikes in their range.

The name came from the factory horsepower figures for the force-fed 673cc four-cylinder: 85hp. While the bike lacked horsepower compared to its rivals, it made up for that shortfall with exemplary handling.

Information is pretty minimal in the original eBay listing: 1983 Suzuki XN85 Turbo for Sale.

You’re looking at a Suzuki XN85 Turbo motorcycle. Only 1153 were made. New muffler, new forks. The bike originally came from Great Britain. A really nice looking bike for its age. Ask questions if needed.

There’s not much time left on this auction, so move quickly if you have a hankering for some forced-induction exotica from the land of the rising sun. Information about the XN is pretty scarce, with only about 1100 made and only 300 or so were imported to the US. If you like the 80’s styling of funky turbo machines, the XN was definitely the handler of the bunch. The downside, given the bike’s rarity, is that parts may be less available.

-tad

Tagged: Turbo

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