Good day and welcome. Today I present to you an incredibly rare opportunity to bid on a piece of Motorcycle history. Believe me when I tell you that this bike is a rare one, indeed. I implore you to not be skeptical. You could search forever and not find a 100% original, as new, no remanufactured part containing, version of this bike outside of a Honda Museum. 99.99% is as close as you will get. Here it is.

I was lucky enough to take this bike for a spin on the Ortega Highway in southern California. An awesome ride on any bike but made even more incredible on this one. It is an impossibly smooth ride with so much power.

Without anything further, take a gander at this! 

The 1983 Honda CX650 Turbo

Sure, there are others you could buy, but I ask you this question, “If the bike has only a few thousand miles, why does it need a “Complete Restoration”? Was it dropped? Neglected? Crashed?

Now, ponder this, is an all-original, perfectly maintained, low mileage specimen of a seemingly impossible to find motorcycle more desirous then one that has had to undergo a “Complete Restoration”.

Up for your consideration is just that, A 1983 Honda CX650 Turbo in as close to “rolled of the showroom floor” condition as I have ever seen. Other then the effects of 31 years of garage storage in a “Kid Free” home, there is nothing wrong with this bike. Originally sold by Hollywood Honda, it returned there from the original purchaser. It was then acquired, by the current owner, from the same Hollywood Honda in the fall of 2007.

A HISTORY ABOUT THE 1983 Honda CX650 Turbo

In 1983, Honda produced only 1052 for the United States.  Another 600 were produced and sold throughout Europe.  Thoughts at the time were that turbo charging motorcycles was the “wave of the future”.  After all, everyone was doing it!

Of those 1052 cycles to come ashore, Honda gave 600 of them to technical schools to train mechanics how to deal with this new technology.  Often referred to as “Shop Bikes”, they were never to be sold for street use. Here in California, a “shop bike” is like a “Salvage” titled bike. Now, we all know that some of them may have wandered into the general population, but none of them were in “Original” condition when they did.

True enough, that back in that day it was quite a bit of technology packed onto two wheels.  It had a complex, programmed fuel injection system with redundant fail-safe systems working in tandem with a separate ignition system. Turbo Charged, fuel injected, water-cooled, shaft driven,  etc., etc.… 

So, fewer than 450 ORIGINAL units were registered from the original 1052.  With 31 years of time passing, the exact number of remaining bikes, especially with less than 6500 miles on them is unknown, but to be clear, this is an extremely rare bike.

The current owner, the bike’s second, has run the bike regularly and ridden it sparingly, but often enough to keep it all in order.  It spins like a top, even though it is 31 years old.

In 1983, 1100's were the top of the heap in terms of all out speed, which seemed to be the hot issue of the day. This turbo charged 650, with just over half of the displacement could keep up with most of what was out there. The magic of turbo!

At the heart of the CX650 Turbo is a transverse, shaft driven, 80-degree v-twin, last seen in the CX Customs and Silver Wing series. Internals were heavily fortified to manage the nearly 17 psi of boost, along with larger valves and a slightly lower compression ratio. With computerized fuel injection (which included the ignition control unit), the CX650 Turbo was civilized for daily riding, but a beast on the boost.

Sometimes called a "flying" V-twin, Honda’s CX series motors feature a crankshaft configuration aligned longitudinally with the axis of bike. The cylinders point up on either side of the motorcycle but are not symmetrical. The CX was the first V-twin motorcycle that Honda ever built. The crankshaft is located above the transmission, with both in the same housing. This keeps the engine short (length wise) but quite tall.

The engine design combines a 10.0:1 compression ratio and 9,650 rpm redline with overhead valves and a camshaft nestled at the base of the V between the cylinders. There are four overhead valves per cylinder, with forked rocker arms acting off each pushrod.

The transmission spins opposite the engine crank to counteract the engine torque's tendency to tip the bike slightly to one side when the throttle is opened or closed. Power is transferred via an enclosed splined driveshaft with one universal joint. The shaft drives a bevel gear to which the wheel is joined via a cush-drive, which absorbs and dampens driveline shocks and vibrations. The bevel drive spins in an oil bath, and a zerk fitting is provided for greasing the shaft bearing.

What is not ORIGINAL on this bike?

The original owner had replaced the front brake lines with braided steel lines.  Owner #2, with the intention of riding the bike more than he did, wanted to address the few concerns and known potential issues that years of experienced owners of this model, and his own research on this bike, had revealed. 

With that in mind a voltmeter was added to monitor the charging system (seen in the cluster pictures).

Why was the voltmeter installed you ask?

Although not seen until the 20K—30K mile ranges, issues with the stator overheating on this model have been reported. I suppose that how the bike was ridden and how much time the turbo spent on boost, as well as the total number of miles, could contribute to the stator overheating. There is no fix per say for the stator, if it fails it has to be replaced. By adding the voltmeter, one could detect any issues long before any problem developed that could injure the bike.

Another problem that showed up on the bikes was a sort of “rough” spot in the starter, resulting in some harsh “kick back” while starting the engine.  This problem only surfaced in the 1983 turbo model, as Honda used a different starter.  This “rough” spot could only be detected or felt, if the starter were removed and spun by hand.  An easy fix for this problem was simply to replace the starter with one off a previous or different CX model. 

The original starter for this bike is neatly boxed and will be included with the bike. 

Lastly, in the interest of safe riding, the tires were replaced with Bridgestone Battlax BT45's. These tires now have about 1100 miles on them, which tells you how much this was not ridden.

If you have never had the opportunity to ride a Turbo CX650 you are missing a real treat, these bikes sound amazing and the highway speed roll on acceleration is amazing.

WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE AUCTION

·      The Honda CX650 Turbo you see in the pictures and the accessories listed below.

·      2 Original keys, one was NEVER used.

·      Official Shop Manual, the CX500 & CX650 Performance Portfolio, Owners Manual, CX650 Turbo anthology and the Turbo Fan-tasia books.

·      Custom Geza Gear bike cover with mirror socks. (Not pictured)

·      Original Starter in working order.

·      Perhaps the finest specimen of this bike to come up for sale in years.

·      Hours of unimaginable pleasure as you wind through miles of twisty road on a bike that is still an amazing piece of technology.

AS THE WINNING BIDDER YOU MUST

·      Understand that this is a contract to buy. Failure to complete the transaction is a pain for all, more so for you.

·      Post a deposit of $1000.00 with in 24 hours of Auction close. Pay pal is the way you do that.

·      Make arrangements with in 72 hours to pay the balance and collect your purchase. The only form of payment is CASH. If you can get a Money Order, Cashiers Check or whatever, you can get CASH.

·      We can assist in shipping by making it available to your carrier at its home in South Orange County, CA.

·       Continue to love this bike as it has been loved thus far.

Disclaimers: WYSIWYG. Everything in this auction is described the best we can and is accurate and truthful to the best of our ability. All rights are reserved to end this auction early as it is listed elsewhere. All reasonable efforts to see the bike before the auction close may be accommodated, but are not guaranteed. Please ask all the questions you like, our best efforts to answer them will be made. If needed assistance with documenting this bikes history can be provided.