At $3,500, Does This 1982 Honda CX500 Turbo Blow You Away?
Today’s Nice Price or No Dice CX500 is a notable classic, having been Honda’s first-ever turbocharged motorcycle. This one has back fees on its registration, so gauging its value will be extra tricky. I know we’ll still be able to pull it off.
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Modern BMWs have all sorts of gadgets and doohickies to help push the envelope of capability and driver heroics at the cost of piled-on complexity and finickiness over time. Such frustrations add to the appeal of BMW’s earlier, more analog cars, like the 2001 330i we looked at yesterday. Sporting low miles and a people-pleasing presentation, that small and laudably simple sports saloon pushed many of the right buttons. One such button was the $9,995 price tag, which earned the Bimmer a simply terrific 61 percent Nice Price win.
BMW isn’t alone in the push to make its cars and bikes ever better through technology and engineering. Honda has likewise long been seen as keen on innovation and advancement. Technologies such as the lean-burn CVCC engine and VTEC variable valve train are notable examples.
This 1982 Honda CX500 Turbo represents a series of technological firsts for Honda, the world’s largest motorcycle maker. Café clad and equipped with three-spoke cast alloy wheels, the CX500 Turbo was not just Honda’s first forced-induction machine but also its first road bike with fuel injection. It was based on the standard CX500, which, notably, was Honda’s first-ever production V-twin.
That twin is a 497-cc OHV unit with water cooling in an 80° Vee configuration. The turbo is by IHI and sits in the airstream ahead of the motor. When new, power output was quoted at 82 horsepower at 8,000 rpm.
The rest of the bike was just as innovative as the mill, featuring Honda’s Pro-Link mono-shock rear suspension and TRAC (Torque Reactive Anti-dive Control) front forks that tied braking pressure to the fork valving to limit dive under heavy braking.
All that’s wrapped in wind tunnel-tuned GRP bodywork and features a pair of black-painted exhaust pipes emblazoned with TURBO badging. It’s a good-looking bike, albeit one that gives the appearance of something a cop might ride. Contemporary tests praised the bike for its on-turbo power, comfort, and Honda quality controls, while the bike was dunned for its weight (571 pounds wet), lack of low-range grunt, and non-linear power application. Unfortunately for Honda and the CX500 Turbo, the motorcycle market in the U.S. collapsed in 1982, the year of its release. The bike would see only about 5,200 units moved that year, and even increasing displacement to 673 ccs and horsepower to an even 100 in ’83 couldn’t save the bike. After only two short years, the CX500 Turbo was no more.
Fortunately, for history buffs and Honda fans, quite a few CX500 Turbos, like this clean-title example, are still available on the used bike market. Of course, not all are created equal, and unlike another cool Honda from the ’80s, the beautifully kept GB500 we considered a couple of weeks back, this bike could stand some spit and polish. According to the ad, the bike has 8,299 miles on the ticker and boasts that with a good cleaning, it will be 99 percent as new.
In addition to the elbow grease, the bike needs a battery, all its fluids refreshed, and what the seller describes as “minor work.” Most egregiously, though, it also needs to get back in good graces with the DMV as it was last registered in 2020 and was not put on non-operation status then. That means back registration fees must be added to the tally when considering this bike’s $3,500 asking price. Let’s do that right now.
What’s your take on that $3,500 (plus fees) price for this rare old Honda? Does that make this twin a win? Or does that price make this turbo a high-pressure loser?
You decide!
Los Angeles, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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