Best press quote:
"Powering down back roads at middle rpm, the Turbo simply owns the road. It lunges from corner to corner in a rush that even the monstrous Suzuki GS1100S Katana can't equal."
Motorcyclist, July 1983

Stung by the luke-warm reaction to the CX500 Turbo in '82 Honda released the improved 650 Turbo in '83 with little fanfare. 177cc extra displacement and re-juggled compression ratios did wonders for the Honda blower. It's roll-on power was nothing short of amazing. Even beginning off boost the only thing that could top it was the 1100 Katana (and not by much). In a high-speed roll-on contest nothing came close.

Sharing a similar engine layout you would think the two Honda Turbos would have a lot in common but you would be wrong. The powerplant was completely revamped with larger valves (and more lift on the intake side). Compression ratio was raised from 7.2:1 to 7.8:1 off boost and peak boost was lowered to 16.4 psi (the CX500 peaked at about 19 psi) to allow for a smoother transition when turbo power kicked in. A new IHI turbocharger was employed with a larger compression wheel, and the ignition and air pressure sensors were eliminated along with the resonance chamber that was built in to the left side of the fairing. To simplify things further the ignition control unit was now incorporated into the fuel injection computer.

The rear shock now had three-way adjustable rebound damping which improved high-speed handling.

The CX650 Turbo is in great demand worldwide today. Look to pay between $4,500 and $5,500 for low-mileage clean examples and $6,000 to $7,000 and up for showroom Turbos. Museum-quality examples have sold for $10,000-12,000.

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