FOUR OF THE BEST
AH, THE 1980S. THE DECADE OF, Back To The Future, Night Rider, wild hair, crazy colours and the digital calculator watch!
As a motorcyclist and a huge fan of 1980s bikes the years that interest me the most are 1982 – 1984. Why? C’mon – the turbocharger era!
When graphics were crazy digital look-a-like fonts and dash displays looked like the screen of your calculator (or the one calculator shared in your office). The Japanese went nuts over forced induction and although they produced some wild and memorable machines the era came and went as fast as you can say ‘fuel pressure regulator’. It was only a few years before said manufacturers out-gunned their own futuristic machines with naturally aspirated and less expensive models that were lighter and faster – plus better looking.
Despite all of this, there is no denying the coolness of a factory turbocharged motorcycle – of course, with the word TURBO well and truly prominent on the bodywork, “Your bike is turbo charged? Man, you are crazy.” And so the banter would go on… fantastic pose factor!
Then there is the style. Japanese engineers going nuts with Manga styled angles and forms, the wildest looking has to be the XJ650 Turbo.
Beneath the futuristic exterior, however, were basic engines – the CX series were pushrod (yikes) twins while the GPz and XJ old air-cooled two-valvers. The XJ even remained carburetted – which, although basic, proved to make it the most reliable of the Japanese turbo bikes. The machine missing from my test is the Suzuki XN85. The Katana styled 673cc 246kg 85hp bike was an epic fail and the most unreliable and poorly selling turbo bike ever. It was slower than its GSX750S naturally aspirated sibling and heavier – plus a lot more expensive. It also used to break down all the time and the turbochargers would seize, with a replacement cost almost as much as a new bike! I had one for the test and it was there on the day – however, you guessed it, the immaculate example with only a few thousand miles on the clock broke down before I got to ride it. The XN85, still failing 22-years on!
The Japanese manufacturers went
