The Yamaha Seca Turbo 650 was one of the pioneering motorcycles to feature a factory-installed turbocharger. Turbocharging technology was relatively new in the motorcycle industry at the time, and the Seca Turbo showcased Yamaha’s innovative approach to enhancing performance.
This auction ends tonight.
From the seller:
the bike starts immediately, runs great with no issues, and the turbo pulls STRONGLY
RSBFS:
My first ‘sport’ bike was an ’82 Seca 550, in red, so I do have a soft spot for the Seca line. This low mile example (3,415 miles) of a less popular turbo bike of the day seems like it has potential.
One of these was listed on RSBFS in 2010 for $4,000. Mike writes “Back in ’82, there was nothing hotter than a factory turbo bike. Honda fired the first salvo with their technology-laden CX500T, and Yamaha was close behind with the XJ650 LJ Seca Turbo. Different from the Honda (and all other factory turbo bikes of that era) through the use of “blow through” carbonation instead of fuel injection, these Yamaha Turbos are surprisingly reliable and durable bikes.”
While surfing the inter webs I found a cool article from Cycle World written in 1982 about the bike. “Above 5000 rpm the Yamaha Turbo begins to do strange things. Instead of following the 750 down the road at a respectful distance, the Turbo suddenly pulls into a metaphorical phone booth, sheds its glasses and mild mannered reporter’s suit and steps back onto the street… On boost.”
Not the best performer of the day. Not the best looker of the day. But if you are a Yamaha collector, and are interested in vintage turbo bikes, this listing is worth checking out.
– Red
This is the only factory turbo I ever threw a leg over BITD. It seemed heavy and peaky at the time, but was definitely much quicker than the XZ550 Vision I was campaigning at the time, which isn’t saying much.
The Seca Turbo was (and continues to be) the most underrated of the factory Turbos – but it worked well and holds up. These are real bargains when found in original condition, and represent great collectable riders that won’t break the bank.
– Mike
Paint is black and call it Street Hawk! Well that is what ai thought when I was 10 years old….
Hmm, anyone know what type of bike Streethawk actually was?! Some type of dualsport I figure. I never recognized the engine. ..
Seems that I saw a motorcycle like this featured in a movie years ago.