Ah, the Turbo wars of the early 1980s. The best of the bad old days, when manufactures jumped on the technology bandwagon in the search for 1,000cc HP from a midsized motor. All four of the major Japanese brands offered a Turbo bike for at least 1 or two years, and perhaps the most rare…
Hey Buck Rogers: your bike is ready. At least it was back in 1983, in the form of the Suzuki XN85. What is the XN85? It is 85 horsepower (at the crank, at least) of 650cc fuel injected and turbocharged goodness, and is arguably the very rarest of the factory boosted bikes on offer. It…
Update 11.4.2020: This bike has sold to an RSBFS reader! Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc Suzuki’s XN85 Turbo was built for 1983 only, and combined moderate boost with mid-size 673cc displacement, stuck with air-oil cooling, but was pretty sporty with 85 hp, 16-inch front wheel, and Full Floater rear end. RSBFS reader Don’s example…
Given the title, I’m sure you’re looking for some “I pity the fool…” type of comments here, but you will get none from me. Although looking back some 34 years from the future – in a world where nearly every car (from econo box to sports car) is either turbocharged, supercharged or both – it…
The Eighties were a wild time in terms of motorcycle development. Manufacturers experimented with all types of engines, suspensions, chassis, materials and design. Like Darwin’s theory of Natural Selection, those bikes best suited to their environment survived; other, less fortunate machines fell to the onslaught of progress. This 1983 Suzuki XN85 Turbo is one such…
Update 3.10.2014: This bike was first spotted in May of last year in Arizona and has now reappeared in Texas. I’m not clear if it’s the same seller but not many more miles have been accumulated. The new listing also has better pictures so make sure to check those out. Links updated. -dc Stop me…
Got the itch for a little short lived 80’s engine tech? This low mile XN85 is here to satisfy. Only 4,300 miles traveled since 1983. The story: TIMS has an unbelievably nice 1983 very rare suzuki xn85 turbo with only 4300 miles on it—it runs absolutely perfect and is in near mint condition other than…
Welcome to Turbo Time – the long play edition! Yes, as rare as these bike are in the US, here is the second XN85 Turbo we have found within a day. Listen up collectors: these don’t come along very often and they are not that expensive. If RSBFS history is any indication, the XN stream…