Having spent the first 30 years of its life in a private collection, this bike found its way to the current seller (technically the first owner because the collector never registered it), who is now offering it with some of the nicest photos I’ve seen of a Turbo Seca for sale. You should go to the listing just to enjoy them – it’s a shame Craigslist doesn’t allow for high-res pics.
The Yamaha Seca Turbo was one of the quintessential examples of the 1980s Japanese movement to bring turbochargers to motorcycles. Interestingly enough, the engine only put exhaust through one of the dual pipes – the other pipe was designed only to exhaust overboost coming from the turbocharger. Unfortunately, despite the turbo, this bike didn’t produce the horsepower of bigger bikes like consumers expected, and it quickly disappeared from the marketplace.
This example has just 2,800 miles and is #616 of the 1,500 that were produced. As an ’83 model, it pushes 12 psi of boost versus the 7 psi from the ’82 bike, and it’s claimed to run great. The bike has only seen non-ethanol fuel (consider this Californian to be very jealous) and while the tires have been replaced with new Dunlop vintage style units, the original tires are included for collectibility. There are some minor surface paint defects but overall, it looks great. Find this Seca Turbo for sale in Tigard, Oregon for $5,000 here on Craigslist.
This bike-uriousity brought to you by Bob K!