In 1982 I thought Honda had just tried to upsell the market some cheap horsepower by putting a turbo on the CX500. Upon further review there is more to the story.
The CX500 was a journeyman bike at best. A funny looking V twin that had some technology going for it and not much more. It was a 4 valve per cylinder, liquid cooled and shaft driven. A good beater bike, but not very exciting.
That changed in 1982. The most obvious clues were ‘TURBO’ painted on the muffler and a futuristic looking fairing. The turbocharger was mounted in front of the motor to take advantage of more air for cooling and it nearly doubled the horsepower of the CX. Honda designed the fairing in a wind tunnel and flowed a huge amount of air over the engine. It was not only fuel injected, it was computer controlled.
It wasn’t just the motor that got the treatment from Honda. The front forks got an air assist and ‘anti-dive’ valving. Brakes were two piston dual discs up front with a single disc in the rear that could stop the CXT in a hurry. Mono rear suspension effectively moved the riders weight right between the wheels. Wheels were a gold tone cast mag.
All in all, the CXT is a technological marvel, with many of the systems designed for it still in use today. If you are interested in an extremely rare and significant bike that won’t completely break the bank, this one is for sale here on Cycle Trader in Boyertown, Pennsylvania for $6,995.