Turbo Motorcycle

Turbochargers are common on cars—but pretty rare on motorcycles. Space is at a premium, the plumbing is difficult to install, and power delivery can be a handful.

But that hasn’t stopped clever custom builders from adding forced induction. Tiny Garrett or Aisin turbochargers are popular, and powerful enough to make a big difference to performance.

There are a few Japanese factory bikes with turbos too: Yamaha tried it with the XJ650, Honda with the CX500 and CX650, and Kawasaki with the GPz750. You’ll find the odd custom version of these too.