Cheapest I’ve Seen – 1982 Yamaha Seca Turbo

In Japan, Sport by AbhiLeave a Comment

Two years ago, I featured a Seca Turbo for $1,800, and I called it the “Cheapest I’ve Seen.”. Now thanks to reader Larry R, we’ve got a new champion.

The Seca Turbo was arguably the quintessential example of the 1980s Japanese movement to bring turbochargers to motorcycles. Right after Honda released the CX Turbo, Yamaha brought out a turbocharged variant of their 650 Seca. In my opinion, this was the best looking of the 80s turbo bikes. 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. Despite the turbo, this bike didn’t produce the horsepower of bigger bikes like consumers expected, and it quickly disappeared from the marketplace. Simply put, the turbo was not all it was cracked up to be – it returned less mpg than the naturally aspirated version, and it was heavier than 1100cc sport bikes of the time even though it performed like NA 750cc bikes. Worst of all, of course – these bikes suffered from turbo lag.

This example is said to be in nice original condition with just 18,500 miles. It has new Progressive shocks (stocks included as spares) and tires, and the seller says it starts and runs great. It’s got a clean title and the registration is paid through the next 11 months. Find this Seca Turbo for sale in Merced, California for $1,600 here on Craigslist. The listing is two months old, which I do not understand. If what the seller’s saying is true, this bike should have sold within a couple of days. So consider me suspicious but still curious enough to think that this is worth following up on.

This bike-uriousity brought to you by Larry R!