Why No Turbos?

[johnsmith222]

Hi.

I understand some manu's turbocharged bikes in the 80s, so why did they stop?

I understand that one of the setbacks of a turbocharged engine is the lag. I guess you don't want the power to suddenly kick in while you're in a bend(well, tbh some of us do .

I do understand that motorcycles don't really need it and that the power delivered by a naturally aspirated engine is more predictable and the likes. I mean, it's not like we REALLY need more power when we've got 180bhp bikes that are NA.

There's also the negatives of having extra consumables such as bearings and something extra to go wrong.

Then there's the whole idling thing to allow the turbo to cool to stop the oil solidifying. That can be solved with a turbo timer though.

I guess the attraction of a turbo charged engine is the power delivery (and also the high amount of power you can get for your money) and the sound.

Yeah, it may be unnecessary in terms of performance when we've got really powerful NA bikes (I mean unless you're drag racing or something) but when you think of all the other figuratively overkill things you can get on bikes then why not make turbo bikes?

It's not necessarily huge power I'm talking about. Maybe smaller CC bikes that have turbocharged engines to bring the power up. I guess the more power you ask from a small cc engine, the less reliable it will be though.

So why have all the bike manufacturers gone off forced induction?

[mad4it028]

i think youve pretty much answered your own question
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[Alexio]

There might be some kind of marketing value in it I guess, but only to the uneducated.
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[Tarmacsurfer]

Keep thinking about acquiring another GPz turbo. Seen some nicely modified 810s with the nasty little HT10 units replaced.
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[chris-red]

I thought the whole point is smaller engines have large turbo lag.
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[thewildblue]

The lag depends on the size of the turbo though.

Those little smart cars are only 600cc and some of them have blowers. Dont recall hearing about them having lag.

Modern blowers are alot better than the ones in the 80s.

[Barry_M2]

If you fit a variable vein turbo you wont get any lag at all.


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[Cptn. Awesome]

With all the different turbo technology kicking about today then I don't see why they shouldn't make turbocharged bikes either. Fuelling is more controlled with fuel injection and so the power itself is more controllable now.

I'd like to see maybe a 250 or 400 turbo, I reckon it'd be economical and fun.
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[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

Bike's don't really suffer from much lag, certainly not as much as cars as the engine is usually spinning quickly anyway.

I think it's more the reliability aspect, the having to let them idle thing, which lots of owners used to forget.

It's alo quite difficult to find the space to package a turbo on most modern motorcycles. They are already really pushed for space. There's not a whole lot of room for a turbo.

They could be making a comeback soon though, due to the tightening emissions laws. They'll be able to run a smaller motor with a turbo to bring the power up. That's what they plan to do with cars anyway.
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[McGee]

Powers to uncontrollable and they don't want the legal action of all the fecked up idiots who can't use the throttle.

Now I'm back in the UK I'm saving to turbo a bike
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Its pronounced Jixxer!

[Cptn. Awesome]

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

[Barry_M2]

[McGee]

The only way they would fit a turbo from the factory is if it was in such a low tune it would hardly effect the bike making it utterly pointless.

Could you really see Honda selling a turbo Blade from the factory.
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Its pronounced Jixxer!

[metalangel]

[windy12]

That would mean smaller engines and people like their big badges.

No-one os going to turbo charge 900-1000cc sports bikes many are limited already.

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

[Cptn. Awesome]

[Barry_M2]

[robbieguy2003]

I think it'd be cool, mainly because I like the sound of Turbo engines.

There has been some talk of Diesel based commuter bikes offering 100mpg+ with decent pull, maybe they'll have a turbo?

Putting one on an IL4 thousand though? That'd be getting towards 250bhp+ maybe? Would that not be 990cc GP era speed on the road?

It'd be a lot of fun, it might work on certain types of bikes (lower powered) aiming for emmissions improvements/better mpg but I can't see it going on the bikes we all want.

I don't know about the rest of you but when someone says turbo motorcycle I either think of the 1980s bikes or a Hayabusa on a dragstrip, not a courier bike whizzing around town with an ace mpg.
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[doggone]

It's a good question.
Almost every other performance orientated engine has turbo fitted nowadays, and bike engines are generally bigger on average than in the 80s so the additional weight as percentage is less significant.

Many cars have turbos and the focus is on efficiency rather than wild acceleration boost - you would hardly know they were there.

[metalangel]

[Kickstart]

Hi

Not that many turbo bikes were made, and only really one that had any performance credentials (z750 Turbo).

Think the main reason they are getting used more on cars is that you can manage to get a better tested fuel consumption for the amount of power (hence cheaper VED and other taxes in Europe). Not an issue with bikes.

Diesels have an easier time with turbos as there is no throttle being shut between gears to try and stall the turbo. Hence lag on gear changes isn't a problem. The turbo still needs to wake up though.

I suspect that for most people the extra power would be mainly ammunition for bar room bragging sessions, while the throttle delay and less linear throttle response would cause problems on the road.

With a turbo you can get loads of power. Biggest problem is getting the basic engine to stay in one piece and to get rid of the heat generated. 'Busas will manage to put out 250ish hp on stock internals , although you would probably want to think about upgrading things.

All the best

Keith
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[stinkwheel]

There is a much simpler reason.

The Japanese can't make a decent exhaust system that will stand up to corrosion for more than a couple of years. Never have been able to.

Early turbos (GPz and CX ones spring to mind) fell flat on their arse because the pipework rotted away and cost a fortune to replace. They got a reputation as being unreliable money pits and people stopped buying them.

Didn't italjet or someone make a supercharged scooter recently?
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[The Shaggy D.A.]

Dunno about the others, but when the Kwak 750 turbo was released it made about 112bhp, then the following year they released the GPZ900R, which made about 115bhp. No replacement for displacement
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