While Cars & Bids and Bring a Trailer get all of the attention, GovDeals is worth a look, too. Up for auction on GovDeals right now is a motorcycle treasure trove featuring two Honda CBX superbikes and two turbocharged CX650Ts. And best yet, they’re all practically new.
GovDeals is a wonderful place to find all kinds of old surplus vehicles. Usually you’ll find stuff like old box trucks and construction equipment, but sometimes something special pops up. The College of Western Idaho is offloading four examples of Honda’s wild motorcycling past on the surplus auction platform and all four have 13 miles or less on their odometers.
A pair of the motorcycles are 1983 Honda CX650Ts.
As striking as the red, white and blue scheme looks on the motorcycle, the real kicker to a CX650T is revealed by the graphics on the tailpipe. Yep, these have turbos!
As Motorcycle Classics notes, the 1980s were a time of advancing motorcycle technology. Motorcycle manufacturers experimented with upping cylinder counts and forced induction. In the case of the Honda CX650T, it would be a middleweight motorcycle with the power of a liter bike.
The CX650T is the follow-up to the CX500T. It was more refined than its predecessor and had less turbo lag. It was a bike that was easier to live with. Its 674cc v-twin engine made 100-HP with the turbo and the whole package weighed in at a hefty 573 pounds.
Buyers ponied up $4,998 or $13,757 in today’s money for the privilege of experiencing turbo power.
These are exceedingly rare, too. Fewer than 1,200 of these made it into North America and a total of 1,777 were ever built. The two for sale here have 9 and 13 miles, respectively.
The other pair of motorcycles are probably the finest examples of the Honda CBX you’ll ever find.
The 1981 CBX is notable for it’s comically wide 1047cc inline-six that made about 98-HP and was capable of hitting a top speeds of up to 140 mph. The motorcycle was praised for its elegance and sheer speed.
Its performance may be overshadowed by the motorcycles of today, but check out the soundtrack that these make:
I’ll give you a moment to collect yourself.
Of course, a giant inline-six from the early 1980s will come with some drawbacks, like the need to maintain a bank of six carburetors. I’ve known some riders and mechanics that have worked these and none of them were particularly fond of fiddling with and synchronizing this many carburetors for one bike.
The pair have 2 and 3 miles on their odometers. They were $3,988 new, or $15,718 today.
The selling college says that all four motorcycles were used to train future motorcycle students, but weren’t taken apart further than removing the seats and tanks.
Why does a college have a quartet of rare and exciting pieces of motorcycle history just sitting around? As RideApart reports, Honda donated hundreds of these motorcycles to schools around the country to teach future motorcycle mechanics. But they often weren’t used for the task because of their complexity. They occasionally show up for sale in practically new condition because of it.
All four motorcycles are said to have spent their lives indoors and they even roll on their original tires. The motorcycles come with titles and manuals, too. Unfortunately, the college hasn’t started them in a few years, but getting these practically new motorcycles running again shouldn’t be an issue.
The auctions for each motorcycle ends on 6/29 and the bidding is already hot with bids ranging from $5,000 to $7,400. Barring any other schools holding onto their own examples, these will probably be the nicest and lowest mileage CBX and CX650Ts you’ll ever see.
Hat tip to Jerry!
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