The era of turbocharged production motorcycles from Japan was short and not particularly sweet. But the novelty of turbo bikes today, combined with their low-production numbers, makes them fun and unusual collectibles.

Among the most advanced of the breed, and the bike that fired the first salvo in the big four’s brief turbo war was the 1982 Honda CX500 Turbo, which evolved into the 1983 CX650 Turbo.

The CX500 Turbo was a technological tour de force when it arrived for ’82: liquid cooling, fuel injection, turbocharging, Honda’s Pro-Link single-shock linkage rear suspension, twin-front and single-rear disc brakes, plus shaft drive. It was pricey too, at nearly $5,000. But, after all, this was the future — a time when small, nimble bikes would knife through corners and pull away from much heavier machines on straightaways.

Why these bikes never caught on may not be the reason you expect.