Forced induction in motorcycles

Special automotive engineering and human factor considerations exist for the application of forced induction with motorcycles compared to other forms of motorized transportation.

Prior to the late 2010s, forced induction was only used on a handful of production motorcycles, all from Japanese Big Four manufacturers in the early 1980s.

[5] The Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki bikes were all listed on a State Farm insurance "blacklist" published by American Motorcyclist in 1989.

Writer Mick Walker has listed turbo lag along with other challenges like a higher center of gravity and heat transfer to rider due to turbocharger and associated exhaust plumbing.

[21] The German magazine Motorrad said in 2014, that a turbocharger would probably never be practical on mass market motorcycles due to cost of high-tech materials able to withstand the high temperatures of a variable geometry turbocharger, plus weight and space considerations, though they left the door open for a good supercharged solution.

[29] Specialized motorcycles used in drag racing, called dragbikes, are an application for forced induction, including nitrous oxide and multistage turbochargers.