Auction Watch • 1984 Honda City Turbo II • Cars & Bids
The ScooterIs the Real Car
A white 1984 Honda City Turbo II rolled across Cars & Bids last week with its matching Motocompo in the back. One of these is a legend. The other one is a car.
Breaking news from the Honda desk
I'm a Honda Guy Now. Act Accordingly.
Some of you knew me as a Land Cruiser guy. Then a Miata guy. Then a Fiat guy. Then I bought a yellow 1991 Honda Beat, and now I'm a Honda guy. I don't make the rules. The rules are made by small, weird Japanese cars that rev to the moon.
So when a 1984 Honda City Turbo II showed up on Cars & Bids with a factory-matched Honda Motocompo riding in the back, I lost a full workday. Right-hand drive, Japanese-market, Georgia title, about 77,200 kilometers (roughly 48,000 miles), 5-speed manual, white with a blue and white interior. And a scooter. Did I mention the scooter?
Here's my hot take: the motorcycle might be worth more than the car. Not in dollars. I checked. But we're going to get there.
What you're looking at
The Bulldog
The City Turbo II was Honda losing its mind in 1983. They took the already tiny City, bolted on an intercooled turbo 1.2-liter four, flared the fenders out like it had been doing push-ups and lowered it. The listing says about 110 horsepower and 1,600 pounds. Japan nicknamed it the "Bulldog," which is the most accurate car nickname in history. It looks like it wants to bite your ankle.
Mugen ran a one-make race series with these things at Suzuka, and the Japanese press compared it to "vehicular pro wrestling." I want that on a T-shirt. I want that on my tombstone.
This one has the Turbo II wide body, a manual sunroof, front sports seats, a half-analog, half-digital gauge cluster that looks like a 1984 arcade cabinet, air conditioning and an Alpine cassette deck. The seller reports no modifications. The roof and rear bumper have been repainted.
The main event
Let's Talk About the Motocompo
The Honda Motocompo is a 49cc, two-stroke folding scooter Honda sold from 1981 to 1983, designed specifically to fit in the cargo area of the City. The handlebars and seat fold into the body, and the whole thing turns into a white plastic suitcase with wheels. It makes 2.5 horsepower. Honda says it weighs 93 pounds dry. It is the single greatest dealer accessory ever made, and I will not be taking questions.
You drive the City into town, pull the Motocompo out of the hatch and putt off to get coffee while everyone stares. Then you fold it back up and drive home. That's the whole dream. Japan figured out the last mile in 1981, and we're still out here arguing about e-scooters.
The seller notes a dented engine cover on the scooter. Fine. Honestly, a Motocompo with zero dents means somebody never rode it, and that's sadder than a dent.
I'm a CPA, so here we go
Is the Scooter Worth More Than the Car?
In straight dollars, no. Bidding was at $19,500 when I grabbed these screenshots, and nobody is paying $19,500 for a Motocompo. A clean one sold for $4,815 in November 2024. A rough one with cracked tires sold for $2,750 that May.
But I don't measure cars in dollars. I measure them in joy, and also per pound.
| The Per-Pound Math | Damage |
|---|---|
| Honda Motocompo, clean example (sold Nov 2024) | $4,815 |
| Honda Motocompo, rough example (sold May 2024) | $2,750 |
| Motocompo weight (dry, per Honda) | 93 lb |
| City Turbo II weight (per the listing) | ~1,600 lb |
| Final high bid, car + scooter (reserve not met) | $21,000 |
| Scooter, per pound (call it $3,500 with the dented cover) | ~$38/lb |
| Car, per pound (the other $17,500) | ~$11/lb |
| Winner, pound for pound | The Scooter |
Motocompo prices are two real sales from Iconic Motorbike Auctions. The $3,500 value for this one is my guess, knocked down for the dented engine cover the seller disclosed. In straight dollars the car still wins. I don't care. I'm doing it by the pound.
The Verdict on the Scooter
Pound for pound, the Motocompo is worth more than three times as much as the car it rides in. So yes. The motorcycle is worth more than the car. I'm a CPA. You can't argue with me. I have a calculator.
The snark section
Things I Noticed, in No Particular Order
The rear seat. Blue and white diagonal stripes, like a 1984 beach towel or a sailor's pajamas. I would not change a thing. I would also not let anyone eat Cheetos back there.
The engine bay. It's a red "COMBAX TURBO" valve cover with blue plug wires. It's a magnesium cover, according to the casting, which means it weighs less than my lunch. Under the hood it's tiny, tidy and 100% too much fun.
The flaws. The seller lists a scuff on the driver's fender, weathered trim and wheels, worn front seats, a discolored headliner and corrosion on some engine bay and underbody parts. For a 42-year-old right-hand-drive import, I've seen worse at Cars & Coffee.
The emissions warning. Cars & Bids warns it may not pass emissions in some states. In Montana, that's a sentence that sounds like a dare.
Receipts
The Listing, Before It Disappears
Auctions end and listings go stale, so here's a capture of the listing from the morning it closed, with the seller's name and location blurred. Every photo in this post comes from the Cars & Bids listing.
The hammer drops
How It Ended
Bidding climbed from $19,500 to $21,000 by the end, 19 bids in all, and the reserve still didn't budge. The seller keeps the Bulldog and the scooter. Somewhere in Georgia, a Motocompo is still worth more per pound than the car it lives in.
Final thoughts
Would I Buy It?
If money were no object, the City Turbo II and the Motocompo would live in my garage next to the Beat. That's two Honda kei-adjacent goblins and a folding scooter. Honestly, that's a better retirement plan than my 401(k).
Since money is very much an object, I'll keep watching auctions, keep feeding the Fund the 40 jar and keep pretending I'm going to stop looking at small Hondas. I'm not. I'm a Honda guy now.
See the Listing
The full Cars & Bids listing has all 116 photos. It didn't sell, so it may come back. If you end up with it, I need to see the Motocompo run. I'll bring the camera.
All car and scooter photos are from the seller's Cars & Bids listing.
Drive Fast · Take Chances · Never Lift.
