Source: Bike Bound
Patina Pony: Dominator 650 Scrambler from Emporio Elaborazioni Meccaniche…
Surely no one at Honda knew the Honda NX650 Dominator — a single-cylinder, plastic-clad adventure bike — would become a darling of the customs scene more than thirty years after its introduction.
“The Honda Dominator 650…is the motorcycle that defined the ‘urban trailie’ craze of the Nineties. Beloved by town-bound motorcycle couriers and B-road hackers thanks to its punchy delivery, rufty-tufty build quality and commanding riding position…” –MCN
The Dominator was produced from 1988-2001, and while the bike is exceedingly rare here in the States, the engine would go on to power the Honda XR650L — one of the longest-produced, most successful dual-sports of all time. The bike was highly popular in Europe, where custom builders have turned to the rough-and-tough “trailie” as a donor for retro scrambler builds.
The one you see here comes from our friend “Dopz” of Rome’s Emporio Elaborazioni Meccaniche (EEM). We featured several EEM builds in the past, though Dopz took a bike-building break for a couple of years to build a free skateboard for his neighborhood.
“I believe it’s important for everybody to do something manually (from cooking to gardening, from building bikes to painting). So guys out there, let me give you a little advice: try, fail, and re-try something using your hands. It’s worth it. No Ctrl-Z just old fashioned work!” -Dopz
This NX650 Dominator was built for a well-known Roman skateboarder — his first bike!
“The customer asked for something minimal, a bit classic with a street attitude.”
The owner ended up coming to the workshop, rolling up his sleeves, and getting his own hands dirty on the build — just like Dopz advises! The bike was converted to a twin-shock setup for a more vintage look, and an old Honda tank, which had plenty of patina, was cleaned and clear-coated to become a focal point of the build.
Other highlights include the bespoke metal headlight fairing, footpegs built from chain, and a metal cover that hides the rear portion of the seat, keeping the bike shorter to the eye while preserving the ability to carry a pillion passenger.
Dopz says it was a bit risky to combine elements from both the cafe and scrambler style, but he’s happy with how it turned out. Now that Dopz is back building bikes again, we’re excited to see what EEM turns out!
Dominator 650 Scrambler: Builder Interview
• Please tell us a bit about yourself, your history with motorcycles, and your workshop.
Emporio Elaborazioni Meccaniche (EEM) born in the ancient city of Rome more or less 13 years ago. After different locations and company structures, in the last few years, Dopz (me, chief customizer) runs the company alone.
The target is the same: offering something unique and recognizable to the customer. Working slowly, passionately, and trying to mix functionality and creativity on a bike.
About me, Dopz: I love to ride my old BMW R80G/S…a bit modified 😉 I’ve been into enduro rides since…forever. When I took a pause from building bikes a couple years ago, I built a small free skateboard park for my neighborhood…cause I still love to ride my skateboard on small half pipe.
What else? I believe it’s important for everybody to do something manually (from cooking to gardening, from building bikes to painting). So guys out there, let me give you a little advice: try, fail, and re-try something using your hands. It’s worth it. No Ctrl-Z just old fashioned work!
What else…I love to listen hip hop and, let me be a little romantic: spending time with my wife!
• What’s the make, model, and year of the donor bike?
The bike is an old Honda NX650 Dominator from the 1990’s. I built it in 2016…and it still has good vibes.
• Why was this bike built?
This bike was a four-handed project. It was the owner’s first bike, so Emporio decided for a classic scrambler posture (straight back, good view) starting from a solid good old engine. The customer loved to be part of the process so he started coming into the garage and helping me in building the bike.
• What was the design concept and what influenced the build?
The customer asked for something minimal, a bit classic with a street attitude (he is a well-known Roman skater) so I started turning it over in my mind and doing some sketches.
• What custom work was done to the bike?
At first I made the bike lower for a good solid foot position on the ground. Put classic double rear shock absorbers instead of the centered enduro mono for the classic touch.
The owner asked a short bike but also good for two-up riding, so I built a metal cover to hide part of the seat and make it shorter to the eye.
I built a small front metal fairing and let the exhaust be simple as possible, and built the foot rests with a chain to give a rough look.
The last touch came from this old rusted Honda tank. Properly cleaned and painted with a clear coat, it guided the color palette you see. It was perfect to fit the rear rim color and to give that feeling we were looking for.
• Does the bike have a nickname?
This bike is part of what I call the Dardo Series; it’s a collection of Honda-based single cylinder (like Honda XR and NX) bikes I built. So it’s a Dardo IV but the name is “Primo Brown” in honor of a famous Roman rapper who died in that period.
• Can you tell us what it’s like to ride this bike?
It is skinny and light, with a good engine that pushes hard. I’ll say very fun!
• Was there anything done during this build that you are particularly proud of?
Firstly, starting from a Dominator to land here it was a nice and impressive journey to me. And second, I should say that it was a bet mixing together classic café racer elements (twin shock absorbers, the fairing, the tail) and scrambler elements (the tank, the wheels, the posture)…and it works pretty well.
Follow the Builder
Instagram: @emporio_elaborazioni
Facebook: Emporio Elaborazion”}]]
