Your daily dose from all over the web.
12th November 2024
Retro Enduro: Honda NX650 “Camelle”

Date

 Source: Bike Bound

Honda NX650 Dominator Retro EnduroA Two-Wheeled, Long-Legged Camel from Gas&Retro (GRMTO)…  

The Honda NX650 Dominator is a single-cylinder adventure bike or “trailie” whose engine lives on in the XR650L, one of the most successful dual-sports in motorcycling history. While we didn’t receive many Dominators here in the States, they were highly popular in Europe, and in recent years, they’ve become one of the most popular platforms in the customs world. It’s easy to see why: Donor bikes and parts are plentiful, the chassis is burly, the engine bulletproof, and the Dommie even has a 2-into-1 exhaust.

Truly, it seems nearly every workshop puts a Dominator on the bench at some point. However, the result is rarely as striking as the NX650 “Camelle” (Camel) you see here, the work of Žiga Petek of Slovenia’s Gas&Retro (GRMTO).

Honda NX650 Dominator Retro EnduroSix months ago, a good friend, Rok Mihelčič, called Žiga and told him he had two bikes in the garage, a Honda NX650 and Suzuki DR600. Rok had started to build them, even buying parts from Žiga for each project, but he couldn’t find enough time to work on them. So he offered to strike a deal with Žiga:

“He asked if I’d swap my 2020 Harley Sportster Iron for the those two bikes, plus a KTM LC4 and one drift trike, and I said sure we can do it…I will finish them sometime in the next 30 years haha…like I don’t have enough bikes waiting in my workshop, haha!”

Honda NX650 Dominator Retro Enduro

So the NX and DR landed in the already stuffed Gas&Retro workshop. Soon thereafter, Žiga was in Garmisch for BMW Motorrad Days as an invited builder with the workshop’s BMW Different II build. There he met met Mathias and Barbara from Bad&Bold, and they we spoke about the MaxlRIDE event they are organizing — an event Žiga attended last year with Gas&Retro’s Husqvarna tribute.

“I said I had two projects in my workshop but they were far from finished… That was the 5th of July and MaxlRIDE was on the 23rd of August, so I knew it was possible…I said to myself sure it is…so when I got back from Garmisch I put them on the table.”

Honda NX650 Dominator Retro EnduroŽiga redid the rear subframe of the Dominator, swapped in a new gas tank, and contacted Strands Lighting Division to see if they could provide the massive 9-inch front headlight.

Honda NX650 Dominator Retro Enduro

Originally Rok had purchased plastic Acerbis fenders and an Elba front fairing, but Žiga doesn’t like such bolt-on options and didn’t like how they looked on the bike. So he fabricated a pair of aluminum fenders in a more classic style, polishing them to a high luster.

Honda NX650 Dominator Retro EnduroThen he built a rear rack and front cage for the headlight, and set up the rear end with Highsider 3-1 combo lights.

Honda NX650 Dominator Retro Enduro
Honda NX650 Dominator Retro Enduro

The bike now rides on a Showa USD forks, a Wilbers rear shock, and new wheels. He worked up a seat that can hold a pillion rider in a pinch, and he customized a GPR exhaust to make it shorter for the bike.

Honda NX650 Dominator Retro Enduro

The engine was a low-mileage unit, so a simple check and service was done, replacing various seals and gaskets. Everything was sand-blasted and powder-coated: frame, swingarm, etc. Then came the graphics:

“I said why don’t I just draw something and send it to Urban Upelj to make me custom fat stickers like motocross or enduro bike use…and at the end it was perfect fit, with some kind of cartoon vintage design.”

Honda NX650 Dominator Retro Enduro
Honda NX650 Dominator Retro Enduro

Honda NX650 Dominator Retro Enduro
Honda NX650 Dominator Retro Enduro

The tall suspension and humped tank led Žiga to nickname the bike “Camelle” (Camel) 14. In the end, Žiga, his girlfriend, and GRMTO crew made it to MaxlRIDE with both the Dominator and the Suzuki DR600…look for the latter build coming soon!

 Honda NX650 Dominator Retro Enduro

Žiga says it was hard but fun to prepare both bikes in such a short timeframe — less than two months! And the future is wide open for Camelle 14…and whoever wants to own it:

“The bike is set to go on adventures off road and on road, and it’s for sale as well.”

Contact Žiga at Gas&Retro if you’re interested in this one of a kind Dominator!

More Photos

Photo credits go to Rok Plešnar (@rocco.time).

Follow the Builder

Website: www.gasandretro.com
Instagram: @gasandretro
Facebook: @GasandRetro
Paint: Matej Mrzlika
Photos: Rok Plešnar (@rocco.time)

More GRMTO Builds

BSA Gold Star Custom Retro Tourer: BSA 650 Gold Star BAAK x BSA : The 650 Gold Star Retro Touring…  BSA is one of the most storied names in motorcycling history, founded as the Birmingham Small Arms Company in 1919. The company originally produced machine-guns, […]
Triumph Scrambler 1200 Adventure Bike BAAK to Adventure: Triumph Scrambler 1200 “Aventures” BAAK develops an adventure kit for the Scrambler 1200…  The Triumph Scrambler 1200 XC / XE may be our favorite production bike currently available, an 89-bhp brute with premium long-travel suspension and plenty of charisma. […]
Triumph Street Twin Custom BAAK Rambler: Triumph Street Twin “A classic look, influenced by the street…” In 2016, Triumph Street Twin launched onto the scene as a retro roadster with a liquid-cooled 900cc parallel twin engine. Quickly, it became the best-selling of the Bonneville […]
Triumph Bobber Custom Triumph “Bobber Moon” by BAAK USA A modern tribute to the post-war bobbers of the 1940s-50s… The Triumph Bonneville Bobber debuted in 2017, featuring a high-torque engine and WWII-era aesthetics. It was dead handsome, looking like a modernized version of the […]
BAAK USA BAAK to The USA! French workshop BAAK Motocyclettes comes to America… One of our favorite European builders is BAAK Motocyclettes, a French workshop based out of Lyon that founder Rémi Reguin started in his grandmother’s garage in 2013. Since […]
Triumph Scrambler Custom Custom Triumph Scrambler 900 by BAAK Motocyclettes Built for riding through the Bourgogne vineyards! The Triumph Scrambler, introduced in 2006, was inspired by the original TR6C (Competition) Trophy — a factory-direct scrambler designed for US desert racers. Based on the Bonneville, the […]
Royal Enfield Classic 500 Scrambler Royal Enfield Classic 500 Trials Bike “We created this machine to provide the purest riding feelings, in line with the tradition of classic trials motorcycles.” Few workshops have craftsmen in-house who specialize not only in design and fabrication, but leatherwork, saddlery, […]
Triumph Bonneville T120 Bobber Triumph Bonneville T120 Bobber by BAAK Motocyclettes BAAK Motorcyclettes of France is creating some of the classiest customs in the world, mainly based on the modern Triumph platform.  They 3D design and print prototype components for their custom builds, using them as […]
Triumph Bonneville T120 Tracker Triumph T120 Tracker by BAAK BAAK Motocyclettes of Lyon, France, is a 5-person creative workshop that designs, manufactures, and sells plug & play parts for Triumph, Moto Guzzi and Royal Enfield motorcycles . The team also creates bespoke builds based […]
Moto Guzzi V7 Scrambler Moto Guzzi V7 Scrambler by BAAK Motocyclettes The Moto Guzzi V7 series has been around since the 1970s, offering that signature transverse V-twin introduced by Italian engineer Lino Tonti. In 2008, the company re-introduced a new version of the V7, which blended […]

 

 

 

Click here to see source

More
articles

Welcome to theDailyMotorcycle.com!

TheDailyMotorcycle.com offers motorcycle enthusiasts a wide range of curated content from across the web.

We value your feedback and welcome any thoughts or suggestions you have. Reach out using our contact form.

If you're a business owner or advertiser, use this form to find out how to connect with a highly engaged community of motorcycle fans. Click here to learn more.