“You can see yourself on this bike from Paris to Dakar like all hell is behind you.”
The Honda NX650 Dominator has become a popular platform for custom builds worldwide. The 45-horsepower thumper is tough, affordable, and built to take abuse both on road and off — perfect as an urban curb-jumper or dirt road ripper.
Enter one of our favorite Spanish builders, Cafe Racer SSpirit (CRSS) of San Sebastián. Headman Hugo López and the rest of the team like to take a collaborative journey with their clients, translating each rider’s dream into reality. For this build, they wanted to create a minimalist machine inspired by the Paris-Dakar Rallies of yesteryear.
The signature element of this build has to be the big 7.4-gallon gas tank from a limited edition Honda XL600LM, complete with the livery reminiscent of the era’s factory Dakar racers. CRSS combined this long-range tank with the vertical windshield of a rally raid machine, dual headlights/spotlamp setup, stubby fenders, and a short-but-comfortable seat. The result is one badass rally-inspired scrambler. Below, we get the full story on the build.
Honda NX650 Rally Raider: In the Builder’s Words
This NX650 has been modified to have nothing but the basics to run in any kind of terrain, nonstop beyond 500 km.
The look catches the eye because you can see yourself on this bike from Paris to Dakar like all hell is behind you.
The front end has a harness to hold main headlight and LED spotlight as well as a vertical windshield and leaves space for a trip guide or GPS.
The Honda XL600 gas tank is the main piece of the build, sitting just right and giving the bike its sense of being a tireless runner.
The seat is shorter than stock but comfortable for hard riding. Fenders are small and classy just to hold mud from the TKC80 offroad tyres.
There is nothing unnecessary added to the build, just some accessories to make it street legal, but its minimalism is charming.
Modifications
- Artisan subchassis by CRSS
- Custom seat by CRSS
- Enduro handlebar
- Enduro grips
- Rrail-tech speedometer
- Rear fender crss
- CRSS front fender
- Front rim 19 inches
- Rear rim 18 inches
- Acerbis protector
- Artisan screen
- K&N power filter
- Battery recovery
- Reclamation electrical elements
- Double measured front headlights
- Mini indicators
- Gasoline tank Honda XL600LM
- CRSS registration support
More Photos
Looks fantastic yet no real obvious changes. A proper on and off road bike ?
I like.I want