The Honda NX650 Dominator has become one of the most popular base bikes for custom scramblers worldwide. The bike was built from 1988 to 2001 –a 36 to 44-hp air-cooled dual-sport with a bikini fairing and electric start. Rider Magazine called it an “urbanized trail bike” or “street scrambler.” The motor was a slightly enlarged, counterbalanced version of the air-cooled, four-stroke single from the venerable XR600R. The bike was only available in the United States in 1988-1989.
Given their unbeatable reliability, it’s no surprise that a good many of these are still thumping around. Below, we have a selection of the Honda NX650 scramblers we’ve featured from all over the world.
Rally Raider: Honda Dominator 650 Rally Bike - NX650 Desert Thumper from Manara Artwork… We’ve long said that many of our favorite bike-builders have racing backgrounds. Motorcycle racers tend to have a deep knowledge of geometry and mechanics, but racing doesn’t always […]
Primo Brown: Honda NX650 Scrambler - 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 […]
Memory Maker: Honda Dominator 650 - Fit for a Prince: Ellaspede’s Honda NX650 Dominator… Ellaspede is one of our favorite builders not just in Australia, but worldwide. The workshop started as a small home garage operation, which went under (literally) with […]
Baja Dominator: Honda NX650 “Domi Baja” - Soli Moto builds the Baja Dominator that Honda never did… In the 1980s, Honda was a dominant force in both the Baja 1000 (victories in 1982 and 1984-87) and Paris Dakar Rally (victories in 1986-1989), […]
Rascal Moto: Honda NX650 Dominator - Big-Bore Ripper from Latvia! The Honda NX650 Dominator remains one of the most popular donors for customization in Europe and beyond. Introduced back in 1988, the Dominator was something of an urbanized trail bike or […]
All-Metal ADV: Honda 650 Dominator - TUAB: The Ultimate Adventure Bike from Marlon Motorcycles… The Honda NX650 Dominator has proven itself as one of the most versatile motorcycles of recent history, a single-cylinder dual-sport that’s tough as nails, adept both on […]
Honda Dominator “EVO3” by Morex Custom - When Honda launched the NX650 Dominator in 1988, they surely didn’t expect that the urbanized trail bike would become a darling of the new wave customs scene 40 years later. The Dominator had a bored […]
Joy Machine: Honda NX650 Dominator Motard - Custommade C.A. builds an 80/20 street weapon… The Honda NX650 Dominator has become an unexpected favorite of custom builders across the world. While it was only available from 1988-89 here in the States, it remained […]
Desert Dominator: Honda NX650 ‘Sled - “A lighter, more powerful, more aggressive, go anywhere version of the Dominator…” The Honda NX650 Dominator has become one of the world’s most popular custom platforms, featuring an XR-based 644cc four-valve single-cylinder engine, twin stainless […]
Fear Nothing: Honda NX650 Dominator “Witaca 001” - A Honda Dominator built for the path, not the destination… When Honda introduced the NX650 Dominator in 1988, we can safely assume they had no idea this “urbanized trail bike” would become a favorite […]
650 Twin-Shocker: Marmisto’s TT-NX Street Tracker - The Honda NX650 Dominator has become one of the world’s most custom platforms. The 45-hp four-valve single has plenty of punch, coupled with electric start and a reputation for rugged reliability. But for stonemason, author, […]
The Last Dominator: Honda NX650 by Andrew Greenland - The 14th and final Dominator build from an NX master… The Honda NX650 Dominator has become one of the most popular donors for modern scrambler builds. The XR650-derived engine is nigh indestructible, with decent punch […]
Humanitarian Dominator: Honda NX650 “Alabama” - A globe-trotting Dominator from the humanitarian association Moto Taccuino. The Honda NX650 Dominator, built from 1987-2003, is one of the best donors for a truly capable scrambler — a bike that can run long miles […]
Honda NX650 City Scrambler - The Honda NX650 Dominator has become a darling of the modern customs scene. The tried-and-true big single is perfect for running the gauntlet of urban commutes, jumping curbs and finding back-alley shortcuts, then shooting out […]
Customizing for Dommies: Honda NX650 Street Tracker - It’s hard to beat a big single “thumper” for ruggedness, versatility, and all-around motorcycling fun. Last summer, the good folks at Hoxton Moto — creators of a Youtube channel with 10,000+ subscribers — rebuilt one […]
Honda NX650 Dominator Scrambler by Moose Garage - A big single scrambler from Sweden… Back in 2017, we featured the first build from Martin Kvarnhult of Sweden — a 1991 Honda Dominator scrambler that he built to be his daily rider, and which […]
American Dominator: Honda NX650 Scrambler by Matt Butts - A North Carolina hot-rodder sets his sights on a rare, US-spec NX650… In recent years, the Honda NX650 Dominator has become one of Europe’s most popular platforms for customization, but this 44-horsepower, XR-based dual sport […]
Urban Cross: Honda NX650 by Petrology - In 2015, Maria Arellano and Jona Gimenez created Petrology, a brand out of Alicante, Spain, that celebrates “the culture of petrol, power, and good design.” The pair has long admired classic machines, especially those of […]
Baja Dominator: Honda NX650 by LL Motorcycles - In the few years, the Honda NX650 Dominator has been a popular donor for customization. The 44-hp RFVC engine is nigh-unkillable, and the robust build quality made the bike the perfect urban enduro. Said MCN […]
Honda NX650 Dakar by Cafe Racer SSpirit - “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, […]
Honda Dominator Street Scrambler by Andrew Greenland - For Sale: Burly Honda NX650 Dominator… Operating out of his shed in Wales, Andrew Greenland continues to turn out some of the most incredible Honda big single builds on the planet. He’s been into dirt […]
Honda NX650 Scrambler by Asphalt and Gravel - The Honda NX650 has become one of Europe’s most popular platforms for scrambler and tracker builds. The punchy, XR650-based engine is one of the toughest engines ever produced, and dual exhaust — rare on a […]
Honda NX650 Custom by Cool Kid Customs - “The Brawler” from Holland… We see a lot of Honda NX650 customs these days, but we’ve never one that looked like “The Brawler.” Not surprisingly, the bike is the work of Michel Szozda of Cool […]
Honda NX650 Tracker “Mesquito” by Marmisto - For Sale: “Mesquito” Honda NX650 Tracker by Marmisto! Chris Daniels of Marmisto is a world-class stonemason, carver, and conservator who has worked on ancient buildings across the world. He’s also been shed-building custom bikes since […]
Honda Dominator Scrambler by MadWolf - Today, we are thrilled to present the first build from MadWolf Motorcycles, a workshop in Bordeaux, France. The founder, an aerospace engineer, started building motorcycles three years ago. However, this build — his first — […]
Honda Dominator Scrambler by BF Motorcycles - An off-road addict’s street-legal Honda curb-jumper… Jean Michel Lopez spends his weekends riding off-road in various disciplines: motocross, enduro, etc. Like many before him, he dreamed of putting his knobby-tired passion to the pavement: “I […]
Honda NX650 Scrambler: “Rum Runner” - There are bikes built to be polished garage queens that look good parked in front of coffee shops…and then there are bikes built to be ridden — machines that seem to sniff out adventure like […]
Honda NX670 Scrambler by 2Motors - Manu Mertens of Belgium’s 2Motors has been a bonafide Honda devotee from an early age — a passion evident in arsenal of Honda big single builds that roll out of his shop, including two bikes […]
Honda NX650 Street Tracker by Marmisto - Chris Daniels is one of the most interesting builders we have featured. His shop, Marmisto, means “stonemason” in Italian. Chris is a conservator, carver, and author of books on stonemasonry and restoration, who has helped […]
Honda Dominator Scrambler by ZZMoto - Who would have thought that the Honda NX650 — a durable but rather boring urban runabout — would become the darling of the custom moto scene? We have always been fans of the Honda’s thumpers, […]
Honda NX650 Scrambler by Moose Garage - The Honda NX650 has become one of our favorite platforms for curb-jumping urban enduros and weekend service road blasters. Enter Martin Kvarnhult (Moose Garage) of central Sweden, who built this NX650 scrambler — his first […]
Garage-Built Honda NX650 Dominator Scrambler - The Honda NX650 Dominator has become a favorite platform among custom builders. Available from 1988 to 2000, the 44-horsepower dual sport is largely bulletproof, with respectable performance both on and off-road. The lines of the […]
Honda NX650 Street Tracker by Last Century Bikes - “Our hands are black, our souls are cleansed.” This is the motto of Last Century Bikes, a workshop in small-town Switzerland (Winterthur) run by enthusiasts Felix Kuhn and Alain Bramaz. Felix is a mechanical engineer […]
Honda NX250 Street Tracker - “The 1988 Honda NX250 was a gem of an Adventure Bike that never got the appreciation it deserved.” This is what ADV Pulse had to say of the 26-hp, liquid-cooled thumper, available in the United […]
Honda NX650 Adventure Tracker by Tobias Mayr - 1988 Honda NX650 sporting Land Rover headlights, cellphone-programmable electronics, a Reinschüssel--giant fuel tank--and even a power jack, so Tobi's friends "can charge their iPhones to keep up with their Pinterest bulls--t."
“Death Crusher” NX650 Supermoto / Tracker - Today, we have a very special build: The “Death Crusher” by Jeremy Hutch, the industrial designer behind H U T C H B I L T. We originally saw the build at the Handbuilt Show […]
Honda Dominator Scrambler by Neuga Budapest - Today we’re proud to present “Growler,” a BMW-influenced 1988 Honda NX650 Dominator built by the crew at Neuga Budapest. Based in Budapest, Neuga is the shop of three Hungarian BMXers: Benedek Eszteri: Mostly handles electronics […]
Honda NX650 Scrambler by Mutant Motorcycles - High-dollar machines produced from big-name shops are all well and good, but there is something special about a bike built by a single man or woman just making their name. This Honda NX650 Dominator scrambler, […]
“LM-0” Honda NX650 Tracker by Dab Design - Sometimes a build comes along that’s truly innovative–a potential game-changer in the custom scene. The LM-0 NX650 street tracker is one such bike–a collaboration between Simon Dabadie of Dab Design and one of our favorite […]
Honda NX650 Scrambler by Janne Hietakangas - Recently, Janne Heitakangas of Turku, Finland, sent us this incredible NX650 scrambler. We shared the bike on Instagram with the caption “Good as Gold.” Geoff Baldwin, editor of Tank Moto magazine and the man behind […]
Faves: Honda NX650 Scrambler - Every century or so a guy comes along who can take almost any concept and turn it into an instant classic. These guys seem to live in a dream state that allows them to take […]
1998 Honda NX650 Custom - We are pleased to present this 1998 Honda NX650 built by Rino Scala of Cafe Ricycles, located in Italy. As you may know, the NX650 “Dominator” was Honda’s first attempt at an Adventure Motorcycle, introduced […]
