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A 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.
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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).
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Six 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!”
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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.”
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Žiga 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.
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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.
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Then he built a rear rack and front cage for the headlight, and set up the rear end with Highsider 3-1 combo lights.
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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.
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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:
Image may be NSFW.“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.”
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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!
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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).
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Follow the Builder
Website: www.gasandretro.com
Instagram: @gasandretro
Facebook: @GasandRetro
Paint: Matej Mrzlika
Photos: Rok Plešnar (@rocco.time)
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