Honda Dominator - what can go wrong with the Dommie?
 

Hi

I have just purchased a Honda Dominator (1993 - 54,000km) to travel next year. An oldie but a goodie - well I'm hoping!! If anyone has had a Dommie can you let me know the weak spots - what generally goes wrong with this bike. I'd like to practise maintenance and ensure I'm bringing the right spare parts (on top of the normal travel stuff). Thanks!

This Honda site has a Dominator Forum.. Honda Trail Bike Forums

...great bikes! I had a '99 model in 2005 which I rode from UK through France, Spain and then over 4,000miles around Morocco and back to UK. It had 4k on the clock when I bought it and 20k miles when I sold it a year later. What went wrong?....nothing apart from a failed brake light switch.
If you do buy one I would reccommend junking the standard exhaust silencers as they are so heavy and rot; also worth changing the rear shock as it's far too soft

Thanks for the tips - glad you enjoyed the trip!

+1 on the standard silencers. It'll improve the fuel economy a bit as well as the power gain (and the nice sound!). Don't EVER let it run low on oil, not even just a little bit...the camshaft and followers will head west before you can say "what's that funny ticking noise?" and it's expensive to replace those. Standard seat isn't known for being the most comfy. Apart from that an excellent middle-weight.

pipe and timing chain

I've never,ever heard of or had a timing chain wear on these bigger RFVC engines (although that's not to say it does'nt happen) but what DOES very occasionally go is the chain adjuster spring, usually after the head has been off and the adjuster has been re-fitted without the correct tool being used. The actual chain is of the HI-VO type and is immensely strong in normal use.

Like mentioned here before OIL, OIL and OIL!

change the oil and oil filter on time (3K KM) and keep and eye on the oil level especially on highway runs. Other then that its pretty much bombproof.

The exhaust should be fine. i have a 88 so maybe they changed it later on but mine sounds awesome already and most aftermarket exhaust just generate more top end power and that not really where you need the extra power. Only real reason i can think of to get a other exhaust is cos the current one is rotten or to shave of a few KG.

there's a few reports on wheel rot on earlier bikes

No personal experience but I've also heard reports of the valve seals being a weakness..

All bikes will suffer from this with high mileage so maybe it's just that these were high mileage bikes !

Check for white smoke when starting the bike up after left sitting for a while and like any bike, REGULARLY check the oil level/comsumption.

Ted

Thanks! I'll have to look up wheel rot! :-)

Same as the Africa twins Mick :thumbdown:

mine is ticking, whats is that?
 

Hello everybody,:clap:
my Zombie Dommie is waking up from its grave but its got some problem....(obviously:()

1)Ticking noise?? Is it harmful? Is it coming from the arm rocker? I've changed it a couple of years ago, but not all 4 coz I couldnt get all the 4 pieces, also noticed a bit of worn-out mark on the 'house', thiss really means trouble right?
what happen if I just ignore it for the time being? Will it it make things worst??:confused1:

2)Difficult to start. Especially when cold. Once started its easily starts the next day, but If left it for few days, Its difficult to start again.... does anyone has any clue??? My ignition coil is also not the original (im using a 150cc coil),:oops2: does this affect the starting process?? Ive notice when the rpm reaches 5000 It also looses it power and tend to jerk!
?c?

Could well be lack of compression - due to engine wear - rings/valves?

Borrow a compression tester - do it with a hot motor & WOT :thumbup1:

I've had a XR600 for many years and suffered the same problem. Starts fine today or tomorrow but leave it for a week and it won't go. Some years ago on a winter trip to France it took me a complete morning to get it started, much to the annoyance of my companions who were ready to go.

The problem is fuel evaporation / degradation in the float chamber of the carb. After a few days the more volatile components evaporate and what's left won't vaporise enough to start the engine. (at least that's my theory).

The fix is more of a workaround - undo the float chamber drain screw and drain off about a float chamber's worth of fuel - about 40-50ml. If you do it with the fuel tap in the on position it'll flush out the old stuff and refill the chamber as soon as the drain screw is tightened up. It's worked for me every time. I've left the bike for months, flushed the fuel through and had first kick starting (no electric start on the XR)

yeah dats my theory too...
 

I agree with you on that, a mechanic claimed dat RON95 petrol is not good enuff, other bikers who had that problem uses RON97 and solved thier problem.... but Ron97 is 30 or 35 cents more expensive!

But I also had that problem with new petrol but cold engine.????
what I would do is sprinkle some petrol in the air box and it tend to start easier, but its really a hassle.:(

dats not really a major problem right now coz I ride the bike everyday now, my latestt problem is jerking.
Idle is okay,
traffic jams riding also okay
but once I start to accelerate it tend to loose power, as if theres not enuff air in the air box, I noticed it will happened more frequent on rainy days, I reckon theres an electrical leakage sumwhere, maybe the plug coil wire or sumwhere, on other days it runs just fine (except for the ticking noise)

:confused1: Im really frusrated

what to do to check wire leakage? Another mechanic suggest that I should check my earthing,
how do I check my earthing or earthlings.... :-)

I had that exact problem on my DRZ after I fitted my Clark Tank/fuel filter.

Evaporation is normal but the fuel pressure should be enough to replenish. Fuel does not go bad in a few days and the volitiles don't evaporate off in that time either. (Well, iv never heard of that)

It turned out to be my fuel filter and pipework were not allowing sufficient flow to replace the evaporated fuel without engine "running" vacuum..

You would of found that a quirt of powerstart in the airbox will also get things moving as well as the carb drain trick.

Anyway, a permanent fix is to get a LARGER fuel filter (if you use one) and make sure you fuel line has no kinks or vertical lines of travel, even if you have to loop some fuel around in a figure 8 !!

Sorted it out for me !!!!!!!!!!! I was ready to install a fuel pump !

travelled the americas on a dommie. dropped valve seats in canada and again in quito. lots of delays and costs as a result (but with great stories of fantastic people helping) why did it happen? after much thinking i reckon it could have been the big tank restricting air flow to the head. poss solution is to fit an oil cooler or someone who can post you a new head!!!
good luck with the trip, i liked my dommie and it rode well.
oz

Hi newbie here,
Just wondering if xr600 shock will fit Honda dominator,
Some people say no but Mr Marty king on a previous post says he's done it,
Does anyone have any pics of a successful rear suspension upgrade of Honda dominator.
Thanks for your time.

If an XR600 shock won't fit, why not have your stock XL/Dominator shock rebuilt?
An inexperienced shock mech. will tell you it can't be done ... but It CAN BE DONE.

Depending on where you are (FILL IN YOUR PROFILE So people can help you!)
you might have someone nearby who can do the job. I'm in California and
"know a guy" who specializes in these un-rebuildable Showa shocks.

Or contact someone like Cogent Dynamics (North Carolina) and send off your shock for rebuild.(not cheap)

Dozens of such shops throughout USA and EU. Basics mate.
bier

xr shocker
 

xr 600 shocker alot bigger than domi shocker think i saw somthing on the web of somone fitting a rebuldable shock of another honda regards