"Size limits your options. In many ways.. "

Agree, but it swings both ways. Where you are on the scale, is for you to decide.

I've been looking for a Dominator now for the last 7 years. But all the ones that are well-priced, are 5000km away. All the ones close, are too expensive. I think it's a good all-rounder if comfort is not important. BUT, I (me and my opinion) also find the 650 engine seriously underpowered, so for me, I'd do the pipe, the dynojet kit and a high compression piston (fully understanding that reduces the reliability, but I'm a power-junky).

Also- I'd probably trash the fairings and low-guard immediately. I had and XL350 Sahara once upon a time, and the plastics just got int he way. So eventually opted for a naked trail-type bike. But that's just me.

Further on my list- I'm not sure the bigger tank is worth the expense, the draw-backs or the effort. I'm planning to go for low-slung jerry-cans on the side of the motor. Cheaper, lower weight distribution, removable and more fuel capacity.

In the end, Id' probably just modify my XR600 to do the job. But oh how I hate that kick-starter in the mud...

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Squily

Size limits options.

Unless you're an off road god, big bikes are horrible in sand, mud. And if you want to Overland in the most beautiful, adventurous places in the world, you HAVE to ride a lot of off-road. You often avoid that track you might have taken on a smaller bike.


Shipping is more expensive, you can't fit bigger in hotel lobbies in rough towns, you can't load big bike into small boats to cross rivers, It's VERY tiring riding and picking up big bikes off-road, you're more likely to crash, big bikes break more when you drop them. etc etc

Don't get me wrong though. If I'm not going off-road I'd prefer to ride the bigger bike all day long... Who wouldn't !!


As for power.

They are horribly restricted from the factory.. My XR650L has been de-snorkled, jetted, new exhaust etc.. It pulls like a freight train now. I could totally beat a stock Africa Twin in a drag race. I open that throttle hard and it pulls me up to 80mph with no problems.

Compare that to my un-tuned dominator and yes, you have a VERY good point. It feels like a bike with half the engine size. It's still powerful enough for a RTW though. It's very low tuned which makes it economical and reliable..

Price

The price of Dommies goes from about £1000 for a RAT to £1800 for a clean, well looked after machine. You need to spend about £500 to get a Dommie 'Sorted'... I think that is a BARGAIN for a bike in a style/generation which is quickly disappearing.

Soon all we will be able to buy is overpriced BMW's with horribly complicated 'dealer required' electronics or Japanese 'pretend' adventure bikes which are all imagine and little else.

I think the Air cooled, Carburetored, steel framed, 'light weight' and easy to self service/repair adventure bike is a dying breed. They will be rare in 5 years.

When someone wants to do a 5 year RTW and doesn't want to ride a bike that they don't have to plug in every few months to keep running or need a NASA qualified technician to diagnose; or spend ridiculous amounts of cash or parts, then it's these bikes they will be looking to.

I'll be keeping my XRL AND my Dommie. And I'll probably buy another Africa Twin too

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1000-1800?!?!?

And I get upset over $2500 for a model with 96k on it?

E.g. Honda dual sport 650 | Motorcycles | Gumtree Australia Moree Plains - Moree | 1034153048

Maybe I need to reassess my attitude, but then again, we still have DR650's freely available and DR400 to boot. I'm not a Suzuki fan, but they are good value for money and tick all the boxes.

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Squily

That's a lovely condition Dominator. 1989 though. Mine is a 2001.

I had a DRZ400. Rode it to Cape town. Just couldn't fall in love with it. DR650SE's are nice.. Pretty heavy though.

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Know what you mean- I feel the same way about Suzuki's. Got a DL650 sitting in my shed, but can't ever get myself to ride it. Have to rely on vistors to do it for me

DR650 is 162kg wet. Lighter than the Dominator.

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Squily

I know you're right about the numbers.. It just doesn't feel it though.

It rolls and rides lighter than my XR650L... It's like a toy..

You know.. The standard Dommie has twin steel exhausts. They must weight 25KG..

Mine has a lightweight arrow system on it. That's the difference. I think I've saved 15 kg. AT LEAST..

I've ditched the steel tank for an Acerbis and lost the front fairings. That's more weight saved. The bike looks better and has 23L fuel capacity now.

Such as easy bike to modify... I wish they were all this easy.

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
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A quick off-topic question if I may, how does a uncorked (only snorkel, jets and exhaust) honda 650 XRL/Dommie engine compare to the yamaha's XT600E engine? Big difference in power?

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Yamaha XT600E '01, Honda XR400 '03, Yamaha XT550 '83

The Honda is already winning with an extra 50cc.

My XT600E had standard jetting/airbox but with a sportier exhaust. It struggled to do 70mph.

My Dommie, also standard jetting, airbox with sportier exhaust will happily do 70mph but not much more. More grunt in the mid range too. I'd say it was about 5-10% more powerful.

My XR650L has a cut away airbox, dynojet kit and high flow exhaust. It's actually got an early Dominator engine in it (they are identical).. I've not tested it's economy though. I'm scared to. haha. The 650L is TALL and has long suspension. It's not as stable at high speeds. I got it up to about 85mph and it was wobbling all over the place. Like any big enduro bike would.


So ,the 650 is more powerful but not hugely in it's standard form.. There are more factors at play here too. If you tried an earlier XT600, they made more power I believe.

The XT also responds to tuning. And the XT600E engine is pretty bullet proof as it's so lowly tuned. It has a strong steel frame and horribly heavy steel wheels which lets it down. The twin carb is more complicated too.. It's definitely the more 'budget' bike...

Wet weights.

XT600E 170kg
Dominator 178kg (Big twin exhausts weight a lot) - Est. 170 kg without.
XR650L 160kg


I think I'd still go with the Honda's.

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My mate has an old Honda XR650 in good order and it's goes like STINK! When I had a go I couldn't believe a trail bike could be so damn quick. His bike has no cush drive and therefore the uptake is instantaneous - It almost pulls your arms off. He loves it and I don't think he intends to ever sell it, it really is that good.

On a separate note - Don't forget the venerable YAMAHA XT600E - Probably THE best budget RTW trail bike ever made?

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Triumph Bonneville 800 (2004), Yamaha XT600E (1999), Honda XBR500 (1986).

Having ridden one around south America I wasn't overly impressed. Not by the latest E model anyway.

The engine is proven to be reliable, and its simple to work on..

However, the suspension is SH*T beyond words. The fittings and accessories are really cheap and poor quality and it's pretty dam slow for a 600. And man... Does that bike CORRODE....

Still, its a good foundation to build on.. It's very solid and dependable and it should never let you down if maintained.. With decent suspension, aluminium rims and some light tuning, it would be a winner..

OR did I just describe the older Tenere

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EDIT: I Hope i did not hijack this thread. If i did please move my post to the right place or delete it.

Hi Guys!

What a nice thread you have here, just exactly down my alley. Took me a couple of days to find though.

I am just about to buy a Honda NX650 Dominator from 1995 with a motor that has a milage around 20.700 km. It has recently been fitted with a Mikuni flatslide carburator, K&N filter, and almost new Metzler tyres. It also has an almost new chainkit, and new "big-headers" exhaust pipes.

The thing is, that i do not really know a lot about this type of bike (or bikes in general), which is why i would love to hear your oppinion, or at least what i should be looking out for when buying this machine. The thing i do know though is that i want a bike that i, within a period of the next two years, would has to get ready for a one-year round the world tour. Therefore i would love to have some input on whether this bike could serve my purpose, or if i am a complete fool and have not seen that it so obviously on its way to the scrapyard (if you get my point)?

I don't know if you are able to get anything out from the pictures, but here is a link for it anyway: Honda NX 650 Dominator �rgang 1995 - Brugt Offroader Motorcykel til salg - Privat - 123mc.dk.

It will cost me around 2440 £ (GBP), which in a danish context doesn't seem like a lot for a bike like that (in apparently good condition, and with a low milage).

Please let me know what you think.

Cheers, and thanks for blessing me with this wonderful forum
/Per

Ps: does anyone in here know if this acerbis-tank fits a NX650 1995 model (it says 10321/90 on the bottom of it)?:

I had an '86 model 600Z Tenere- model with kick and electric-start. Had more torque than the Honda at low revs. Had less topend- in fact at 5500 rpm, it was making more db than hp. But is was economical and really easy to maintain (no fuses- just a breaker-switch) and if you change the sprockets, you have an overdrive type engine that happily sits fully-loaded at 3200rpm at 100km/h day-after-day.

But I agree with Ted- rear-suspension was crap. It was almost impossible to find any 2nd hand unit with >30kkm on the clock that didn't need a replacement shock.

The specific model had some other quirks (and don't want to hijack the thread and go into detail), but my main issue with Yamaha: gets tricky to find spares for a model older than 10 years. If you can, they are really expensive (e.g. gears, heads, starter motor, etc.) Older Honda's are just cheaper and easier to maintain.

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Squily

Squily and Touring Ted both make valid points on both the Dommie and the AT and I am grateful for everyone's input me being an out and out sports bike rider your comments are well received.

Since I wrote the post I have bought a 1989 Dommie with 23k on the clock which has had four owners with the last owner looking after the bike for over thirteen years. I paid under £1000 and for my money I got a bike that is in excellent condition with a tall screen, braided hoses,Lazer pro enduro exhaust, progressive front springs and Wilbers rear shock and the guy threw in some well made aluminium panniers. In addition I'm close to sourcing an Acerbis 23 litre tank.

Ted makes a good point in keeping it light and simple although Squily cites the extra power and less frequent servicing of the AT as a strong point and after having my first ride out in the Peak District on the Dommie at the weekend I feel the power issue could be a problem (or is it the fact I am used to SP1 warp speed acceleration?) along the way.

My reasons for choosing the Dommie were the simplicity and the weight of the bike and also cost given the fact carnet's will have an effect on my budget.
I did my research and found that both the Dommie and AT have their own faults and nuances but I swayed towards the Dommie as I felt it suits me, my budget and my mechanical expertise (which is limited).
I feel confident the bike will do the job and after seeing various reports on how the Dommie devours oil, has a plank of a seat, will only see 80 mph before it implodes, has chocolate suspension and a petrol tank from a lawnmower I made my decision through your input and not just my own ill informed opinion(s).

I am planning my trip around the world for next year so plenty of time to get to know and hopefully love the bike and convince myself I made the right choice.

Probably wont sleep much tonight after Squily's comment about large tanks causing overheating :confused1: Really grateful for all your help and advice and I'm sure I will be bothering you all again soon.

Steve

You made a choice (and choosing between AT or a Dommie, I don;t think there is a wrong decision- just personal preference).

Now just plan and prepare around it. Build on the strong parts of the bike and strengthen the weak. All bikes are good if you know where there weaknesses are and you look after them (in that regard).

• Overheating problem- like Ted said: consider an oil-cooler. Or fit an oil-temp gauge and keep an eye on it.
• Oil-consumption: make sure you rigorously check it
• Seat comfort: pad it or some sheepskin
• Low power: Dyno-kit, aftermarket can and even perhaps a high-compress piston.

Sounds like you got it for good price. I'm sure you'll enjoy every moment of the bike. Dommie's are an excellent platform to start from and you can personalize the bike to fit your every requirement.

Safe motoring

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Squily

There is a guy in the US who supplies an oil cooler for our engines...

Read this thread.

Honda XR650L XR600 NX650 Oil Cooler from GSMark - ADVrider


Not the cheapest, but it's ready to bolt on with no messing about.

You have to remember.. They're are not prone to overheating and imploding. It's just something that 'can' happen if you push it too hard and don't keep your oil level correct.

That's true of many bikes though. Every bike has it's niggles.. I've seen Africa twins with exploded engines too...


As for power... Do you really want to do more than 70/80mph ?? It's tempting in Western countries with nice roads and good traffic manners. Once you're out of 'The West', the roads are too dangerous to go fast on. Corrupt cops are just waiting for you and the speed limit is often 50-60mph..

Slow down, smell the coffee and get there in one piece



Suspension...... Wilbers seem to be highly rated.

http://www.bits4motorbikes.co.uk/Wil...tml?listID=151

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.