Hey folks, after reading this forum for many weeks now, I have learnt a fair bit about these great bikes which I own one of, but I have found that there is not an owners group on here yet. They seem to be reasonably common around the place but a link to who currently has one and where your from would be good. I'm In Dubbo NSW I will go first and share my rig: 96' Dommi with 32000km Mods so far: High front guard, Pirelli Scorpion Tyres front & Back, LED blinkers and LED high beam wide spread lights. Pannier Racks homebuilt. Mods I want to do: Carb rejetting drilling? Safari style adventure screen Pictures to come Cheers Xray
Xray I concur with the MASSIVE thread in Thumpers. However it is good to know of fellow aussies with the venerable NX650 as the other thread is slightly stilted to the RD02 model (only one sold in the US) and so doesn't have as much good guts on the later models. Good to keep an eye on though . Cheers Goldey
Apologies, forgot to include: Mine is also a 96 model with just less than 30,000k's. Only had it for the last 3000k's. I have fashioned up an extended screen to take the wind blast off my chest. Extras so far are barkbusters, ventura rack and rackbag, extended footpegs (welded on extensions), oh and a cracked front rim, grrrr!! Mods to come: Would dearly love a long range tank and to clean up the cosmetics a bit. Previous owner/s thought it was a single lane motorcross bike........ Cheers Goldey
There's an Acerbis tank on Gumtree for a '91 model. http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/maroochy-river/parts/honda-long-range-tank/1027383292 Acerbis has started making the Dominator long-range tanks again because of the bike's resurgent popularity (it's true), and the Australian Importer - Off Road Imports - has sold the first two shipments already. The owner of Off Road Imports and its retail arm MX1 Australia is a Dominator owner as well, so he's a top bloke. He said I got the last tank from the latest shipment, but I'm fairly sure he's happy to order more. The tanks are only available in black, and the price is pretty amazing. Go to http://www.mx1australia.com.au/ to order or enquire. We've made a pact to punt our Dominators around the Sunny Corner Trailbike Rally this weekend. That should be interesting. TF
HTML: Acerbis has started making the Dominator long-range tanks again because of the bike's resurgent popularity (it's true), and the Australian Importer - Off Road Imports - has sold the first two shipments already. The owner of Off Road Imports and its retail arm MX1 Australia is a Dominator owner as well, so he's a top bloke. He said I got the last tank from the latest shipment, but I'm fairly sure he's happy to order more. The tanks are only available in black, and the price is pretty amazing. Go to http://www.mx1australia.com.au/ to order or enquire. What did you pay for the new tank? I found one in WA from gumtree that will run into 240 posted to my door and its a 24L tank too. I'm going to muck around with a new fiberglass mould for the dommi to get the height of the screen higher and to also install a place to put a gps or other electronic shit or even a digital clock. Once I get the mould done I can run a few off if anyone is interested? I wanted to use either carbon or kevlar for the final material. Cost is not too much more than fiberglass when its only small jobs.
Love the "Mighty-Dominator", main reason mine went into storage was because I couldn't find a large tank at the time.... When I have some spare cash I'll look at getting a tank (ready for when I resurrect her) One of my favorite Dominator vids: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/b5WAtF-xnUU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Thanks for the pics and vid FLICKIT. That scrub turkey sure can move! I miss that type of riding sans trail bike. Only got a Wee Strom, not as quick as a Dommie on those tracks. I remember the first Sidetracks subscriber ride (1995 Deua state forest) a bloke from Cowra rode a Dommie whilst others were trail/enduro mounted. Didn't stop the dude and he wasn't far behind at each checkpoint. RESPECT!
The tank retails for $350. I'd be very keen for a fairing that would take a GPS. Having mine on the 'bars peeves me extremely...not as much as being lost, obviously, but I see the guys with rallye-type set-ups and think that must be awesome. TF
TF Speaking of pet peeves, one of mine is the lack of centrestand on my NX. I notice you have such a thing. Could you enlighten me how, where and who possibly? Please .
Ooo, YEAH. A centrestand...mmm... Nice. It was on the bike when I bought it. The previous owner told me it was Touratech (I think). Sometimes I'm tempted to take it off when I know the going's likely to be a little single-tracky, but it's just too damn handy. I can't see any Dominator parts on the Touratech site, and the importer's half a mate and he's never mentioned any Dominator parts to me, so it may well be a different brand. I certainly rock for having that stand, though! The guys at MAP have some bits and pieces, but no centrestand. Check out the luggage and bashplates at http://www.motorcycleadventure.com.au/shop/index.php?route=product/category&path=101_136_388. I'm very tempted by the pannier racks. They're expensive, but if they're strong and durable, they're worth it. I always have panniers of some kind on the bike, and the last trip to Cameron Corner the corrugations shook my home-made effort to bits. TF
Godiva screens in New Zealand do screens for the Dominator: http://www.godiva.co.nz/models.php?mk=8&srt=model&pg=3 Be careful about attaching too much weight to the fairing, mine has fallen apart after too many km's on corrugated roads with an aftermarket screen attached. I have had to rebuild it a few times with lots of fiberglass and body filler. About the carb jetting, have you read this: http://www.4strokes.com/tech/honda/xr650lcarbmods/. Cheap, easy (once you get the carb off) and worthwhile mod. I have welded up a cracked alloy rim on a motocross bike once when I was much younger, poorer and braver. It held up OK, but looked shit and wasn't quite round anymore. I wouldn't recommend it.
Local mechanic gave me the skinny. Likely to be a custom drilled unit from UK (6-8 week delivery :huh), cost about $200, then labour on top of about $150 to replace and true with my spokes, IF they aren't frozen, then it's a full set of spokes, another $200...........hhhhmmm!! That's getting close to half the original purchase price . Decided to do the $60 weld up and see how it goes :eek1. I'll be keeping a very close eye on it and if it's truly buggered or gets worse, then I'll be signing up for the full monty . Cheers Goldey
If the weld doesn't work, Try John Titman Racing before you commit to anything, Goldey. John himself is a good wheelright and an excellent problem-solver. You may be no better off, but at least ask him. (07) 3245 7499. Let's hope the weld does the job!
Thanks for that TF Ca Cn I ask a favour, can you take some measurements of the centre stand and some photos and send them to me? I'm reasonably handy on the welder and keen to get one sorted out, sick of using the old recycled timber stand I made a decade ago. Backs not getting younger or stronger and this Dom weighs a couple of kilo's..... Cheers Ian
okay so here are some styles which I am looking at for some ideas only. let me know which ones you guys like the look of, bearing in mind these are not dominator bikes they are on: 1. Suzuki home made job Number 2 KTM Number 3: XR650 with fairing moulds I reckon If I muck around with the original fairings and play with multiple attachments for the screen it could be a winner. I have 2 LED strips that I want to mount inside flush with the fairings as well to improve the flood style lighting for the first 10metres of light throw. At the moment they are mounted below the main light above the new high guard but mounting them above the light could be better. Im going to give the mould a run this weekend anyway so give me some ideas.
A US inmate was making stands for a while, I was toying with the idea of making one like his, he doesn't seem to make them anymore: Thread about them, there's a few photos spread though there: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=537336 The XL650L ones appear much the same, just a different height: Look fairly basic and light... :) Edit: according to his site he still has US-NX650 stands, might be worth contacting him if you don't mind spending $$$ http://www.cigarmikes.com/2011/05/nx650-centerstand-16000-shipping.html
Just found this guide to seeing if the jets are right in the carby. some guy from a racing site wrote it. "Fuels- Some common misconceptions about race fuel are: 1. It burns hotter and can cause your motor to overheat 2. It will give your motor more power. 1. Race fuel is a high Octane fuel. Octane is a reference number that tells how much heat the fuel will withstand before detonating without a spark. Octane itself is a fuel similar to gasoline, it was given a rating of 100 to use a reference point to compare to gasoline. The amount of heat produced by a fuel is measured in B.T.U.'s. All gasoline's produce about the same amount of heat so race fuel will not cause your motor to overheat, in fact in most cases it will run cooler (race gas has additives that increase the cooling effect it has when it evaporates, like the cooling effect rubbing alcohol has on your skin). If high octane fuel was more likely to do engine damage they wouldn't use it in aircraft engines 2. Every engine requires a slightly different minimum octane to operate properly. If your motor requires 91 octane and your using 93 octane then it probably wont gain much from 108 or 114 octane race fuel. Most race fuels will require rejetting because the fuel carries more oxygen than pump gas, without rejetting it's possible that your engine will run leaner and produce less power. So why pay more for race gas? High octane race gas allows you to build an engine with higher compression, more spark advance or leaner fuel mixture, without detonating the fuel. The power advantages of race fuel come mostly from these changes. The higher oxygen content means you will run bigger carb jets to get the correct fuel mixture. Your engine will burn more fuel because it has more oxygen available to burn the fuel. Octane is just one of many specifications of race fuel. The specs of race fuel are measured and adjusted to the legal limits according to racing organizations. Every gallon is check and will be the same every time you buy fuel (if the fuel is fresh). Pump gas can vary greatly from one week to the next or from one station to another, and they only check samples of pump gas from thousands of gallons they produce. Different additives are added to pump gas according to the time of year and location where it will be used. In winter they add more alcohol to help remove moisture and they use additives to make the gas evaporate better at low temperatures ("vapor temperature"). Gas that will be used in very hot climates is given additives to lower "Vapor Pressure" to prevent "vapor lock". This is great for your car (especially fuel injected cars that measure and adjust fuel mixture electronically) but for a race bike it can alter your carb jetting from one tank of gas to another. The main thing to remember is to check carb jetting if you run race fuel, also remember if your going to go back to pump gas you may have to switch the jets back. In most cases stock 2 strokes run well on premium pump gas with the proper carb jetting and will gain little from race gas. Unless your building an all out "race only" motor I suggest using premium pump gas or mixing one gallon of race gas to 3 or 4 gallons of pump gas. Whichever you choose you should use it consistently Carb Jetting -Each thing that you change will effect the carb jetting. It is not possible to tell you exactly what jets to run. Carb jetting is time consuming but dollar for dollar will pay off in performance more than any part you can buy. Here's some instructions for jetting a carb: Start with the jetting already in the carb or to be safe on a rebuilt motor or big bore kit start with about 2 sizes bigger on the main jet.. Always warm up the motor by riding it, do not warm up the motor by revving the motor excessivly in neutral. On 2-strokes use a quallity synthetic 2-stroke racing oil and jet the carb with the same oil that you will be using. On a new motor- Break the motor in for at least an hour. The only thing you need to do for breakin is not over-heat or over-rev the motor, wide open is ok for short periods, just normal riding. Start out running it easy and progressively run it harder. A new piston will run slightly hotter because it does not have any carbon to slow heat transfer into the piston, also new rings will allow some blow-by which causes the piston to run hotter. Do not add extra oil to the gas or do anything different. Extra oil changes the fuel mixture. If you are going to use race fuel, pump fuel or a mixture of the two use that fuel while jetting the carb. Most race fuels contain more oxygen than pump gas and will cause the motor to run lean. Jet the carb with the fuel and oil you will normally run. Be sure you have a clean air filter, the condition of the filter greatly effects the carb jetting. Do not over-oil the filter excess oil will cause the motor to run too rich. Try to jet the carb on a day when the weather is closest to the same weather conditions when you are doing most of your riding or racing. Find an area where you can run the bike or quad safely on a long straightaway. #1. Start with a warm motor and install a clean spark plug (sometimes a new plug is harder to read than a plug with some carbon on it)or just remove the plug and take note of the color (black, gray, white). Start the motor and run it at wide open throttle, run through several gears at wide open, then pull in the clutch and hit the kill button. Remove the plug and check the color, white is too lean and black is to rich, (you want a light to dark shade of gray) The plug will usually be lighter in color toward the center electrode and darker toward the outer edges. This will give you a reading of the fuel mixture at wide open throttle (main Jet). The idea is to let the motor run at wide open and avoid part throttle or idleing which will change the plug reading. If the plug is to white install a larger main jet, if its to dark install a smaller main jet. Go back to #1. If the plug color is a light shade of gray, its good. Dark at the outer edges is OK. #2 Run the motor at part throttle (1/4 to 1/2) as much as possible, try to avoid idling or wide open. Shut the motor off and pull the plug. Check the plug color as in step #1, If the plug is to dark, lower the needle (moving the clip up, lowers the needle) If the plug is to light, raise the needle (moving the clip down, raises the needle) If you end up with the clip at the top or bottom groove and still not jetted right you might have to go to a different needle(richer-thinner or leaner-fatter). Usually the stock will work #3 Run the motor at a normal idle speed. Turn the air mixture screw in until you can notice the RPM's going lower, back the screw out until the RPM,s are highest, if you go to far out the screw will have no effect, try to find the point where it idles the fastest but the screw is not out so far that theres no effect. When you have the right setting, a half turn in will slow the RPM but a half turn out will have little or no effect. Now shut the motor off and turn the air screw in until it stops (gently tighten so as not to damage the air screw seat) It should take about one and a half to 2 turns. If it takes less than 1 ½ turns the pilot jet (slow jet) is to small ( try a larger pilot jet). more than 2 turns and the pilot jet is to big ( try a smaller pilot jet). Some other indications of carb jetting are: 1. If the motor takes an excessively long time to warm up (hesitates until it is hot) its a sign that its running lean. Also power may seam to fade when it gets hot, and popping sound at high RPM's 2. If the motor runs good when its cold (very little hesitation at start up) , its a sign that its running rich, after warm up the engine will studder and run rough or load up and foul plugs often, when too rich on fuel." I am not sure about this simple test. Seems a bit too she'll be right mate for me!
Gday Xray My vote goes to number 3 for the fairing options. Did you do the high front guard yourself or was it already done? Cheers Goldey