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I have just become the proud owner of this lovely Dommie 650
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I'd like to make it look a bit more like this
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The question is, is putting a smaller/wider wheel onto the front likely to ruin the handling or just compromise it slightly?
The tracker custom pictured has the forks lowered in the yokes by 30mm and the 21 inch front replaced with a 17 inch.
This is unashamedly a toy for sunny days and I don't mind suffering a bit for my art but I don't want it to ride like a total pig either. I'm a pootler as far as bikes with engines go. I'm happier getting my kicks on the MTB than on the road. It's unlikely to go over 60 much tbh.
What think ye?
Putting a rear tyre on the front will make it handle like crap. Generally 'improving' any bike will make it worse. Honda don't build bikes that you can easily improve.
I had a dominator. Lovely things. It would be a real shame to turn it into a boat anchor.
Fitting a 17" wheel won't screw up the handling, a million super motards can't be wrong, and if you want to sharpen up the handling more you can then drop the forks in the yokes to suit.
I'd be more concerned at the front tyre size, i.e. select a suitable tyre profile to match the rear (check out road going bikes with a similar rear wheel size), get the right rim to fit that tyre and then make sure it fits between the forks at it's widest point.
Do not fit tyres that look like the ones in the picture, that will definitely screw up the handling.
Depending on how much you steepen the head angle, you might need to experiment with preload or grades and quantity of fork oil to stop the front end diving too much under braking.
Nice project, enjoy.
ps You will loose money on it, good condition Dommies are getting rare and most customs don't go for as much as originals.
Fitting a 17" wheel won't screw up the handling, a million super motards can't be wrong, and if you want to sharpen up the handling more you can then drop the forks in the yokes to suit.
do you really mean that, or do you mean drop the yokes down the fork legs?
That second one looks nice but I bet it rides like a pig. I'd just ride the Dommie tbh. You would need to spend a lot to make it look "custom". If you were to modify it the Dakar look would be a betterfit imo.
The second one looks fantastic, those tyres wouldn't be much fun though. If you wanted the look there are lots of street biased "trail" tyres.
Do it to something else, please ! Standard Dommies one of the best real motorcycles ever made.
Picky, picky, picky Mr Porter, you obviously know what I mean !
Poorly written, I must agree, but I'm tired and I've got "The Cold" 😳
Yep, I'm fully aware that customising is highly unlikely to improve any bike or car. I just really like the look of the flat tracker style but don't want to ruin the thing.
kd48 - it wouldn't be done with a view to making money, just a fun project. Realistically, I'll probably just keep it original as it is very tidy and low miles.
Been doing some research and it seems a rear tyre on the front is a very bad move unless it really is just dry weather pooling. But, there is a front specific version of the tires I already have (distanzia) in a supermoto size. Hmmmm....
It's not the obvious thing to do to a dommie. Put it this way, they do some things brilliantly well, so if you want to do one of those things, don't **** it up. And if you want it to do anything else, well, it probably won't, and it certainly won't do it as well.
Out of curiosity, why did you choose it in the first place? With the intention of modding it, or for the bike it already is?
Yeah Dommies are good but so dull. That bottom picture makes me want to keep and chop my CCM not sell it
That one was for sale very near me, I had a dommie bought it new in 1999 wish I'd kept it, was a blue and silver one, needed better brakes and was always needing the chain adjusted, fitted mig exhausts and it was epic, brilliant noise and the occasional back fire! Magic on single track twisty roads, happy days!
Why do I even bother trying to post pics to this forum?
I had one. Rode it from here through France, over the Pyranees, round the coast of Spain and into Morocco. The back. Flipping brilliant bike. Bought it for £950 !
Personally I would not alter it a bit.
What is it about the handling you want to improve ? Or do you just want to change the handling ?
If you do alter it, dont forget to tell Honda, Im sure they would love to know how you improved one of their classics 😉
Who cares what Honda think? The original looks dull, strip it!
Do it that 2nd bike looks sweeeet
bin the faring, smaller tank and saddle and chop the back end off. Take it from there!
Bought a black and silver dommie new in 96. Rode round the picos in Northern Spain on it. Cracking bike let down by a titchy 16 litre tank. The thing would stop with anything round country lanes. Just ran out of steam on faster roads. I remember the stand being quite long and it fell over a few days after picking it up which was annoying. Honda build quality too.
What is it about the handling you want to improve ? Or do you just want to change the handling ?
I don't want to mod it to change the handling. I want to mod it to look cool and chunky, but I don't want it to look nice and ride uselessly in the process, like some sort of hideous chopper or something.
What I was really asking was, has anyone real world experience of thi sort of thing? Will the handling be slightly worse (expected) or totally crap?
If the tank is too small, weather protection crap and the seat uncomfy that's no problem. It's primarily for short rides on sunny days. Not commuting, touring or knee down scratching.
If you're at all bothered about it holding it's value don't do anything non-reversible to it. I had one too but sold it after not very long as I've never got on with big singles.
I've been looking at these for a while and the customs done nicely seem to sell for a lot more than standard ones.
This one sold for £2100, thats £900 more than I paid for mine.
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The Dominator handles surprisingly well with a 17 inch front wheel. A mate had one with RGV250 wheels and fork lowers fitted. The RGV fork lowers went on to the Domie legs fairly easily. Bob Farnham did the conversion and a fair bit of tuning to the motor. It still wasn't as fast as my TDR250 with TZR wheels, a wide spread tune and taken out to 270cc. In fact said mate bought the TDR from me and still has it today.
That black and silver one is amazing.
@bedmaker just do it! Don't worry about the resale value; it's _your_ bike so do what the hell you want with it. If the handling is screwed there is another little project tune it until you like it.
I seized a friend's Dominator on the M3 once. Some welding was done to the frame (stand I think) and the Garage didn't realise there was oil in the frame; didn't check it. Dooh.
IMO they're pretty dull standard
*hides
Its your motorcycle do what you want to it!
Go to the [url= http://redmaxspeedshop.com/ ]Red Max Speed Shop[/url] and get a different tank and seat unit and change the headlamps, pop some R6 forks or CRB forks on and relace the wheels to 19 inches and stick flat track tyres on.
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CG125 tank on this one looks tidy.
if if floats your boat, go for it.
some inspiration
http://www.returnofthecaferacers.com/
http://www.sideburnmag.blogspot.co.uk/ (flat track blog but there are some lovely looking bikes in the blog)
and only slightly related
http://sideburnmag.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/jasons-new-engine.html
rotax engine my brother built for someone using our billet anodised crankcases. i thought they were rather nice...
Now I have a Rotax still in a perfectly good CCM. Bred to death with it, maybe it needs cutting up.
Anyone want to buy a tidy Dominator? 🙂
Something came up for sale locally and I couldn't help myself, the first roar from the Akropovic did it for me.
I'm smitten 😆
[img][url= https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3825/12676702103_c0690dfd31_c.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/60407271@N04/12676702103/ ]Untitled[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/60407271@N04/ ]LOVATSTOVES[/url], on Flickr[/img]
It's surprising how much grip a set of supermoto wets give on fire roads!
The Dommie is now on Gumtree.
That's a points collector right there 🙂