When sourcing a donor bike for a custom build, usually buying an already modified and unfinished project sight unseen isn’t the recommended procedure. But owner Prince was intent on making ‘a silk purse out of a sow’s ear’ when this 1995 Honda Dominator NX650 turned up at his house.

Originally produced by Honda from 1988 to 2003, the Dominator NX650 was a dual-sport motorcycle that could handle general on and off-road riding with ease. The air/oil cooled 650cc Honda engines were largely renowned for being robust and featured an electric start as well.

Layout was the general road trail adventure style as developed in the 80’s and by the mid 90’s this type of all round bike was really hitting favour with owners who needed one bike to do it all. Despite being nearly 30 years old, the bike's simple and reliable design mean that many in good working order are still kicking around today, being used for commuting, light off-road adventures and proving to also be popular for custom builds.

So they’re a decent road trail bike, but why was Prince intent on using one for his current custom build? Well it seems the thumping Hondas had been a part of the family, Prince explains… “I always admired the old Thumper Hondas my dad had back in the mid 80s - Dad had recently passed away in 2020 and I had missed out on working on a bike with him, but I wanted to have a culture and build memories around bikes with my kids. I'd love for this to be a legacy bike for them to hold onto into the future.”

Read the full feature here | See the BikeBound feature