One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Or, in the case of this Honda Dominator supermoto, one man’s blown engine is the perfect starting point for another man’s rowdy custom bike project.
The bike belongs to Dario Di Mauro—one half of the Sicilian custom workshop Hardcore Division. He bought the 1993-model Honda NX650 Dominator from a friend who had given up on it after its piston destroyed itself. And since it was a non-runner, Dario picked it up for the reasonable sum of just €300 [about $300].
Rather than earmark the Dominator as a potential donor for future client work, Dario decided to keep it for himself. Together with Hardcore Division’s co-founder, Francesco, he spent late nights in the workshop turning it into an aggressive supermoto with classic scrambler style. “The goal was to create an agile and high-performance motard, starting from a base that no one would have ever bet on,” he says.
A Honda XR650 cylinder head and camshaft facilitated the Dominator’s much-needed engine rebuild. Next, Hardcore Division fabricated a two-into-one exhaust system that snakes through the frame, terminating in a custom-made muffler from Mistral in Italy.
Dario and Francesco set about radically reworking the Dominator’s suspension next. A set of WP Suspension forks, lifted from a KTM 690 SMC R, went onto the front, while the rear end was treated to a Husqvarna swingarm and an adjustable shock from Shock Factory in the UK. The swingarm conversion wasn’t exactly a plug-and-play affair; it took some deft lathe work to make everything fit.
17” Excel rims were laced to a KTM front hub and a Husqvarna rear hub, and shod with Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV tires. Brembo brake calipers handle stopping duties at both ends.
With the Honda Dominator supermoto conversion well underway, Hardcore Division switched their focus to its aesthetics. Dario wanted some vintage details, so he salvaged a 1976 Honda CB500 Four fuel tank and adapted it to fit the Dominator.
Getting it to sit just right meant modifying the bike’s frame too. So the duo hacked the entire rear half of the frame off, fabricating a new subframe to simultaneously accommodate the tank and tidy up the rear end. All that’s visible in the frame triangle is a pod filter, the exhaust header, and a slim electrics box.
A tracker-style seat sits up top, capped off with chic upholstery by the Italian motorcycle seat specialist Volcano. Out back, a small LED taillight is integrated into the frame rail, positioned just above a short fender.
At the opposite end of the bike, a generous high-mounted fender is held in place by a classic enduro-style fender bracket. A vintage Hella headlight sits above it, complete with its unmistakable cover.
Dario installed a new set of tapered Neken handlebars, fitted with Magura grips, a Domino fast throttle, and Brembo levers. The crew rewired the whole bike, trimming down the switches to the bare essentials in the process. A Daytona Velona speedo sits front and center, while the ignition now lives just below the fuel tank on the right-hand side.
Keeping with the vintage theme, Dario called in a friend, Vincenzo Giustolisi, to lay down a classic Honda CB500-inspired livery. Look closely, and you’ll notice that the silver bits are all silver leaf work—right down to the ‘h’ embellishment on the front fender.
With Dario’s Honda Dominator supermoto buttoned up, he handed it to a friend (who’s also a racing instructor) to let loose on their local supermoto track. The shakedown confirmed two things; not only does the bike look absolutely bonkers, but it runs just as well too.
Hardcore Division Instagram | Images by Andrea Paternò
