Had one of these for a short period. Bought mine in Germany and even thoug it was a 1991 it was like new with low km's. Great with one up, but hopeless with my wife on back. Really fun bike in town or in the countryside but keep of motorways.
Would like to have one again as a winterbike.
Owned for 3 months.
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed October 2003.
Performance
Reliability
Parts Availability
Overall Value for Money
To put you in the picture, I had a 1979 CB650z for thirteen years, travelling 35 miles a day to/from work in summer & winter. I then traded it in with 165,000 miles on the clock, for my dream bike which was a 6 month old caspian blue 1993 Triumph Trident Sprint ex-demo, from the east lothian dealer (you know who I mean). Have you ever had a dream totally & utterly shattered ! what a heap of turd. Don't beleive those spoiled brats in the bike mags. excellent power/grunt/looks/sound of the triple motor when you wind it up in third but so unreliable. Definitely not an every-day bike. Slipping sprag cluthes, snapped alternator cush drive bolts, seizing rear brakes & final straw after 18 months from new - split cylinder head around exhaust stud due to corrosion expanding the alloy. Total dis-regard from Triumph H.Q. & 2 of 3 scottish dealers (not the one in Aberdeen) - Cue time for a change to something far more reliable with decent back-up & completely different, as my ultimate dream was shattered. Always fancied an XL250 or 500 when I was younger, so what the hell. - 5400 of your Scottish poonds secured a brand spanking new 95 model NX650S in the best colours available; Red with Yellow decals. By far the best colour option ever !. Have you noticed how Ducati have based the style of their latest 1995 stable on the Dommie;- red fairing & seat unit with "Kylie Minogue" like waist & the up-swept under-seat silencers. I'd have thought Honda would've sued by now!. Had the most fun ever on a motorcycle for the next 7 years (last year was a bit scary). I rode it through 7 Scottish summers & winters (sunnier in winter!) doing 35 miles to/from work daily. I read in an early Performance Bikes mag that Avon Gripsters were the tires to have for grip (they put a dommie on a track with them) & I have to agree, I found them excellent in the wet or dry (more wet than dry in central Scotland). The bike handles very predictably in both conditions, You know when the back's going to let go with plenty of warning (Original Pirelli's were down-right scary! - changed them after 3000 miles -long before they were bald). I found myself travelling to/from work on the B-roads rather than the dual carrageway or motorway. This was because: a) the bike doesn't like motorway travel. Too slow, straight & windy and: (b) A damn sight more fun on the twisties. Only down side is arriving at work covered in mud! - bloody Massey Fergusons! (or is that Harley Davidsons?- no matter, all flamin' agricultural machinery!). Although I recall having almost been knocked off by a buzzard struggling to take off from the road in front of me. Funnily enough, that seems more acceptable than being knocked off by a Volvo on the M9!. The Gripsters do give you plenty of grip (pardon the pun) & were always predictable in the wet. They however, lasted only 8000/5000 miles (consistently) for the front/rear respectively. I tried the rear "Distanzia" laterly, which took over from the "Gripster" & found it to be every bit as good (even with a "Gripster" front). The 5000 mile mark was also incidentally, the que to replace the chain & sprocket kit. A good quality RK or DID Heavy duty chain with daily (manual) coating of Scott oil, lasted as long as the original "O" ring EK kit (couldn't get my ex-CB650 Scott oiler to work on the Dominator. Didn't quite work out if it was the Dominator's engine pulses that prevented the oiler from staying open, of if it was just that the 10 year old oiler was knackered.) The "O" ring original chain lasted no longer than the first 5000 miles so wasn't worth the extra expence). Rain doesn't slow you down much with the Gripsters. I was only once caught out by the back end coming around to meet the front on a very slippery & oily roundabout. The beauty is,(apart from hurt pride) only the bar end weights (useful addition from standard) took a hit. Only ridiculously bad flaw from Honda is the cheap-skate option not to fit an oil pressure light to a bike that takes only 2 litres of oil. No.1 Very Important point to watch if you do your own servicing - when it's time to clean the strainer in the frame down tube, be absolutely sure you grip the pipe solid when you do up the union nut for the oil feed in the bottom. I didn't - & it resulted in the rubber inner twisting inside the braided outer thus starving the top end of oil. Not thinking to turn the engine over with the valve covers off to ensure adequate oil flow, I ran the bike to work & in 17 miles totally knackered the cam shaft & 3 rockers & valve guides. At least an oil pressure light would have given me a chance. 300 poonds damage for the re-build was bad enough, but it took me almost the same again with another cam & two valve rockers in another 17 miles, to realise the feed pipe was the culprit & was invisibly twisted inside the braid when tightened up. Oil flowed perfectly when you turned over the engine with the feed pipe dis-connected. My thanks go to Dave Silver spares for supplying the parts (twice) at discounted prices & especially to Dave Grieve Motorcycles for their expert assistance in rebuilding my bike & identifying the faulty pipe after I took it to them the second time. The only other problems I've had in 7 years,are; (i) The back shock gave up the ghost at about 35,000 miles & I was "shocked", nay, stunned to be told a new one from Honda would be 600 Quid!. Jeezus!!. All sorts of phone calls ensued & the nearest (only) possible alternative shock was from Hagon at 200 quid but, (hats off to them for their honesty) they were reluctant to sell me one for the 95 Dommie, as a frame number change that year meant their pre-95 shock may be the wrong spring/damping rate for my bike & they didn't do a 95 model replacement at that time. A local re-built for 125 notes squeezed another year & a half out of it before it started to feel soft again. A very worthwile investment was the "Ricky Products" centre-stand which I've found to be excellent in use & durability, although not as easy to fit as it could be. In it's last year, The Dommie's left me stranded at the road side twice. Both times by corroded connector blocks for the ingition (the blocks at the r/h side of the frame at the head stock are the culprits) & the continuous worry that the now very noisy ( & thisty for oil)engine was about to explode on me & deposite me under the wheels of a nasty big juggernaught thundering up my butt on the A92. Probably a legasy from the oil feed fiasco at about 28000 miles. In all fairness though, the 7 Scottish summers & winters I've had with this bike have been the most enjoyable i've ever had in 22 years of riding & I now realise how crap the road surfaces have become on our main roads, now that I've been riding a "normal" road bike for the last 18 months (Kawasaki ER5). Mabe the shock is worth 600 quid after-all!. Typically, Honda think of durability with the plastic coated wheel hubs, rubber isolated handlebars, thick paint on the frame, tank, engine & bodywork etc. The 7 winters have taken their toll on the alloy wheel rims though, which have corroded quite badly with the steel spoke nuts (should really fail an m.o.t. but didn't). The spacers for the shock linkage (although the bearings themselves are not) are quite expensive to replace. On the whole though, I would recommend a Honda Dominator to anyone who travels either in the town or that little bit farther off the beaten track, no matter what the weather. Don't look to do many motorway miles though!. although comfortable enough...it's not what its all about. I'd have mine back if I could do it!.
Owned for more than 5 years.
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