Photo: Ondrej Zdichynec
Seeking to build a custom tribute to the great Paris-Dakar rally founder Thierry Sabine, Gas & Oil Bespoke Motorcycles naturally picked the tried-and-true Dominator platform as a starting point. To be exact, the donor was a 1998 variant of Honda’s NX650 family, which had seen its fair share of bad luck before getting picked up by Matej Sysel and his team.
It was stolen from the owner, crashed, and returned to him around six months later in a sorry state. The man decided to give it a second chance at life in custom form, so he wasted no time getting in touch with the Czech artisans at Gas & Oil (G&O). With the donor on their workbench, the guys performed a customary teardown and proceeded to delete all its factory bodywork.
Center-stage, you will now see the repurposed fuel tank of an XL500, fronting a bespoke subframe that’s been fabricated from scratch. Atop the new frame tubing lies a custom-made saddle upholstered in black leather, and it's flanked by triangular aluminum side covers which conceal a laser-cut battery tray. A couple of tiny alloy plates are placed behind the seat, as well, so as to form a tail section of sorts.
G&O finished off the creature’s outfit with high-mounted fenders at both ends, placing the license plate bracket and lighting straight onto the rear unit. The NX650’s single-cylinder engine was rebuilt inside out, subsequently gaining Uni air filtration paraphernalia and a handmade exhaust system. The latter ends in a Sharon muffler fitted nice and high on the right-hand side.
Unsprung territory is now home to a fresh pair of aftermarket rims from Excel, measuring 19 inches at the front and 18 inches at the opposite end. In terms of rubber, Gas & Oil went with a Continental TKC 80 tire up north and Shinko’s chunky Adventure Trail compound down south. The Dominator saw its brake calipers refurbished, while the original discs have been replaced with GOLDfren alternatives front and back.
Matej and his accomplices decided to retain the standard forks, but they deleted the bike’s OEM shock absorber in favor of a modern YSS part. This bad boy is 30 millimeters (1.2 inches) longer than the original, helping the modded NX650 achieve the desired posture. In the cockpit, there’s a cross-braced Renthal handlebar outfitted with minimalistic controls, but the aftermarket goodness continues a bit further ahead.
It does so in the form of a classy headlight assembly from Acerbis, and the motorcycle’s ergonomic package is completed by billet aluminum foot pegs. Lastly, the color scheme was inspired by the Rothmans NXR750 rally bike, mixing blue, white, and red along with pinches of gold. The machine was nicknamed TSM upon completion, which literally stands for Thierry Sabine Motorcycle.
Center-stage, you will now see the repurposed fuel tank of an XL500, fronting a bespoke subframe that’s been fabricated from scratch. Atop the new frame tubing lies a custom-made saddle upholstered in black leather, and it's flanked by triangular aluminum side covers which conceal a laser-cut battery tray. A couple of tiny alloy plates are placed behind the seat, as well, so as to form a tail section of sorts.
G&O finished off the creature’s outfit with high-mounted fenders at both ends, placing the license plate bracket and lighting straight onto the rear unit. The NX650’s single-cylinder engine was rebuilt inside out, subsequently gaining Uni air filtration paraphernalia and a handmade exhaust system. The latter ends in a Sharon muffler fitted nice and high on the right-hand side.
Unsprung territory is now home to a fresh pair of aftermarket rims from Excel, measuring 19 inches at the front and 18 inches at the opposite end. In terms of rubber, Gas & Oil went with a Continental TKC 80 tire up north and Shinko’s chunky Adventure Trail compound down south. The Dominator saw its brake calipers refurbished, while the original discs have been replaced with GOLDfren alternatives front and back.
Matej and his accomplices decided to retain the standard forks, but they deleted the bike’s OEM shock absorber in favor of a modern YSS part. This bad boy is 30 millimeters (1.2 inches) longer than the original, helping the modded NX650 achieve the desired posture. In the cockpit, there’s a cross-braced Renthal handlebar outfitted with minimalistic controls, but the aftermarket goodness continues a bit further ahead.
It does so in the form of a classy headlight assembly from Acerbis, and the motorcycle’s ergonomic package is completed by billet aluminum foot pegs. Lastly, the color scheme was inspired by the Rothmans NXR750 rally bike, mixing blue, white, and red along with pinches of gold. The machine was nicknamed TSM upon completion, which literally stands for Thierry Sabine Motorcycle.
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