This Honda Dax Is Easily The Wildest Mini Moto You’ll See Today

Taiwan’s modified motorcycling culture is on a whole different level. Fabrication and badass design are their forte; these characteristics are not confined to custom sports bikes or cruisers. At a recently concluded custom bike show—Speed and Crafts—there was an interesting silver medal winner in the Freestyle class.

This stanced custom bike had an air suspension system, a cool paint job and livery, meticulously fabricated parts from aluminum and titanium, and even ceramic brakes. But even more surprising is that the custom bike battling it out against custom BMW, Ducati, and Harley custom bikes and winning silver was a Honda Minimoto!

N.J. Raptor: A Souped-Up Honda Dax Flat Tracker

A Complex Air Suspension System That Offers 4-inch Adjustment

This custom Honda Dax is the product of a creative collaboration between JZO Crafts and Kunimoto Hidetoshi. JZO is the main one who caters to many of the famed Rough Crafts’ fabrication needs, as his skills are exceptional. Kunimoto Hidetoshi founded Nemoto, a shop specializing in mini moto parts. The cool air suspension mod idea was Hidetoshi’s.

The beefy front inverted forks are from RacingBros. Air lines that run through a set of custom CNC’d triple clamps from GTR take care of its actuation system. These connect to the main air suspension module, which is cleverly hidden in the frame. The rear suspension system is much more complex. A RacingBros air-lift shock is mounted midway on a custom all-aluminum extended swingarm.

It is then run back to the main mounting point on the swingarm via a linkage. The rear suspension setup has a series of air lines; if you look closely, the rear air suspension main cylinder is visible through the sides. All images seen here have the suspension set to its lowest setting (stanced state). The cool suspension raising and lowering trick can be done using a remote control.

Sophisticated Parts And A Beautiful Livery

The Only Stock Part Is Its Main Frame

Every custom component on this modified Honda Dax is hand-built, which makes this creation even more special. Elevating its flat tracker side further is a set of 12-inch multi-piece rims from Monkey Kit. Wrapped around these lightweight rims are racing slicks. The rear gets a meaty 120-section tire that adds to its overall stance. The braking setup has been upgraded, too. Up front, radially mounted calipers are coupled to a gorgeous ceramic brake pad. At the back, you get ceramic pads and Brembo calipers.

The head-turning “under the hood” element is a sophisticated, handcrafted full exhaust system by JZO Crafts. Here, the header and mid-pipe are fabricated from sections of titanium. It curves from the engine and runs along the inside of the custom bodywork before exiting through the rear like a rocket thruster. The hidden section of its exhaust system and a custom aluminum fuel cell sit neatly tucked behind a custom-fabricated aluminum bodywork that also serves as a cool seat base.

The front fascia is custom-fabricated to mimic a flat tracker. A Baja auxiliary light handles lighting duties and sits behind a flat aluminum number board-styled fairing. A cool custom bit that most likely goes unnoticed is its aRacer iMode 5 controller, which also serves as the cockpit display. It is the control center for the air suspension and packs Bluetooth connectivity to allow remote engine tuning via a laptop. It also gets custom JZO X Nemoto startup graphics. Its custom bodywork has been visually enhanced with a classic Honda-inspired paint job and graphics, courtesy of ONEWAY.

Notable Custom Components On This Modified Honda Dax 125

• Domino grips and aftermarket levers
• 12-inch disc wheels wrapped with race slicks
• Custom flat-tracker-inspired headlamp casing
• Custom aluminum fuel cell hidden under a fabricated seat base.
• Slim LED taillamp strip neatly tucked into the back of the seat pan.
• Custom-fabricated bodywork with classic Honda-inspired paint job
• CNC-machined yokes from GTR help replace the stock mini-ape bars for sportier clip-ons.
• A complex handcrafted titanium exhaust system that runs through the body and exits like an underbelly exhaust system.

The Dax Has The Honda Grom’s Engine With A 5-Speed Manual

Comes With A Clear Clutch Cover

Jzo Crafts and Kunimoto Hidetoshi enhanced this custom Minimoto’s riding appeal by swapping the powertrain with that of the Honda Grom. While the 124cc air-cooled single is the same, the transmission differs. The Dax uses a four-speed semi-automatic unit, whereas the Grom packs a proper five-speed manual.

Custom components like a bell-mouthed velocity stack and a hydraulic clutch with the master cylinder placed on the clip-on bars further elevate this powertrain package’s involvement. Bits like the custom exhaust system and velocity stack should make a subtle difference in performance, especially with acceleration figures. The humble engine also gets visually elevated with custom covers and a transparent clutch.

Engine Specs