When the Honda Dax was brought back into production a couple of years ago, K-Speed wasted little time getting their grubby paws on it. The Thai powerhouse’s founder, the mysterious Mr Eak, had a 50 cc Dax as a teenager—and the workshop is particularly good at customizing small Hondas. So a K-Speed-customized Dax was inevitable.
Two years on, and K-Speed is still finding interesting ways to cram massive levels of badassery into Honda’s bite-sized mini-bike. This time, they’ve turned the Dax into an uber-sassy—albeit impossibly compact—café racer.
Although K-Speed churns out countless custom bikes a year for paying customers, this one was a shop build. Eak wanted to see how far he could push the 2024-model Honda ST125 Dax, visually, without modifying its pressed steel frame (which also houses its fuel tank). Luckily K-Speed has an extensive range of Honda mini-bike parts to draw from, manufactured under their ‘Diabolus’ brand.
Dubbed ‘Puppy Racer,’ K-Speed’s custom Honda Dax benefits most from a radical stance adjustment. The crew started with a new Diabolus front end, comprising upside-down forks and a more modern-looking top yoke. It sits lower than the stock setup, as do the twin Diabolus shocks that now prop up the rear.
Dax aficionados will also notice that this one rolls on bigger wheels than the factory items. K-Speed installed 14” hoops front and back, equipping them with solid wheel covers. Jumping from 12” to 14” wheels was reportedly no easy task, requiring much fettling to execute.
K-Speed fiddled with the swingarm too, extending it by four inches and welding in a brace to strengthen it. The brakes were upgraded with new hoses and discs.
Given the design of the Dax’s chassis, there’s not a lot of bodywork to modify. K-Speed simply ditched the front and rear fenders, and swapped the saddle out for a café racer-esque unit from the Diabolus catalog. A handmade fork brace replaces the front fender.
Despite the extreme riding position, K-Speed still wanted to add a hint of practicality to the Dax. So they fabricated a small rack to sit in front of the seat, with a tubular frame out back, wrapped around the bike’s generous taillight.
The cockpit features clip-on handlebars, fitted with Diabolus grips, bar-end mirrors, and vintage-style micro-switches. A pair of machined plugs fill the holes where the handlebar clamps would usually sit. And if you’re looking for the OEM speedo, it’s been relocated to the left-hand side of the bike, leaving the control area as sparse as possible.
Other modifications to the running gear include swish new rear-set foot controls, a swingarm-mounted license plate bracket, and LED turn signals.
K-Speed left the engine’s internals alone, but made it just an ounce more belligerent with a gorgeous Diabolus exhaust. Complete with a dual-exit muffler and a heat shield with mesh-backed cutouts, it wouldn’t look out of place on a bigger bike. A handful of dress-up parts add some visual heft to the engine’s exterior, along with a black cover for the Dax’s chromed side box.
In true K-Speed style, the Dax’s fuselage is painted in matte black, sporting Diabolus branding and darkened Honda badges.
Once again, K-Speed has knocked the diminutive Dax right out of the park. Is it practical? No. But do we care? Also, no.
Just give us a blank Honda Dax and a box of K-Speed parts, and we’ll be the coolest kid outside the local ice cream shop in no time.
from Bike EXIF https://ift.tt/hl1Dixu
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