Long before the advent of liquid-cooled adventure bikes and specialized motocross weapons, there was the scrambler. In the 1960s and 70s, “scrambling” was a simple affair: take a lightweight street bike, add high-mount pipes for water crossings, knobby tires for traction, and a braced handlebar for leverage. Honda mastered this formula early on with the CL series—bikes that weren’t just functional, but famously “unkillable.”
Today, the Honda scrambler is enjoying a massive resurgence. Custom builders are looking past the plastic fairings of modern donors to find the honest mechanical heart underneath. Whether it’s a pint-sized Monkey rally replica or a high-tech Africa Twin stripped of its “elec-trickery,” the goal remains the same: a bike that can handle the commute during the week and a fire road on Sunday. Here are six of our favorite Honda scramblers featured on Bike EXIF.
Frontwheel Motors’ ‘Rickman’ Restomod
The early days of off-road racing were dominated by specialists like Rickman, who built competition frames for British twins. Chandra Gunawan of Indonesia’s Frontwheel Motors wanted to capture that “International Six Day Trial” spirit using a humble 150 cc Honda MegaPro engine. To house the mill, he sourced a Yamaha Scorpio frame, proving that with enough vision, a “Frankenbike” can look like a factory prototype.
The build is a practice of cross-brand compatibility. Frontwheel scalped the running gear from a Kawasaki KLX, including the forks and swingarm, then modified the latter for a classic twin-shock setup. The 21-inch front and 18-inch rear Excel rims are wrapped in Shinko tires, giving the small-capacity Honda a serious off-road stance. A Keihin carb and a custom stainless exhaust ensure the 150 cc engine punches above its weight.
The aesthetic is pure 1960s. Everything was fabricated by hand from metal, from the petite fuel tank to the high-mounted fenders. The livery—a deep green with gold striping—is a direct homage to the Rickman Metisse Triumph TR6 popularized by Steve McQueen. It’s a winsome machine that proves you don’t need a massive engine to create a massive impact. [MORE]
The ‘Mighty Monkey’ Rally Replica
Ek Chalermphol of Dirtshop Thailand has a well-documented obsession with 1980s Dakar Rally bikes. For this project, he applied that “big tank” energy to the unlikeliest candidate: a modern Honda Monkey. The philosophy was simple: “Turn Monkey into Mighty!” By blending the Monkey’s compact footprint with the aggressive DNA of a vintage XR600R, Ek created a mini-rally raid bike that is as capable as it is cute.
The centerpiece is a vintage fuel tank from a 1983 Honda XR125R. It required significant frame modifications to fit, but the bulbous tank atop the small chassis defines the retro rally vibe. The “Flash Red” plastics and blue vinyl seat are period-correct Honda tones, while the front end features dual KC lights mounted in a custom roll cage. An oil cooler from an XR250R is wrapped around the headstock for extra cooling during trail rides.
Despite its toy-like dimensions, the spec sheet is heavyweight. It features Öhlins suspension at both ends, Brembo brakes, and a Takegawa big-bore kit with double overhead cams. Laced wheels replaced the stock alloys, and an aluminum swingarm was added for durability. It’s a functional piece of nostalgia that looks ready to tackle a miniature Saharan dune. [MORE]
Auto Fabrica’s ‘Type 22’ Africa Twin
Modern adventure bikes are often criticized for their complexity, but the Muharemi brothers of Auto Fabrica see that complexity as a challenge. Their ‘Type 22’ is a retro-futuristic study on the Honda CRF1100 Africa Twin. They stripped away every piece of OEM plastic to create a machine that pays homage to the mid-80s NXR-750 rally bikes while retaining all the modern rider aids like cruise control and Apple CarPlay.
The bodywork is a feat of aluminum fabrication. A classic rally-style tank consists of hand-formed covers over a custom reservoir that houses the original fuel pump. The 3D-printed dual headlight nacelle gives the bike an aggressive, modern-enduro face, while the chunky solo saddle mimics the perches of vintage desert racers. Because unplugging the dash would “brick” the bike, the team relocated the TFT screen to a neat enclosure atop the fuel tank.
Mechanically, the bike is “no compromise.” It sits on full Öhlins suspension and stops via Brembo calipers. The exhaust is a full titanium system that snakes out the back, providing a soundtrack to match the bike’s race-ready looks. Finished in a stark white-and-red livery, the Type 22 looks less like a custom and more like a secret “HRC” skunkworks project. [MORE]
Morex Custom’s ‘Phantom’ Dominator
For France’s Morex Custom, the Honda NX650 Dominator was the perfect donor because it is famously “bulletproof.” Motocross riders by trade, the team wanted to turn this 1992 thumper into a sharp street scrambler that could take a beating. Since the original bike was in less than ideal condition, they performed a full engine rebuild, honing the cylinder and vapor-blasting the cases until they looked factory-fresh.
The Dominator’s silhouette was completely reimagined. They used a repurposed Yamaha 125 DTMX fuel tank and a 3D-printed tail section made from robust nylon. The front end was swapped for upside-down forks from a Yamaha WRF450, shortened to provide a “supermoto” stance. The 18-inch Excel rims are shod in Continental TKC80 tires, the gold standard for bikes that split their time between tarmac and dirt.
The “Phantom” earns its name from its monochromatic gloss black finish. The cockpit is ultra-sparse, featuring Neken motocross bars and a tiny Motogadget digital speedo mounted on a custom bracket. Every detail, from the honeycomb taillight grill to the embossed Morex logos, was handled in-house. It’s a minimalist, high-performance scrambler that honors the Dominator’s reliable heart. [MORE]
Mule Motorcycles’ XR650R ‘Elsinore’
When Matt Helders—drummer for the Arctic Monkeys—wanted a new bike, he went to the master: Richard ‘Mule’ Pollock. The brief was to take a 2000-spec Honda XR650R and make it look like a 1973 CR250 Elsinore. The XR650R is a liquid-cooled desert racer with 60 hp, making it an “absolute weapon” once the weight is trimmed and the suspension is dialed.
Mule swapped the stock forks for 41 mm units from a Honda Hawk 650GT and used a Triumph Bonneville lower triple clamp to achieve light, responsive steering. The tank is a heavily modified unit from a 1970s Yamaha MX400, painted in the iconic silver-and-green Elsinore scheme. The most striking feature, however, is the exhaust. It was handcrafted to look like a two-stroke expansion chamber, though it functions as a high-performance four-stroke pipe internally.
Despite its vintage MX appearance, the bike is fully street-legal. It features a PIAA headlight, a small Acewell gauge, and a Magura Supermoto front brake rotor. It’s a clever piece of mechanical misdirection that combines the legendary power of the “Big Red Pig” with the timeless aesthetics of Honda’s most famous motocrosser. [MORE]
Slipstream Creations’ CL350 Restomod
The Honda CL350 is the “iconic 70s scrambler,” and James Fawcett of Slipstream Creations is a specialist in bringing these small-capacity twins back to life. This 1972 model arrived in the shop with a Tupperware container for a taillight, yet the 49-year-old engine still ran—a testament to Honda’s build quality. Slipstream’s goal was to retain that approachable “fun” factor while sharpening the bike’s 50-year-old lines.
The team ditched the stamped steel subframe for a chromoly unit and shaved off the passenger peg mounts for a solo-rider focus. The front end was upgraded with forks and a disc brake from a Honda CB360, providing modern stopping power. Remarkably, they salvaged the original fuel tank, massaging out massive dents before applying a sophisticated light grey and gold color scheme.
The engine was kept relatively stock, save for a thorough service and a pair of pod filters. The iconic high-mount scrambler pipes were Cerakoted in black and capped with off-the-shelf mufflers for a crisp bark. With its integrated LED lighting and ultra-slim Trail Tech dash, this CL350 is a perfect blend of “box fresh” modernism and vintage soul. [MORE]
