Dab Design LM#5, The 2-Stroke Wheelie Weapon
The Dab Design LM#5 is the fifth build in the LM series created by Simon Dabadie, a 26-year-old French builder with a background in 3D printing and stints at Roland Sands Design and Deus Ex Machina. Where previous LM builds used four-stroke engines, the LM#5 goes further: it is built around a Honda CR500, one of the few legal 360-series CR500s homologated by French dealer Diapason between 1994 and 1998. The result is a 100-kg, 65-horsepower two-stroke supermoto that Dabadie describes, without exaggeration, as the perfect wheelie weapon.
The Engine: A Two-Stroke Half-Litre Beast
The CR500 was found abandoned in a customer's garage. Dabadie stripped it completely and rebuilt the two-stroke liquid-cooled single from the bottom up, using only the best available components throughout. Scalvini created the handmade expansion chamber, paired to an FMF Powercore 2 silencer. The carburettors have been re-jetted and run on K&N filters fed through a 3D-printed intake pipe: a characteristic detail that reflects Dabadie's background in additive manufacturing. Cooling is handled by a single uprated heat exchanger, replacing the twin-radiator arrangement of the original CR500, because the slim custom frame simply does not have the space for two.
A Diapason conversion provides the electrical rewiring, and a minimal Motogadget Motoscope mini instrument is mounted atop the triple clamps, providing the only concession to rider information. Everything else is stripped away.
Chassis, Suspension, and Brakes
The chassis setup was developed in close collaboration with Bud Racing. Bud CNC-machined the wheel hubs, and Excel rims are fitted with Michelin Powersport racing tyres. A modified Ohlins MX 48 RXF fork has been adapted to the lightweight CR, while the rear uses an Ohlins unit with aggressive custom modifications. Simon designed and machined the triple clamps himself using Solidworks: the kind of detail that separates a genuine custom build from a parts-catalogue assembly. Beringer brake discs complete the package, the same units chosen by top supermoto racers.
The entire rear frame has been redesigned by Dabadie, with a welded integrated stoplight. Unlike the translucent flax composite number boards used on earlier LM machines, the LM#5 uses a laser-cut number board, a cleaner detail that suits the bike's uncompromising character. The seat is upholstered in buffalo leather with additional padding, the one comfort concession in an otherwise unforgiving build. Unlike previous LM builds, this one uses a laser-cut number board instead of the translucent flax composite ones.
Finish: The Darkest Black Possible
The LM#5 is finished in Harley-Davidson Vivid Black, the darkest production black available and a paint that has a depth conventional gloss blacks cannot match. The swingarm, frame, and side cases are all powder-coated to match. The combination of matte and gloss black surfaces, the raw mechanical components, and the complete absence of unnecessary decoration gives the LM#5 a visual intensity that photographs barely capture.
TheArsenale has worked with Dab Design across multiple projects, including the exclusive Dab 1-Alpha TheArsenale Edition electric motorcycle. Explore the full TheArsenale Motorcycles collection to discover the most extraordinary custom and performance bikes available, and see the Hazan Motorworks Musket for another example of custom engineering taken to its logical extreme.
