the motorcycle brand bajaj auto has
been synonymous with affordable
performance for the past decade and half
thanks to its pulsar's now the pulsars quite
literally redefined the performance
motorcycle segment in india and the
dominar 400 is now here the dominar
promises to take that legacy forward
being the biggest and most powerful
offering from bajaj yet while be shocking
affordable but can the domniar really be
the Shocker that it promises to be does it
has the potential to be the best
sub 2 lakh motorcylce in the country
time to swing the leg on this machine I
find out
the dominar has an aggressive stance like
a street fighter and it catches our
attention instantly especially in the
shade of white a lot of credit for the
head-turning abilities also go to
all led headlines on this motorcycle
which are always on the headlight is
definitely one of the biggest flaunt on
this bike apart from the large muscular
looking fuel tanks now it's almost like
the entire motorcycle has been built
around the fuel tank and engine which are
package tightly together
the dominar front-heavy design looks
impressive particularly with is
aggressively design headlight and white
fuel tank extensions the bfe 43 front
folks add more visual mask while the
perimetal frames gives the dominar the
appearance of a middleweight naked
streetbike the fuel tank leaves onto the
street feet with look slim and
proportions but it's properly
accommodating thanks to its widht
however shorter riders might just find seating
to be on the taller side due to the width of the
seat the pillion seat is wide and long
too and should be comfortable as well
the exhaust design in keeping with
the rest of the motorcycles and it jells
well with the overall design the tail lights
could have been designed better though
since they do not look as distinctive
as the rest of the motorcycle the
Machine finished alloy wheels also add to
the dominar's handsome look
in keeping with the screaming
positioning the dominar get some
interesting features apart-from-all in
headlamp now features include stuff like
a slipperclutch now slipperclutch
previously seen on the ktm but this now
dominar is the most affordable
motorcycle to get a slipperclutch it also
get abs for both wheels but unlike the
KTM you cannot switch the abs
off
the Dominar gets a detailed instrument
cluster that split into two half the
main unit is an all digital display which
uses a a black background and gives all
the information in white it is pretty
comprehensive and includes a large
tachometer and speedometer along with
the two trip meters of fuel gage clock
neutral indicator and shift light as
well the tachometer is calibrated up to
13,000 rpm but the revlimiter
cuts in sharply at 9,500 rpm itself the
ten lights for stuff like the battery
charge coolant temperature abs and high
beem sit on a separate unit mounted
onto the fuel tank and the unit looks
nice but to view it you need to take
your eyes off the road and look down
what I really liked about the digital
display tough is that it is legible even
in bright sunlight
however the dominar does miss out on
stuff like that digital gear indicator a
distance to empty dot in instrument
consoles and considering that this is
meant to be a power cruiser or a touring motorcycle
a set of hooks to hold the
luggage would have been nice to it isn't
surprising that the dominar uses liquid cool
singles cylinder 373 cc engine
the same basic architecture as the
ktm 390 Duke of course both the bikes
are manufactured by bajaj that's why the
similarity but the dominar's output is
less at 35 ps and the par delivery is more relaxed as well
in our tests this motorcycle clocks
0-100 time of 8.4
seconds with a fairly decent
considering the bike overall heavy weight
of a 182 kilos
and that weight is because bajaj has tried to price
dominar 400 very aggressively and has been
sparing with the use of ultralight and
ultra expensive materials to keep
cost in check that said bajaj has
of course added its own tech to the engine so
the dominar's motor gets the same tripple
spark plug technology as the pulsar's for
better combustion and a punch year mid-range
the overall effect is a more relaxed power
delivery and clearly the engine and gear box
have been tune to offer a good cruising
ability rather than frantic acceleration
its mid-range part delivery has to be
one of the biggest highlights of this
engine as the surge of torque from about
4000 RPM almost all the way up to the red line
this is helpful in the city as a strong
mid range ensures you do not need the
work the gearbox continously
so after a days worth of riding i can
confirm that the dominanr engine is refine
but it could certainly do with better
vibration damping at high speeds that is
a buzz from the foot of the fuel
tank and the seat as well and it gets a
bit discomforting at times but that said
cruising at a hundred and twenty kmps
six-year is no problem at all on this
motorcycle which should help a firm to its
credential responses are quick and
even when overtaking on open roads at
twist of the throttle is enough thanks to
the responsive engines and the strong
mid range performance at the top of
impressive as well and an artist the
dominar 400 manage the top speed of a
hundred and thirty-seven point four km
per hour which is
impressive moving to the transmission
clutch action that delivers on the
heavier side but the effort required is
never too much the six-speed gearbox
offers precise shifts though shift feel could
have been better
also the slipperclutch will certainly be a
boom from new riders and it helps
avoiding locking up of the real wheel
aggressive downshifts the use of
a lightweight forced crankshaft and fuel
injection do their bit in making the engine
feel refined and it even sounds so the
dominar sounds similar to the pulsar's
especially the newer ones like the
200 NS and the rs200
but we really should have a bit more
muscle it's exhaust note too
riding position is not too aggressive
or sporty you sit slightly candid
forward and the foot pits are slightly
rear set but it is comfortable i have
no trouble being on this bike for over a
couple of hours and thats also the courtesy
the seat which is wide and well
cushioned also the handle bars are positioned well
which makes it easy to hold onto them
be it a city or on the highway
when it comes to handling the dominar feels light
on its speed
despite the heavy curved weight
it is quick to change directions or turn into corners
but the right quality border lines stiff
it's the rear suspensions that feels stiffer
especially when going over bumps speeds
but it is this very set of that makes
the dominar a sporty handler on hilly roads
the chassis and suspension allowed us to
flick the bike from side to side quickly
and a grip from the wide mrf
tires is particularly impressive around
corners a more progressive field from
the front brake would have been nicer
though as the forks tend to dive down
when you have a handful of the front brake lever
on the whole the dominanr 400 is
certainly well mannered when it comes to handling
with prices starting at Rs.1.36 lakh
ex showroom in new delhi dominar 400 usp
has to be affordable performance now
these prices are introductory but that
does not mean that this motorcycle is
not value for money and in that sense
the dominanr 400 has what it takes to
carry forward the band legacy there are
still a few rough edges on the motorcycle like
burp from the engine and the
slightly stiff ride but with its kind of
designs the comfort performance and
handling this is definitely a likable
motorcycle bajaj claims the bike will
return a decent 30 to 35 kmpl in the
real world and overall there's a lot of
things about the motorcycle to back its
credentials as bajaj calls it a power cruiser
or a touring motorcycle but the
biggest question on everybody's mind is
how will it fare against the royal enfield
and the mahindra mojo and that should be
really interesting given the whole
packaging of this product