Tweet
Re: Bajaj Dominar 400 Ownership Experience Thread
Hi Iceman,
Acceleration - No 2 ways to say it, but compared to NS, its brutal. Overtakes are easier in the city than they were with the NS and are relatively smoother. No jerkiness when you open the tap. It moves ahead as if with a purpose. The FI really makes the process seamless. There is a lot of punch in the higher gears too (advantage of the massive torque). I have witnessed that in the 5th gear too, doing as low as 55, opening the throttle brings decent acceleration (of course I dont recommend doing 55 in 5th, but for the sake of testing the acceleration I have done it a few times) with a millisecond of delay. Its nothing that spoils the fun though.
Manoeuvrability - As good as the NS, once you get used to the weight. In fact i feel I can take u - turns quicker and with more confidence than with the NS. This bike holds its line better on long sweeping turns too. The NS felt like a rogue switchblade, this feels like a scalpel. The wide handlebars feel more connected than the clip ons and this feedback from the handle allows me to use my body weight to turn the bike better. There was a learning curve to this in the initial few weeks, but it feels very natural and comfortable now.
Riding in city - As compared to NS, it does heat up in bumper to bumper and though people say its negligible, in the off chance that you are wearing shorts/bermudas, your calves will feel the heat. The clutch is smoother and since I use engine braking to slow down a lot, the slipper clutch really adds to the comfort factor when downshifting quickly. Frankly I had felt that its not of much use in city riding but it does come into play and makes the downshift transition smoother and drama free. Gears are unfortunately the bane of otherwise a bountiful package. They are rough and clunky. I remember the NS was much smoother even in the break in period and I think Bajaj has fumbled in this regard. The first 3 gears seem very short and ideal for 70% of the traffic situations. I mostly like the 4th one best since it gives the best of all worlds and is perfect for the speed bracket I travel in. 5th and 6th seem appropriate for the highways.
Smoothness - The NS was smoother! I have not been able to wrap my head around this either, but there is no point lying to myself. After the switch to FS oil the NS ran much smoother than the Dominar is currently running and that is a fact I have to live with now. That being said, the test ride bike which had more than 5000 kms on it, was smoother than the NS and so I have my fingers crossed for a brighter (smoother) future!
Mileage - Not to obsess about it, but previous to 1st service I was getting about 25-26 KMPL, which was ok and after the service I got 28-30 KMPL, which is the more than one should expect in 100% city riding. My NS with wide spec tyres used to give me 35-40 KMPL.
Suspension - Doesnt seem to exist! Yes thats right, its excellent for quick directional changes but i can feel every bump on the road. Its not plush and I also didnt get it loosened in the first service. I should have done that. But in this regard my experience is the same as the NS.
VFM - Better than the NS (you probably knew this already).
Special Mention - ABS - this thing is a boon. I recently (and idiotically) was going faster than I should have on a beautiful stretch of road with my wife as pillion and moments before hitting it, I realized that a new speed breaker had cropped up (of course it wasnt painted). From more than 65 kmph i shed the right amount of speed in a matter of moments, but I admit had I not had the safety net of the ABS i would have to take that speed breaker at a frighteningly high speed.
Hope this helps.
Originally posted by abhiiceman
View Post
Acceleration - No 2 ways to say it, but compared to NS, its brutal. Overtakes are easier in the city than they were with the NS and are relatively smoother. No jerkiness when you open the tap. It moves ahead as if with a purpose. The FI really makes the process seamless. There is a lot of punch in the higher gears too (advantage of the massive torque). I have witnessed that in the 5th gear too, doing as low as 55, opening the throttle brings decent acceleration (of course I dont recommend doing 55 in 5th, but for the sake of testing the acceleration I have done it a few times) with a millisecond of delay. Its nothing that spoils the fun though.
Manoeuvrability - As good as the NS, once you get used to the weight. In fact i feel I can take u - turns quicker and with more confidence than with the NS. This bike holds its line better on long sweeping turns too. The NS felt like a rogue switchblade, this feels like a scalpel. The wide handlebars feel more connected than the clip ons and this feedback from the handle allows me to use my body weight to turn the bike better. There was a learning curve to this in the initial few weeks, but it feels very natural and comfortable now.
Riding in city - As compared to NS, it does heat up in bumper to bumper and though people say its negligible, in the off chance that you are wearing shorts/bermudas, your calves will feel the heat. The clutch is smoother and since I use engine braking to slow down a lot, the slipper clutch really adds to the comfort factor when downshifting quickly. Frankly I had felt that its not of much use in city riding but it does come into play and makes the downshift transition smoother and drama free. Gears are unfortunately the bane of otherwise a bountiful package. They are rough and clunky. I remember the NS was much smoother even in the break in period and I think Bajaj has fumbled in this regard. The first 3 gears seem very short and ideal for 70% of the traffic situations. I mostly like the 4th one best since it gives the best of all worlds and is perfect for the speed bracket I travel in. 5th and 6th seem appropriate for the highways.
Smoothness - The NS was smoother! I have not been able to wrap my head around this either, but there is no point lying to myself. After the switch to FS oil the NS ran much smoother than the Dominar is currently running and that is a fact I have to live with now. That being said, the test ride bike which had more than 5000 kms on it, was smoother than the NS and so I have my fingers crossed for a brighter (smoother) future!
Mileage - Not to obsess about it, but previous to 1st service I was getting about 25-26 KMPL, which was ok and after the service I got 28-30 KMPL, which is the more than one should expect in 100% city riding. My NS with wide spec tyres used to give me 35-40 KMPL.
Suspension - Doesnt seem to exist! Yes thats right, its excellent for quick directional changes but i can feel every bump on the road. Its not plush and I also didnt get it loosened in the first service. I should have done that. But in this regard my experience is the same as the NS.
VFM - Better than the NS (you probably knew this already).
Special Mention - ABS - this thing is a boon. I recently (and idiotically) was going faster than I should have on a beautiful stretch of road with my wife as pillion and moments before hitting it, I realized that a new speed breaker had cropped up (of course it wasnt painted). From more than 65 kmph i shed the right amount of speed in a matter of moments, but I admit had I not had the safety net of the ABS i would have to take that speed breaker at a frighteningly high speed.
Hope this helps.
Comment