Bajaj Dominar 400 Ownership Experience Thread

[drvmtm]

Re: Bajaj Dominar 400 Ownership Experience Thread

Never heard bad paint quality of dominar s. My daughter regularly sit on the tank though a few scratches are visible, it's nothing too bad. Regular wash and wax pol waxing will do the trick.

[deepDmnr]

Re: Bajaj Dominar 400 Ownership Experience Thread

Yes dominar has 36% better power to weight ration when compared to fz25

Dudes, I am not an automotive engineer. But please check the FZ25 60kmph and 100kmph acceleration numbers. They are very close to that of Dominar. Why is the on road performance similar ? Because the engine power numbers are measured in a lab without the bike. Engine only. There is a reason why KTM and Kawasaki and formula race engineers bust their behinds to reduce kerb weight. Even a few kgs make a big difference on road. The numbers printed on a brochure are marketing material.

[Chetak.Jr]

Re: The Perfect Balance bike; DOMINAR 400

About me: Myself Abhai sankar(Thrissur,kerala) ,iam a medical student ,more than that iam a passionate petrol head.
Bikes i have owned in past :Bajaj discover 125,suzuki access 125 scooter,Apache RTR 180,Pulsar Rs 200.
BIKES I CURRENTLY OWN:KTM RC 390,BAJAJ DOMINAR 400.



DOMINAR 400 ; The perfect balance bike.

FLASH BACK; Before telling you about the bike, i have some flashback to go through regarding my previous Bajaj(Pulsar Rs 200). After my apache rtr 180 which served me a good 60000 kms i was looking for a worthy upgrade , thats when the Pulsar Rs 200 came out .The value for money with best power in the class and a single channel abs (Thought it was a bang for the buck).And that was the worst decision i made in my life(sorry to say this Rs 200 owners, just my opinion).It was a bike that ticked all boxes ,but does nothing perfectly. Poor handling(for a sports bike), poor touring capabilities (harder seat and ergonomics which is between sports and a street bike), Hell lot of vibrations, etc etc.. I really started hating that bike. Thats when I thought of buying an Rc 390 and went for it. It is a great sports bike ,it does what they say it does, i was fairly happy with it.But still sports ergonomics of that bike made it unusable for long rides and touring .I was really disappointed i had 2 bikes still i wasn't able to go on long tours . Thats when the Dominar 400 came out .

PATH TO DOMINAR: I came across Dominar 400 some time back when an add started playing in between a YouTube video.
I never felt like it was a bike of my taste. But following that constantly I started to see hypes abouts new Dominar 400 . Reviewers claiming this bike do that and this ,like that.But i was really skeptical about it , obviously due to my bitter experience from Plusar Rs 200. That was when I received a call from my Bajaj dealer (GRAND BAJAJ THRISSUR) asking me if i was interested in exchange it for Dominar 400. Even though i was not that much interested i thought of giving it a shot (any way i was not using pulsar Rs 200 anymore). So i went there ,got my pulsar Rs 200 inspected and in the mean time i took a test Ride on Dominar 400. Thats the point were everything changed ,that test ride. I was instantly in love with that bike ( i got nearly 5 km highway stretch for test ride). The bike felt amazing , it was the kind of bike i had in my mind for years( A powerful bike, with good handling , relaxed ergonomics , fairly good mileage at a good price) This bike nailed each of my needs.
[emoji72] and i was very sure what i needed to do. I expressed my interest for exchange and they arranged me a buyer. Within one week all the procedures were completed and sold the bike . On 14 feb ( valantines day) booking fee 9000Rs for my new found love. 16 Feb i paid the complete amount for my DOMINAR 400 ABS WHITE COLOUR(173400Rs including bumper to bumper insurance ). On 17 Feb evening 4:50 pm i got my bike delivered.[emoji4]
I really have to mention here that unlike when i bought my RS 200(which was my worst sales and aftersales experience ever) , The salesman DEEPAK , Who took my booking was very well manner and gave me excellent service . He was very frank about issues the bajaj bikes had and he didn't exaggerated a thing when he presented the bike.Everything was very prompt and I really felt like i was buying a honda city..Thats how they treated me. Fingers crossed for a good service.





[emoji4] [emoji4]
(I know photos are not that good[emoji12] , will post some later)
EXPERIENCE WITH MACHINE TILL NOW:
The odo marked 5 kms which is due to PDI ,i inspected the bike thoroughly before thaking the delivery and made sure everything is ok( ofcourse you have to, we are talking about bajaj here[emoji23] ). It had 3 litre petrol and i filled up to full tank from the nearest pump.
As of now 3 days ,300kms ( 100plus in highway, 80plus in city , Rest in the night)
The bike is in Running in period till 2000km , till that iam planning to limit the rpm below 4k and speed below 70km(actually its the rpm that you should look it , better don't ride above 4.5, its still have plenty of torque at 3-4k range ,unlike my ktm )

BUILT QUALITY: Good buildqulity for a Bajaj bike ( 100% better than my old Rs 200)
No visible gaps ( they gave me an option to choose the bike out of 5 bikes, so i choose on with no gaps.. 2 of them had fairly large gaps in their bikini fairing)
Excellent paint quality , better than my ktm.
Pedals and liver have good quality( but the break pedal could have been rubber coated like ktm )
Still there is lot to improve especially on the plastics
7/10

HANDLING : Its very flickable despite it higher weight ,i personally feel that this the best handling bike from the bajaj stable till now. It was fairly easy to handle in the city , i felt like i was using a benelli .its not a sharp handling maching like ktm rc 390 , but i felt its better flickable.Havent done any cornering , will update later. 8/10
Ergonomics: The sitting posture is upright and the seat are very comfortable . I did an 80km stretch in highway and it was breeze(occasional stops as it was new engine)suspension is not too stiff or is it too soft .It is nitpicking still it would have been great if they made rear portion of rider seat more flat rather than a curve. It has really good grips too ( but I don't think the softness will last long ).9/10


ACCELERATION :Very linear ,no sudden outburst of power , it lacks the fun like ktm duke 390 , but for a cruiser its way ahead of the competition like RE bikes.(no offence RE owners). There is plenty of torque in each gear and lower rpm. In any gear a twist of trottle and you will have the confidence to overtake.Short gear ratios.8/10

SLIPPER CLUTCH: Yes it works , gives better result than one on my Rc 390 .Down shift at any speed and its smooth no jerking. And its for the first time iam riding 250cc plus bike that doesn't know at 35-40 km speed in its 6th gear.9/10

VIBRATION: at 6th gear, 4000 Rpm and 70 km speed it feel like a Honda engine , its exceptionally smooth for a 373 cc single cylinder.
Between 4.5 - 5k Rpm there are fair amount of vibrations ( but atleast 60% lower than my ktm Rc 390) ,but the vibrations are nothing like it wil bother you in the ride ,or make you fingers numb)
7/10

BREAKING: Breaking is progressive and have batter feel than ktms ,but rear could use little bit better stopping power.( Front has better stopping power than my RC 390)

HEADLIGHTS : EXCELLENT , really excellent job by bajaj ,its the best on any sub 500 cc bike.It really has very good visibility is the high beam (but the ow beam is mediocre).
But i think it really an eye sore for vehicles coming opposite.Each and everyone flashed their light when they went passed ( yes even when i was in low beam). Thats bit of a problem.

MILEAGE: I dont know , i haven't checked yet. Will check after 1 at service and keep updating.

DEMERITS: Actually nothing can be considered a disadvantage considering the price point still these are certain point where i felt improvement.

∆ Absence gear shift indicator; its a must have, especially considering the smoothness of the engine. At time i was really confused if iam at 4th ,5th,6th . You don't know unless you pass 4500rpm limit.

∆ Two console design : aesthetically it is appealing. But in real life scenario its completely use less.. Atleast they should have adjusted the position of 2 nd console in a way that I don't have to look away from the road each time i look at it.

∆ RPM LIMIT AT 9000; thats seriously disappointing for a bike with this much potential.

∆ THE REAR MUDGUARD: THIS IS THE WORST PART OF THE BIKE, it really look like it belong to a 150cc commuter budget bike ,rather than a premium bike like Dominar 400 . Even the aesthetic appeal of duccati diavel like tail lamps are lost all thanks to this.

∆ Tank pads: How much will a better tank pad cost??maximum 50-100 rs . They are selling the bike for 1.7 lakhs and they can't give a good tank pad.Atleast they could have used the one present on Rs 200. This is were Bajaj show their typical traits , it's really shame ,they doing these kinds of cheap cost cutting measures.


∆ Accessories : It really high time Bajaj starts thinking of providing optional accessories , even though not like ktm powerparts they could Atleast provide some touring accessories especially when they are branding it as a POWER CRUISER placing it against RE where you can find lakhs of accessories and custom mods both factory made and aftermarket ones . And i think its time bajaj start selling some riding gear like RE , Considering they have such a wide network they would probably sell like hot cakes .Its not just about selling them its actually a social responsibility to ensure saftey too.


CONCLUSION
This is motorcycle which check all the right boxes and have a perfect balance between power ,handling and daily life usage
If you are someone looking for a good quality motorcycle with ample power ,good handling and reasonable mileage at an affordable price there is no better choice in the segment . Especially if you are looking for an easy to live with bike which can get you to office in city traffic ,go for occasional long tours and need a better equipped powerful bike than RE ,this is the bike for you. Each time you get on this bike for a ride ,i can assure you that it will put a smile on your face..

Planned upgrades for the bike.

Rubber sleeves for break pedal .
A mobile holder with charger
Roots gladiator 2 central locking (i know it will take a toll on your battery and sensors in the long run, But where I usually keep the bike kochi its a must have .)
Better breakpads when this one is worn out.
Michellin piolet radial or perelli or an mrf masseter(last choice) for the next tyre change.

Really sorry for making this such a long review.i will be updating about further experience with Bajaj Dominar 400 after next service.

Thank you.

Brother, that was a really great review written by you. I am about to get my bike in a week's time. Could you throw some light on the paint finish of the bike, any issues with the engine like leakage or stalling and of course anything else that you are dissatisfied with. Also can you let us know if you have bought that security system you had mentioned. You said that it can cause battery issues in the long run. How adverse can it actually be?

[Chetak.Jr]

Re: Bajaj Dominar 400 Ownership Experience Thread

This is my concern. The quality. I believe now you understand well.
This is what i was saying... it should handle the normal pothole... but in my case it didn't.

Are you guys suggesting that the alloys used for Dominar isn't upto the mark? Has anyone of you faces any issue with breakage or bends on the alloys or even misalignment issues post some treading on uneven roads.. [emoji27] [emoji27]

[Ijs]

Re: Bajaj Dominar 400 Ownership Experience Thread

ECU RESET to remove throttle lag and jerks post ecu update also improve on sluggishness factor.

https://youtu.be/Ll1IZIKEctI

[drvmtm]

Re: Bajaj Dominar 400 Ownership Experience Thread

tools for dominar

[drvmtm]

Re: Bajaj Dominar 400 Ownership Experience Thread


Fuse box

[deepDmnr]

Re: Bajaj Dominar 400 Ownership Experience Thread

Are you guys suggesting that the alloys used for Dominar isn't upto the mark? Has anyone of you faces any issue with breakage or bends on the alloys or even misalignment issues post some treading on uneven roads.. [emoji27] [emoji27]

I have done my share of potholes. No issues so far. But if the alloys were truly top notch, they would not come shipped with weight bits applied. Mine has 2 on rear.

[deepDmnr]

Re: Bajaj Dominar 400 Ownership Experience Thread

ECU RESET to remove throttle lag and jerks post ecu update also improve on sluggishness factor.

Bloody hell if that is where the low gear sluggishness comes from. I was done blaming everything from petrol grades to my skills.
Gotta try the reset next week. I have clocked 3000 kms so i guess it's ok to reset. Hopefully it works

[deepDmnr]

Re: Bajaj Dominar 400 Ownership Experience Thread

Bloody hell if that is where the low gear sluggishness comes from. I was done blaming everything from petrol grades to my skills.
Gotta try the reset next week. I have clocked 3000 kms so i guess it's ok to reset. Hopefully it works

This happens at certain rpms at low gears especially 2nd gear. I thought that w refinement issue.

[Yatheesh S Yashashvi]

Re: Bajaj Dominar 400 Ownership Experience Thread

I have done my share of potholes. No issues so far. But if the alloys were truly top notch, they would not come shipped with weight bits applied. Mine has 2 on rear.

Thats for wheel balancing.
You need to balance (add or remove)
Whenever you change your rubber(new tyres)

Its not a alloy wheel issue.

[deepDmnr]

Re: Bajaj Dominar 400 Ownership Experience Thread

Thats for wheel balancing.
You need to balance (add or remove)
Whenever you change your rubber(new tyres)

Its not a alloy wheel issue.

Yes dude i know what they are there for. Just did not have them on earlier bike. Maybe i am ignorant that balancing is required even for first set of factory fitted tyres. Anyways no bends on my wheels.

[Ijs]

Re: Bajaj Dominar 400 Ownership Experience Thread

Bloody hell if that is where the low gear sluggishness comes from. I was done blaming everything from petrol grades to my skills.
Gotta try the reset next week. I have clocked 3000 kms so i guess it's ok to reset. Hopefully it works

Do give it try and keep us posted. And if this doesn't work get the throttle body and injector cleaned. And yes u can do it any time irrespective of kms on odo. In my bike there is big improvement in sluggishness and othere who have done it also having positive things to say like no lag , missing and reduceed jerks. One guy was throwing a treat for me yesterday after doing ecu reset.

[Yatheesh S Yashashvi]

Re: Bajaj Dominar 400 Ownership Experience Thread

Yes dude i know what they are there for. Just did not have them on earlier bike. Maybe i am ignorant that balancing is required even for first set of factory fitted tyres. Anyways no bends on my wheels.

Even its factory fitted or aftermarket fitting.
Wheel balancing is must for fast moving vehicles..
For commuter vehicles it doesn't matter much.

[deepDmnr]

Re: Bajaj Dominar 400 Ownership Experience Thread

Even its factory fitted or aftermarket fitting.
Wheel balancing is must for fast moving vehicles..
For commuter vehicles it doesn't matter much.

Hmm... Good to know. Thanks