Re: Bajaj Dominar 400 Launched at 1.36 Lakh with 35Ps and 35Nm!

Congrats on your new bike guys.

Re: Bajaj Dominar 400 Launched at 1.36 Lakh with 35Ps and 35Nm!

That CBR was probably a 2012-2014 model. Great color, bad deal.

Re: Bajaj Dominar 400 Launched at 1.36 Lakh with 35Ps and 35Nm!

Its a 2013 one..

Re: Bajaj Dominar 400 Launched at 1.36 Lakh with 35Ps and 35Nm!

Bro, I had an accident at around 60kmph. I was wearing all the gear jacket, pants, riding shoes, gloves, back protector, helmet. It still hurt a lot, took a few weeks for the pain to dissappear. IMHO 130kmph on our highway is very fast. Last but not the least I think what matters most is the breaking. Another thing is the only time you can really rip your bike is early in the morning and late at night otherwise on NH there are bottle necks and it takes a lot of hard work to even average out 70kmph. My two cents. Hope not have run all over the place with my comments.

Re: Bajaj Dominar 400 Launched at 1.36 Lakh with 35Ps and 35Nm!

I guess allmost all old riders have toured on RE. As I remember when I started touring the other bike used was a Karizma. Some of the riders I toured with have left the RE brand. Some still ride the same brand. I have moved on. On akl the long rides with my RE friends the first thing they do in the morning is to tighten the nuts. I sure don't miss it. But as I said the RE fanatics will not ride anything else.

Re: Bajaj Dominar 400 Launched at 1.36 Lakh with 35Ps and 35Nm!

Bad attitude by the dealership has put off many a customer. I like the looks of that black CBR250 over the Dominar. as you said, the seat of the Dominar looks way comfy. Did you feel any wind blast at 130 kmph? Im a short guy, I don't feel any blast from the CBR 250 even at 154 kmph.

Re: Bajaj Dominar 400 Launched at 1.36 Lakh with 35Ps and 35Nm!


Ok.. Comparing a ZMR with Dominar isn't fair enough.. but comfort wise I find both are almost equivalent.. but that smoothness is missing in D400 but not too far away..

Whatever I mention here is going to be in comparison with my Ninja 250R

Me and a colleague went for the test ride. He is searching for a bike so I suggested him for a test ride of Dominar 400.. I called up the showroom nearby to find out if they have a test ride bike.. On confirmation, we left to the showroom..

As soon as we entered into the showroom, the purple (or whatever the name of that color is) was standing all shiny and flashy.. It is sure a head turner but not as great as the prototype I saw in Auto Expo 2014.. Asked about the price and just looked at the bike to see how the quality of material was.. To my surprise, it was pretty good.. Turned on the ignition and the speedo console came to life.. the usual console check was done.. it looks premium enough for a bike that costs 1.36/1.5L.. Then the switch gears, shouts quality everywhere but can't say about the longitivity on a new bike..

after discussion, we asked the sales guy for test ride and he immediately arranged for it.. he took us out to the garage and he pulled out a white D400.. Looked more appealing than the Purple as we can notice the dual colors which looked great to my eyes..

I handed over my Drivers license to the security as requested by them.. The sales guy powered the ignition on and gave a throttle.. trying to impress me and my colleague..

After attempting to impress us, he pulled the clutch and shifted to 1st from Neutral.. I was expecting a smooth shift but that sound of the hard shift gave the first impression.. I didn't like it one bit.. Yes, the bike is new and still in run in period, but that sound was haunting me and I came to a conclusion on how clumsy the gear box might be..

I handed my helmet to my colleague and asked him to test ride the bike first.. he started the bike, shifted to 1st gear.. (this is his first experience with a high cc bike) he let go of the clutch and the bike stopped.. I smiled at him and said this is the same thing that happened with me when I test rode Duke 390 few year back.. Oh yes, did I forget to mention, the LED lights were simply amazing and well too whitish.. It is strictly recommended one should use an auxiliary fog lights in case of heavy fog such is the case in Delhi NCR.. yes, I was looking for the cons of the bike.. I am a software test engineer by profession so that's how I am... trying to fail a product.. As soon as my friend came back from the test ride, he seemed upset.. I didn't ask why as I didn't want to hear his pros and cons on the bike as that might stick to my mind and won't be able to concentrate on what I am here for..

I took the helmet from my colleague and started the bike.. it sounded amazing.. well, not that great as a twin cylinder but it sounded good enough to my ears.. I shifted to first and it was a smooth gear shift.. I was abusing the sales guy to myself for giving me such a bad impression.. Did i forget to mention how light the clutch is.. I was really amazed.. this is the best part of the bike IMO.. the clutch felt so damn light after which my Ninja felt very heavy.. I hate you Kawasaki

Nevertheless.. I let go of the clutch and the bike pulled (Amazing Torque I must say) just letting go of the clutch a little and I could feel the torque already.. I took a U turn and I found it a little easy to to do as compared to the Ninja.. maybe because of fairing and heavy clutch in Ninja.. but turning Radius seems to be on the higher side..

The bike felt great.. I got the bike on the main road and i gave slight throttle and it pulled amazingly well.. I shifted to 2nd and the bike pulls.. Yes, it pulls like anything.. 35nm Torque proved that numbers do make a difference as compared to the 22nm torque of Ninja which again comes at the higher RPM.. I took the bike on an empty road and tested it capacity.. I didn't want to be too harsh on the new bike so I didn't go anywhere beyond 105 kmph in 6th gear..

Vibrations were there in the bike I did test ride on.. Red line is so low that I needed to shift the gears immediately which isn't the case with Ninja 250R.. I could rev it all the way till 13.5K RPM and post 7K rpm, Ninja is a screamer and pulls like anything.. Since I am used to pulling the bike to higher RPMs, this seemed quite low to me..

The bike pulls well in 2nd and 3rd gear and the other gears wasn't that great.. I am pretty sure the bike will be a perfect touring machine with a capable engine.. but the vibrations that creeped in was a big turn off IMO.. I for some reason didn't like the signature bajaj engine noise after riding for few kms.. I didn't like it very much.. but it isn't as bad as the old pulsars.. The RVMs seemed ok but did have plenty of vibrations to it...

I found the rear brakes to be useless (My Point of View)

Dominar isn't the best bike out there in terms of performance but it is the only bike out there which gives such a performance in this price tag.. that too with so many features like LED headlights, Slipper clutch, ABS and well 400cc engine of course..

What I did miss is the fun factor which I have with my Ninja... that butter smooth engine being twin cylinder, that beautiful fairing and that beautiful exhaust note..

I also didn't like the tail light.. it seems like how the LML Freedom had it.. This is my opinion.. I noticed one more thing but it could be on this particular bike or it could also be a defect in all the bikes.. I noticed an extra play on the handlebar when applying brakes.. On close observation after I reached the Showroom, I noticed the rubber washers on which the handle bar stays are tightened to was getting crushed and going out of shape.. I missed to take a photo of it while I was thinking about it all along, but since there were many others waiting to test ride it, I had to move along.. Let me see if I can get a photo of it the next time I am near that showroom.. or maybe I will go to another showroom and test ride it for better clarity..

What I liked in Dominar over the Ninja 250?

1. 35nm Torque
2. LED Headlights (Not that I have any complaints with the perfect luminescence from the Ninja)
3. ABS
4. Slipper Clutch
5. Soft cushion (Not that it makes any difference for me as I have plenty of flesh on my butt )

What I like in Ninja over the Dominar?

1. Twin Cylinder
2. Better bite in both the front and rear brakes
3. Looks
4. Exhaust note
5. RVMs
6. Fairing (helps a lot during long highway rides)
7. high revving engine
8. Smooth all the way till 165 kmph
9. Reliability (Not sure about Dominar yet so I can't comment on it much)
10. The tires with superior grip
11. though it is a 6 year old machine, it never stops to grab people's attention..
12. Despite of riding at 100 kmph, the bike returns a decent avg of 32 kmpl on the highways.. (figures of D400 not known yet)

well, the list goes on..

One more bike added to touring enthusiasts..

This isn't a review but purely my opinion and what I noticed after riding the bike for close to 5 kms

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Wind blasts will be there at any speeds greater than 120 kmph on a naked bike.. that's where the fairing comes into picture

The bike was very stable even at 120+. The cross winds didn't do much alteration to the course of the bike. Although the vertical winds were a bit of a problem. I was using a very loose helmet which the showroom guys gave me. And I didnt have my gear as i had travelled from Salem to Coimbatore to take the ride. But, I hope one wouldn't feel the wind much if he had proper gear on him.!

And buddy, @leech, since CBR is faired, you dont feel 'em windblasts at higher speeds too.

I dont know why you had vibrations dude.. But one that I took the ride on didnt have any..
And the point on rear brakes and turning radius is right! I felt the same too.
The pickup was very good on the one I tried.
By the way, what was it that u told about that handlebar stays washers.? I didnt quite get that.

Re: Bajaj Dominar 400 Launched at 1.36 Lakh with 35Ps and 35Nm!

Ok. So, I ride a Ninja and ZMR.. Ninja has close to zero vibrations and ZMR has vibrations but not very high (Thanks to Honda)

Regarding the Handlebar. The holder (not getting the right term) on which the handlebar is bolted to.. if you have an image with the handlebar bar, I can highlight it..

Edit: found an image online..

Re: Bajaj Dominar 400 Launched at 1.36 Lakh with 35Ps and 35Nm!

Ohh. Ok. Gotcha.. Thanks man!!

Re: Bajaj Dominar 400 Launched at 1.36 Lakh with 35Ps and 35Nm!



This bush was getting squeezed and going out of shape as if too much torque was applied while tightening..

Re: Bajaj Dominar 400 Launched at 1.36 Lakh with 35Ps and 35Nm!

Dear Customer, your booked Dominar 400 shall be shipped to your dealership in January 2017. You shall receive a separate sms on the date of shipment.
Received this message from bajaj auto this evening,eagerly waiting for my dominar.Regarding the huge turning radius some have mentioned, I think being a cruiser it is acceptable.I have been riding eliminator for fifteen years which also has a big turning radius.And regarding brakes and tires remember it has to bed down to get good braking effect.

Re: Bajaj Dominar 400 Launched at 1.36 Lakh with 35Ps and 35Nm!

Guys, the best mileage as claimed by the meter of the 2013 Duke 390 that I own, was around 43 kmpl, at a constant 80 kmph in 6th gear.

I do believe that a lot depends on torque at low rpms, so one can't predict Dominar mileage without actually riding it.
As FZ1 vs R1 shows us, its not necessary that a motorcycle engine's low tune version with lower power output, must have better low end torque...
I still believe that with a light hand, the Dominar should return around 35 kmpl in the best case scenario, around the same as its power output in PS.

Wish Dominar owners all the best for a glorious ownership experience...

Replied to you in PM.

Re: Bajaj Dominar 400 Launched at 1.36 Lakh with 35Ps and 35Nm!

I have a plan to book Dominor 400. I have test rode the bike twice and still some people confuse me not to go for bajaj. I have test rode the bike at the time of launch here in Chennai on 16^th of this month and today as well.

The first time I rode the bike it was awesome feel. Never rode a bike as best as this one after Karizma, CBR250. They asked for feedback to all the persons who test rode the bike any 3 pros or cons.
LED head light was really spectacular , Found gear shift was not that smooth, Engine sound are refinement were great.

The Second time I rode the bike for some extra kms at night time. Now I found the below pros and cons
Pros:
At the Dark road there is no need of any additional lights other than the stock LED unit.
The ABS was working very good. I snapped the front and rear breaks at speed of 80KM in gravel road it performed outstanding.
The suspension setup was good and ride quality was great
Seating position was good
The big feel of the bike is really worthy

Cons:
Noticed rattling road from the front side when I raised the throttle at high RPM at stand still position.
The gear shift was not that much precise and smooth
Chain sound was heard when went on speed breakers without slowing down the speed

Re: Bajaj Dominar 400 Launched at 1.36 Lakh with 35Ps and 35Nm!

If you liked the bike after TD then you should go for it unless there is a major flaw noticed by someone. Every reviewer will have some minor likes & dislikes which becomes subjective so one need not bother about it and should make a individual decision on his personal experience.

The cons you have mentioned are just temporary and should not be seen after 1/2 services.

And, applying hard brakes on gravel to test ABS was foolish IMO because ABS only works well when there is good tyre grip and the bike can actually skid with ABS too on gravel road.