The Bajaj Dominar 400 has been around for nearly a decade now and the latest version uses a downsized 349cc motor to take advantage of the lower 18 percent GST under the new regime. Here are some reasons why the Dominar 400 is the bike for you and some why it won’t be.
Reasons to buy the Dominar 400
1 Capable highway performance
One of the Dominar’s key strengths has always been its competent highway performance and that trait continues onto the 349cc version as well. In top gear, sustaining speeds between 100-120kph is doable and there are few vibrations when you do so. Do bear in mind that making an overtake will necessitate a downshift and you’ll have to twist the throttle quite deliberately to make swift forward progress. This is a trait we’ve observed on all the downsized 350cc Bajaj-made machines and isn’t unique to the Dominar.
2 Commendable two-up comfort
Another typical Dominar strength is two-up comfort, and two full-size adults will fit on the bike quite comfortably. Considering that quite a few Dominar owners go touring two-up, this is an important aspect to get right. The latest iteration comes standard with a small but effective pillion packrest as well as generously sized and well-padded seats for both rider and pillion.
Reasons not to buy the Dominar 400
1 Heavy weight
At 190kg fully fueled, the Dominar is no featherweight and you can’t shrug this weight off in slow-speed situations like moving the bike around in the garage. While on the move its not a hindrance, you always are aware that you’re riding a heavy machine and this does impact the bike’s handling to some extent too.
2 Looks and feels old
In the decade that the Dominar has been on sale, its design has seen nary a change and it feels thoroughly old now. In an age of new machines increasingly flooding the market day after day, this aspect is highlighted even further.
Ved Janve
Vishal Venugopal
Autocar India News Desk
