Bajaj has just launched the Dominar 250 at Rs 1.60 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), a price we revealed a week ago. At this price point, the bike is vastly more affordable (around Rs 30,000 less) than its bigger sibling, the Dominar 400. Bookings for the Bajaj Dominar 250 are already open, and we have all the details for you.
For starters, we can now confirm that the Bajaj Dominar 250 borrows its 248.8cc, fuel-injected, single-cylinder engine from the 250 Duke. Bajaj hasn’t revealed the engine’s bore and stroke figures, but we believe those will be the same as well. However, given that the bike hasn’t been designed to be as performance-oriented as the KTM 250 Duke, it makes less peak power and torque – 27hp at 8,500rpm and 23.5Nm at 6,500rpm, compared to the 30hp and 24Nm of the KTM. Despite its more relaxed, touring-focused intentions, Bajaj hasn’t skimped on giving the bike features, and has inlcuded slipper clutch and dual-channel ABS.
The Dominar 400 has a strong on-road presence, and those of you looking to buy the Dominar 250 will be glad as the two bikes look nearly identical. The body panels are the same, and so is the honeycomb structure LED headlight. The biggest differentiating factor is the narrower tyres on the Dominar 250 – it uses a 100/80-17 section at the front and a 130/70-17 section at the rear. In comparison, the Dominar 400 is equipped with wider radial tyres – a 110/70-17 section at the front and a 150/60-17 at the rear. On closer inspection, you’ll also notice that the Dominar 250 uses a narrower USD fork (37mm unit), unlike the Dominar 400's 43mm. The brake disc sizes have been tweaked too, with the 250 using a 300mm disc at the front – the 400 uses a 320mm disc. The rear disc, meanwhile, is identical at 230mm. Unfortunately, the largely similar hardware means that the ‘smaller’ Dominar 250 weighs 180kg, which is just 4kg less than the significantly more-powerful Dominar 400.
The new Bajaj Dominar 250 is available in two colour schemes – Canyon Red and Vine Black – and Bajaj tells us that the bike has started reaching dealerships across India. In terms of competition, the Dominar 250 is priced close to the Husqvarna Svartpilen 250 and the Vitpilen 250 which cost Rs 1.80 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), but all the bikes cater to different audiences.
Azaman Chothia
