Bajaj Dominar 400

The Dominar 400 is Bajaj’s flagship offering, and was intended as a sports tourer that could take on Royal Enfield’s cruisers that dominated the 300-400cc segment. Today let's take a closer look at the motorcycle and see if it still has what it takes to stay relevant.

The Dominar is a sports tourer but its design language is more on the lines of a power cruiser, such as the Ducati Diavel. The bulky design and large headlight, that gives the bike a muscular look, sets it apart from the other street naked bikes. The latest version of the bike comes with a new set of features that turn the Dominar into a proper tourer. These include a tall smoked visor, handguards, engine bash plate, engine guard, pillion backrest, rear luggage rack along with a navigation mount, and a USB charging port. For an additional cost, customers can also buy a saddle stay for mounting saddle bags.

The Dominar is powered by a 373cc liquid-cooled single-cylinder engine that is mated to a six-speed gearbox with a slip-and-assist clutch, and produces 40PS and 35Nm. The engine is derived from the older gen-KTM Duke 390’s but comes in a different state of tune. 

When it comes to handling, thanks to its kerb weight of 193kg, the Dominar 400 can be quite heavy, especially at slower speeds. So controlling the bike requires a lot of effort on the rider’s part. The bike feels especially heavy when going through city traffic, and doesn’t have the agility needed to flick in and out of traffic jams. Riding on highways is a different experience, though, as the Dominar feels quite planted, which is perfect for long tours. But when you are riding at speeds above 100 kmph, vibrations can be felt but they are not that significant to be a deal-breaker.  

The brakes used on the Dominar are 320mm and 270mm discs at the front and rear respectively, with dual-channel ABS as standard. The brakes are quite responsive and the rider doesn’t have to put too much pressure on the levers to bring the bike to a stop. The 17-inch front and rear alloy wheels are wrapped in MRF radial tyres that provide adequate grip.

The Dominar being true to its sport tourer character is able to offer a comfortable experience both for short rides and long tours. The seats are well-cushioned and can accommodate riders on long journeys with ease, without having to worry about any pain in their legs or butt. 

The overall suspension setup on the Dominar 400 works quite well in absorbing speed bumps and potholes.  The monoshock can be a bit stiff but given that it is preload adjustable, you can adjust the settings to find a comfortable setup for yourself. 

Overall, the Dominar is able to provide a comfortable riding experience and is a good sports tourer.

The Dominar comes with 2 displays, a primary one which is the bike’s digital instrument cluster displaying information like speed, rpm, fuel level along with real time and average fuel consumption. The secondary information panel is a digital unit that’s mounted on the bike’s fuel tank, housing the odometer, tripmeters, clock and gear position indicator. The bike misses out on smartphone connectivity and turn-by-turn navigation which is a let down but the navigation mount that comes with the new version lets you easily mount your phone or even a dedicated GPS device above the instrument cluster. Overall, the Dominar 400 feels a bit lacking on the features front. Other bikes in this segment offer colour TFT screens with Bluetooth connectivity, electronic safety aids such as traction control, and even adjustable suspension.

The Dominar 400 caters to a segment of customers looking for a sports tourer that can easily accommodate all their luggage when going on long tours. But other than that there isn’t much that the motorcycle brings to the table. What made the Dominar 400 unique in the past was that it was the most affordable bike in the 400cc segment but now with the Triumph Speed 400 available in the same price range, the Dominar no longer makes that much sense. There are also a lot more alternatives to the Dominar 400 in the market now, like the Royal Enfield Meteor 350, Honda CB350RS, TVS Apache RTR 310 and the QJ Motor SRK400.