[payeng]

Originally Posted by marcussantiago

For me personally, this will be the biggest deciding factor. If it's got a sporty stance, there's no real advantage for touring, I might as well get the new Duke 390 next year and enjoy all that performance and low weight.

Checked the Dominar. Riding stance is tad sporty.

For those who want the Dominar and yet an upright stance, a "half-one" inch handlebar riser would do the trick

It's a one piece handlebar. Would be easy to fit a handlebar riser

[saargoga]

Originally Posted by payeng

Back from a very brief ride experience of the D400.

Thanks for the input, did you manage to observe the alloys are they any better? I know its hard to judge the quality by looking but if you did see what were your observations.

[payeng]

Originally Posted by saargoga

Thanks for the input, did you manage to observe the alloys are they any better? I know its hard to judge the quality by looking but if you did see what were your observations.

Could see nothing wrong with the alloys.

In fact the diamond cut surface finish of the alloys look great

[coldice4u]

Originally Posted by payeng

Back from a very brief ride experience of the D400.

Summary : At Indian product that is almost as good as the best international brands.

How was the ride quality. Did you manage to take it over less than perfect roads ?

[Sutripta]

Originally Posted by payeng

One also needs to be at least 5.7-5.8 ft to ride with confidence (or need to wear boots/riding boots with thick soles)

I think we need to add a new metric/ spec for all bikes sold in India: Inseam necessary to flatfoot when barefoot.
Can the owners oblige?

Regards
Sutripta

[amitg79]

Booked a Midnight Blue Dominar 400 a few hours back.

Had a short test ride and the bike just feels so good to ride. It does have quite a strong midrange and short gearing, which makes punting around quite a lot of fun. It picks up very well from any gear and the brakes seem very good as well.

The bike looks very muscular and feels substantial when you're in the seat, but at no point did it ever feel cumbersome.

This is my re-entry point into biking and I'm pretty excited.

The delivery date I was given is around 15th Jan, but I'm definitely putting up a good fight for an earlier delivery.

[payeng]

Originally Posted by coldice4u

How was the ride quality. Did you manage to take it over less than perfect roads ?

The road was bad, semi tarmac and strewn with potholes. Perfect to check ride quality.

Ride was very brief. But the extra weight, solid chassis, and slightly taught suspension felt nice.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by amitg79

Booked a Midnight Blue Dominar 400 a few hours back.

Had a short test ride and the bike just feels so good to ride. It does have quite a strong midrange and short gearing, which makes punting around quite a lot of fun. It picks up very well from any gear and the brakes seem very good as well.

The bike looks very muscular and feels substantial when you're in the seat, but at no point did it ever feel cumbersome.

Many congratulations amitg79 on booking the Dominar 400. Looks like you are the first one here to book it at least that I am aware of.

Could you please let us know the final on-road price and its break-up?

This is my re-entry point into biking and I'm pretty excited.

Are you looking forward to the Dominar as your tourer bike for long distance highway running or are you looking at it as a city runabout? What made you choose it over other alternatives or you didn't consider any other bikes at all?

The delivery date I was given is around 15th Jan, but I'm definitely putting up a good fight for an earlier delivery.

All the very best for an earlier delivery

[amitg79]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Could you please let us know the final on-road price and its break-up?


Are you looking forward to the Dominar as your tourer bike for long distance highway running or are you looking at it as a city runabout? What made you choose it over other alternatives or you didn't consider any other bikes at all?

Thank you for the wishes!

The dealer still did not have the printed price sheet with the break-up, but the price mentioned to me was 1,76,201 OTR.

Will put up the complete break-up here once I have it.

Starting out, I did contemplate taking out a huge loan and going for a superbike (Triumph Street Triple), but no matter how much I twisted those excel sheets, it was proving too expensive.

Meanwhile, the CS400 (Dominar now) and the BMW G310R were on my "realistic" radar.

So when Bajaj finally launched this at a killer price tag, I found it too tempting to resist. It looks good, has a nice big bike feel when you ride it and has abundant power reserves.

I have never toured on a bike, but let's see. Primarily, it will be used as a city runabout with some weekend short distance rides at first.

And no, I did not wait for the BMW because well, impatience.

Yesterday evening, I walked to the nearby Anant Bajaj, Magadi Road and took a test-ride of a few km on Magadi Road and interior cross roads in the busy evening peak hour traffic. Here is my FIR:



What I liked:

* Excellent fit and finish

* Sharp brakes, both the front and rear with ABS

* Brilliant LED headlamp

* Meaty tubeless tyres

What I didn't:

* Missing central stand. How do I clean and lubricate the chain on a highway without any help during a mega ride?

* Feeble single horn for a power cruiser

* Uncomfortable riding posture for me for long rides

* Inadequate rear-view mirrors. Why did not Bajaj Auto think of the very popular Avenger Cruise 220's RVM? I have them in my Thunderbird 500.



I was informed that test-rides would be available upto midnight from today to highlight the theme 'Dominate the night'.

I don't intend to buy this bike. I made it clear to the showroom staff before the test-ride. However, as a shareholder of Bajaj Auto since 2009, I wish that Dominar 400 should become a supermodel!

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by amitg79

Thank you for the wishes!

The dealer still did not have the printed price sheet with the break-up, but the price mentioned to me was 1,76,201 OTR.

If this is for the dual-channel ABS version, then it is indeed very tempting

Will put up the complete break-up here once I have it.

Sure, looking forward to it.

Meanwhile, the CS400 (Dominar now) and the BMW G310R were on my "realistic" radar.

Samepinch Exactly these two bikes are on my radar

So when Bajaj finally launched this at a killer price tag, I found it too tempting to resist. It looks good, has a nice big bike feel when you ride it and has abundant power reserves.

No doubt, Bajaj has nailed it with a very killer price tag.

I have never toured on a bike, but let's see. Primarily, it will be used as a city runabout with some weekend short distance rides at first.

Yeah. I am with you. I have a 1999 Bajaj Caliber-110 cc and have done extensive touring on that from 1999-2003. It is still in running condition after 17 long years. After having a family and buying a 4-wheeler in 2004, my touring on bike came to a full stop. But now after having so many good options in the market today, my biking "keeda" is trying to raise its ugly head once again.

And no, I did not wait for the BMW because well, impatience.

I have loads of patience and can wait for few months before taking the final plunge.

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

Yesterday evening, I walked to the nearby Anant Bajaj, Magadi Road and took a test-ride of a few km on Magadi Road and interior cross roads in the busy evening peak hour traffic. Here is my FIR:

Ravi Sir, thank you for sharing your FIR, good observations I must say.

I was informed that test-rides will be available upto midnight from today to highlight the theme 'Dominate the night'.

Vow, that sounds so cool. I usually return home from office well past 11:00 pm. I can plan for a test ride on my way back to home as Gems Bajaj, Akurdi is on my way.

I don't intend to buy this bike. I made it clear to the showroom staff before the test-ride. However, as a shareholder of Bajaj Auto since 2009, I wish that Dominar 400 should become a supermodel!

Hmmn, now I know your vested interest. Nevertheless I too wish them great success, because I have spent the first two formative years of my professional life in Bajaj Auto and their Akurdi headquarter is under 2km from my current residence.

[Cezond666]

Originally Posted by amitg79

Booked a Midnight Blue Dominar 400 a few hours back.

I just booked my Moon white dominar. May I know how the delivery date was given to you? Did you have to visit the showroom after booking? And were you given any priority test rides because you'd already booked?

[nasirkaka]

* Missing central stand. How do I clean and lubricate the chain on a highway without any help during a mega ride?

Try Snap-jack.


Now, there are lot of locally made and very cheap variants of these, or i can get one fabricated too at a nearby friendly metal workshop guy. Material is aluminium section, so light weight and folding type, so compact to carry on rides. Can be used by just a single person to lift and un-lift the bike. Make sure you use a rubberband to pull the front brake lever when u intend to lift the bike, else slipping forward chances are there.

* Feeble single horn for a power cruiser

Plenty of after-market options right from stebel to hella to bosch, etc. About 500 rs and you are set with a good horn (pair?).

* Inadequate rear-view mirrors. Why did not Bajaj Auto think of the very popular Avenger Cruise 220's RVM? I have them in my Thunderbird 500.

This is been the case with most of the modern naked bikes including the 390 on which i plonked RVM from Avenger. Was better but not good enough. So just get a pair of handle bar extenders from aliexpress for around 7-9$ and you are sorted.

Non of the stock motorcycle will be able to cater to every individuals needs and depending on the person and usage, it will require some level of customization. All these small issue can be sorted out. The bike as it is is 182kgs, with additional center stand it would weight close to 185 kgs and cost a few hundreds extra!!

[Roadilicious]

But I do not understand. What is the point of not including a main stand. Weight? Ground Clearance ? Especially in India, it does not make any sense to not include the main stand.
I mean i may not be aware the advantages of exclusion of the stand. So, just wanted to know.

[amitg79]

Originally Posted by Cezond666

I just booked my Moon white dominar. May I know how the delivery date was given to you? Did you have to visit the showroom after booking? And were you given any priority test rides because you'd already booked?

I just went over to the showroom and asked for a test ride, which they happily obliged. The ride was pretty short, but I was happy.

I then logged in from their computer and booked it online. 15th is the tentative date the dealer told me. No official date yet. I will keep pestering them from the 1st of January.