[ecenandu]

First look

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=subd7H5facI

[uday.ere]

Had been to the Bangalore launch event, the bike does look smashing and the pricing is the icing on the cake. Test drives are in tune with their punchline- Dominate the night - from 7pm to Midnight!!

Engine note is very different from the KTM's although its basically the same engine. Approximate on-road price for the ABS version would be about 1.75 Lacs

Some pics from the event which had the Bangalore Royal Enfield Riders Club members as chief guests.

Originally Posted by payeng

That's innovative. Did you manage to get a Test Ride?

By the time I reached the showroom, the earliest available time slot was 10.45 PM, will try my luck for a TD tomorrow.

[payeng]

Originally Posted by uday.ere

Test drives are in tune with their punchline- Dominate the night - from 7pm to Midnight!!

That's innovative. Did you manage to get a Test Ride?

[Nithesh_M]

Performance seems on par with the CBR250R. Whatever spec sheet advantage it had seems negated by the additional 19kg of weight.
Can't see where that extra weight comes from if the engine is based on the lighter D390 minus 1 OHC. What is that perimeter frame made of? Steel?

[asw]

Waiting for reviews. Especially about quality since duke 390 which is costlier than is known for its crap alloys and other poor quality parts.

[AutoIndian]

Here is the complete brochure for those of you who have not seen it yet. Liked the black and yellow theme. Black denoting the darkness and yellow the light in darkness

[AutoIndian]

[AutoIndian]

And here is the pdf of the brochure

Bajaj_Dominar 400_Brochure_600X480cm.pdf

[ach1lles]

I am a total bike noob and wish to get into biking. I've never ridden bikes, and I'm kind of put off by gears. I've ridden the Vespa quite a bit and can handle myself on it though I understand how riding a bike won't be too similar. Also, I really like the Diavel and can see myself riding one of those if I ever got into biking seriously, having prepared myself to reach that level, ofcourse. Also also, I don't know if this next point is of any consequence but I absolutely love (manual) biking.

So, my question as a complete bike noob is this: would this be a good bike to start off with?

[Debajyoti]

The pdf version of the brochure can be downloaded from here Bajaj Dominar 400 Brochure.pdf

Kolkata launch date is 21st dec, 4pm and ex-showroom prices are ₹1,42,731 for disk brake variant and ₹1,57,117 for the dual channel ABS variant. In comparison, Mahindra Mojo is ₹1,77,900 and CBR 250R is ₹1,66,894 for the standard variant and ₹1,96,698 for the ABS variant, all prices ex-showroom Kolkata (excluding cost of "Honda accessories" like number plate, saree guard etc )
Will the folks buying Royal Enfield be interested in the Dominar? NO. And the reason can be best described by this picture

[saishivaj]

Bajaj has braved to price the Dominar 400 so close to the RS 200 and that comes as a shocker to me. But a big round of applause to Bajaj for the pricing. If nothing else, the Dominar will sell for its VFM.

Being a CBR250R and a RE Classic 500 owner myself, at this date, I would've bought a Dominar instead of the CBR but I would never think of the Dominar to replace the RE. Agreed that RE is more than past its age and stands no chance against today's competition. However, I think it is a motorcycle that one buys for a lifetime and not just to ride. It is a dream vehicle and not a mere tourer or commuter. Assuming that 60-70% RE owners buy REs with the same mindset, I don't think the Dominar would dent RE sales. If anything, IMHO it would draw potential RS200 customers towards it because the Dominar looks a touch better than the quirky RS.

The CBR250R will be over thrown by the Dominar for two reasons majorly:
1. It was dead the moment Duke 390 came into picture and HMSI is making zero efforts to keep it alive in India. It is as outdated as it can get, except the REs of course.
2. The pricing. For an outdated product like the CBR250R, 2.xx lakh on-road is highly over priced.

On the other hand, after having ridden my CBR very hard for 51,xxx+ km, I will confidently say that a CBR's quality and reliability is a notch or two above almost any bike under 3 lakhs. Till date my CBR feels as good as it did when new and I am sure it would go for another 50k km the same way.

If Bajaj got this aspect, they pretty much have an almost perfect "power" cruiser.

Bajaj, if you are reading this, the Dominar is an absolutely stellar effort, but please try and shed more than a few kilos in its next iteration.
Straight line stability is not the only thing motorcycles need.

[rbp]

Originally Posted by ach1lles

So, my question as a complete bike noob is this: would this be a good bike to start off with?

Never, since you aren't used to clutch and gears, you better get used to them first on a 100 or 150cc bike first, do it for 2 to 3 months and then you can test ride the dominor

Are the tyres tubeless? Because the specs simply say 'radial' and silent on whether tubeless or tubed.

[girimajiananth]

Originally Posted by ach1lles

So, my question as a complete bike noob is this: would this be a good bike to start off with?

You can. Just take it a bit slowly. All you need is bit of practice before you jump on to this. See if you can rent a splendor or any other bike in your city for a couple of weeks before you buy this. Get the feel of changing gears, engine braking and disc brakes (of course no disc brakes on splendor).

[payeng]

Originally Posted by ach1lles

I am a total bike noob and wish to get into biking. I've never ridden bikes, and I'm kind of put off by gears.

So, my question as a complete bike noob is this: would this be a good bike to start off with?

Apart from your experience (or the lack of it) the other thing that needs to be considered is your physique.

The Dominar is almost as heavy as a RE Bullet and also has a longer wheelbase.

Handling such a bike especially at standstill by someone who has never ridden motorcycles is doubtful if you aren't a Giant.