[John Jacob13128]

The Dominar is a VFM package. I think most would agree to that statement. But then why the lack luster dispatches ?

I think it's about the Indian mentality. There is this sudden craze to own a RE. Even if that does not suit the persons requirements. Why ? Off course the ego boost one feels when sitting atop one going thump-thump. Don't get me wrong. There are genuine buyers who want and aspire RE and get one. But i feel a majority just buy for "feel good factor".

But when you get to the Bajaj Dominar, it does not feel to have any particular attribute that stands out. Yes its VFM , but whats the stand-out feature which announces arrival ? KTM has the grunt , CBR has track bike looks, same as R15. Dominar ? None. So its buyers are those who go valuing its attributes and get it for what it can do. And those folks are few. I feel it will be restricted to 3-4K monthly. Don't see much increase without some major marketing gimmick.

[Gildarts]

Originally Posted by ksameer1234

Expensive? Compared to what? I think Dominar is the most VFM bike in market today. Only thing it is plagued by is not so clear differentiation and unnecessary comparison with RE. Bajaj needs to position Dominar as a touring-friendly bike, lilke how Mahindra did with Mojo. Compared to Mojo, Dominar has much going for it and similar campaign would have helped far more than the confused hyper-riding ads.

I'm comparing Dominar with anything. I'm not denying it's VFM either. I'm just saying that it's a more expensive bajaj product than what people are used to. People are bound to have certain misgivings. Most Indians cannot afford to go wrong with a decision involving 1.5 lakhs.

[Olympal]

I happened to ride a friend's Dominar last weekend for around 50-60 km at 100+ speeds with a group of bikers. The bikes included a Harley 750, 2 Bullets and a Kawasaki Ninja 650. The Dominar was keeping pace with the Harley and Kawasaki while we had to slow down to ensure the Bullets were in the rear-view mirror.
This bike can hold speed of 90-100 in top gear and has a good torque spread to carry it over inclines without downshifting. Retarding speed in a panic braking situation by using a combination of rapid downshifting and braking helped bring the bike to a halt in about 30-odd meters from a speed of about 80-90 Kmph. The ride is comfortable in terms of riding position, suspension and ergonomics, if you can put up with a little vibrations that is. This is a touring bike on a budget with no competition in the price/performance department.

[NiInJa]

I have a rather comical analysis to this. Majority of expensive bikes are bought by youngsters, the ones with a family and a kid or two would not spend a bomb on a bike (trust me ). The enthusiasts with wife and kids, know everything about bikes so they mostly buy more expensive bikes (from Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki, KTM). These kind of people are very less so lets take them out of equation.

That leaves us with youngsters.
You see, bikes for them are like girl-friends, you should be able to flaunt them, make people see them along with you (and make their faces turn green) and should be thrilling to ride. They should also be inviting for the other gender. When the Pulsar was launched, there were no 180 cc bikes in the normal market with that 'oomph' value (The Karizma was a premium then), so Bajaj had an upper hand. Today they dont have that same advantage of being 'me first'.

Power : Already taken care by KTM and RE above 350 cc
Oomph :RE, KTM has more
Aspiration: RE will continue to be so.
Value for Money: Yamaha FZ25, KTM offer better in my opinion as people know KTM is managed by Bajaj + KTM has oomph factor as mentioned above.
Brand perception: Bajaj is known to bring powerful bikes at cheaper price. 1.5 lakh is not cheap if you look at it objectively. The 220F still sells like hot cake for the same reason: more power less price.
Consumer Knowledge: People know better about power to weight ratio, handling characteristics of a bike etc today than say, 12 years ago.

If you look at it, the concept of power cruiser like Dominar or Mojo is not accepted in India by general public. Bike has to be proper cruiser like RE, Avenger; Sport bike like KTM/ Yamaha or a street naked like the FZ25 or Bajaj Pulsar. In my opinion the Dominar is a good bike, but it does not fit in any of the above so its sales have taken a hit. In my opinion, they should have launched it with the Pulsar tag with a burly street naked design, something that took the game of Pulsar to the next level. Somehow, the Dominar lacks the soul of a girl-friend.

[Shekhar2509]

I am a proud owner of the 'Dominar 400 ABS' since past 3 months. I find it quite a VFM product; ABS, 400cc engine churning out 35 bhp of power, full LED headlamp setup, stylish and powerful looks, premium finish; I couldn't have asked for more in a bike within 2 lacs! The reason behind the dip in sales might probably be the positioning of this amazing vehicle; it wasn't needed to make it contend against the RE! It's a different product in itself, and instead of criticizing RE, Bajaj's marketing team should have strongly projected the qualities of this bike! That's where they goofed up, coming up with silly ads!

Cheers!

[vishy76]

I would like to thank all of you for joining in on the debate. (No, I am not Arnab Goswami and nor am I closing the thread )

Have a lot of insights on the bike now and also where it went wrong. But I know there is more to come.

I will be honest, I started the thread as a mute spectator only wanting your opinions. Mind you, I am only 15 years of age, so here's my perspective.

Was it wrong to have high expectations from the Dominar 400?

Ans. Yes and no. Yes, as the product itself was bloody competent. A 400cc, Slipper clutch, ABS and touring capabilities for under 2 lacs was a game plan.

No, because there was no specific USP for the bike. One thing I have noticed in the bike scene is that an all rounded product isn't given much importance especially as you climb up the price ladder. A no nonsense Brezza might do 9K per month but a bike like the Dominar, nope. Brand perception is also at play here which is what I will come to next.

LED headlamps are a big draw and also functionally superior, but then I would be fired as an automotive journalist or recieve flak if I regarded them to be a USP for the bike.

Was it brand perception?
Ans. Yes. Not only brand perception but product perception itself. What started off as a modern power cruiser suddenly became a Bullet rival and started mocking thumpers. Flawed marketing contributed to this image. Ads like these don't appeal to me atleast:

Additional factors were the unqualified Bajaj mechanics and shoddy A.S.S along with pre-sales as pointed out by other members.

Optimistic sales figures, unoptimistic sales teams.

Originally Posted by NiInJa

Somehow, the Dominar lacks the soul of a girl-friend.

It does lack soul, but I will be honest I am mighty impressed with the thing as an enthusiast. My friends don't share the same views. As youngsters, it's a basic instinct that you go for an RE if someone throws 1.5 Lakhs at you.

I on the other hand want to be satisfied when I ride the thing and park it back in my garage. I want to look back at it and be contended that my choice was correct. I don't care what my girlfriend thinks of me.


Most of my friends are driven by what other people think and thats where the issue lies. Most of these others think that REs are the best above the 1 lakh mark, but to be honest, they have lost their charm. Except for the thunderbird, no RE appeals to me.

[sgmuser]

Originally Posted by vishy76

The Bajaj Domineer 400 was launched amidst a lot of enthusiasm in the Indian market. It was speculated that the bike would keep up with Bajaj's tradition of VFM products, while also offering an alternative to the RE thunderbird range, thus ending its monopoly in the Indian market.

The Dominor was available in July and did test drive in a small town called Tiruvarur in TN. I don’t think the availability is an issue. But the ride was very underwhelming frankly for 1.8 lakhs bike. So I dropped buying. Actually I took my card to pay but the second test drive did the damage. May be it’s me or it’s the common perception among the potential buyers who are a bit better informed than the average buyers. We tend to compare with KTMs and Yamaha’s and decide. Just my two cents.

[Sheel]

Just one thing, how did the OP conclude that Bajaj is overestimating the Dominar’s sale?

[BB311]

The reason I did not buy Dominar :

I went to 3 Bajaj showrooms for a test ride and the 2 of them flatly refused the ride while the third, agreed only if I take the sales guy as a pillion. I wanted to check the comfort and manoeuvrability of the bike with my wife, and he plainly refused for that. I was even ready to hand him my Ecosport's key just to push out the idea of me running away with the bike out of his mind (this was my desperation, I still feel bad of why I fell so low just for a test ride.). I have a classic 500 with me at this moment and was looking forward to changing the bike. If i am spending 1.5 lakh rs. of my hard earned money on a two wheeler, I do deserve a detailed test drive.

And this is where the Royal Enfield shines. I don't care about the service experience, but I just love there pre-sales engagement. I remember my visit to Solitaire Autos (RE Showroom Noida) and the warmth displayed by there sales staff. He brought the keys of all three standard classic and thunderbird 500cc and 2 helmets for me to take a test ride.

So is Dominar a Value for money product ? Yes, Maybe.
Is Bajaj, a value for my money company ? No, my experience states so.

[payeng]

Originally Posted by BB311

And this is where the Royal Enfield shines. I don't care about the service experience, but I just love there pre-sales engagement.

I remember my visit to Solitaire Autos (RE Showroom Noida) and the warmth displayed by there sales staff. He brought the keys of all three standard classic and thunderbird 500cc and 2 helmets for me to take a test ride.

Can't really agree.

Of course nothing like a pleasant sales experience to satisfy ones ego. But I simply won't tolerate a bad after sales experience or heavens forbid a problematic product. Iys just not Practical.

[vishy76]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Just one thing, how did the OP conclude that Bajaj is overestimating the Dominar’s sale?

It's just the hype created during marketing and also the targets which led me to conclude this. The first post clearly indicates it.

I can have the title changed if you want.

[apachelongbow]

Lets list the facts first. Bajaj has no brand aspiration value. Even in its heyday a Pulsar was never a rich boys toy, it was always a cbz or a Karizma, even a bullet. Bajaj engines are known to be troublesome post a few kms. My own pulsar 180 engine was replaced foc because of emgine troubles at 40k kms. That speaks of the quality aspect.
Coming to the Dominar, lets face it, the bike is too plain jane. Doesnt stand out like a Duke or isn't flashy enough like a r300 or retro enough like the bullets. Plus the old man blue, maroon colors look like grandpa sweaters, the brightest being that old pearl white. There is no usp in that bike, may be jack of all trades, but certainly is the master of nothing really. Bikes cant sell by being boring like a Brezza, they need to make their owner stand out, after all we ride 'on' a bike, not within it

[payeng]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

the bike is too plain jane. Doesnt stand out like a Duke or isn't flashy enough like a r300 or retro enough like the bullets.

Exactly, in a crowd of bikes its very easy to overlook Dominar in the Trafiic.

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

Bikes cant sell by being boring like a Brezza, they need to make their owner stand out, after all we ride 'on' a bike, not within it

Not always true. The Splendor / Shine / Activa are anything but stand out models.

But yes when one is ready to spend around 3 times of the Splendor, standing out becomes one of the KEY Criteria. For argument sake take example of a guy wiling to spend 3 times that of Brezza (Fortuner Category).

[gauravanekar]

To set the background straight, let me give a brief history of my 2 wheeler ownership.
1. I owned Desert storm (classic 500) for 3.5 years, used it only as a touring tool for 36k odd KMS and sold it off in 2015 for obvious reasons.
2. Later with the RE sale money +10k from my own pocket I bought a Bajaj AS200 pulsar. The sales experience was non existent since I had decided upon the bike before entering showroom. Bike performed far exceeding expectations, perfect tourer for the money if you ask me.
3. I waited for the initial rush at dealership to reduce and then went to Bajaj for a Dominar test ride, It was fairly easy for the salesmen to convert my test ride into a sale if he wanted. That was my state of mind at that point of time.

However, a puny 1km test ride in dense Bangalore traffic was offered with a pillion, I tried to convince them hard for a NICE road test ride I offered to fill the petrol and all. I walked out of the showroom feeling insulted and woved never to step into this showroom again.

I am sure many people were treated like this.

Dominar is a supposed to be a powercruiser, is the test ride appropriate for that tag? Rahul Bajaj, where is your brains?

[gururajrv]

Firstly, Dominar is a complete package for the money it asks! Secondly, I strongly feel they should’ve remained clean from mocking at any brand. First foolish thing was to mock at another genre bikes altogether. They should’ve just entered the segment silently without making any remarks and started off clean. I’m sure their statement would’ve put off the potential customers planning to switch from their current RE range of bikes or any bikes for that matter. It’s the respect any biker should have for one another, which Bajaj screwed up big time. Their commercials are really lame, testing the speed, mocking at RE, was something that was uncalled for! Somewhere they remembered ad war between bigger Germans in US thats between AUDI, BMW & Merc where they used to literally and evidently mock at each other on the ads and tried to replicate it here

Yes the brand perception does matter here. But if you look at RS200, it’s making good sales (correct me if I’m wrong) though the price is somewhere very close to that of Dominar. I believe the quality isn’t an issue here for Bajaj as they’ve come a long way in terms of quality concerns. Atleast when I started off with my P220 FI first lot, it came with host of features in 2007, but also got a lot of incompetent service support alongside a lot of quality issues as well. I do not think this is the case with Dominar? Current owners have to drop some insights as few of my friends say they’re happy with the overall build and refinement. I also think they shouldn’t have dropped the name PULSAR, because it already had built a niche for itself which they could’ve banked upon! Dominar is an all new name, perhaps larger masses perceive it as a new bike altogether though the heart is just the same as any new range pulsars derived from sister company KATOOM aka KTM!

But I should say, Bajaj and Tata are coming up with a lot of good products, they’re certainly pointed themselves in the right direction. It’s just matter of time before they gain momentum.