Hello friends
Just came back from Dominar 400 test ride. The initial impression is good, the bike looks like a reworked and beefy version of 200NS. Since I already reached late for checking the bike out, I didn't waste much time talking and got into the test ride bike for a 15 minute test ride.
Below are some highlights from the ride -
1. Bike feels imposing from the front and side profiles. The carved fuel tank is the highlight of the design. Rear end is a bit disappointing and bland in comparison. Paint quality looks very good for a Bajaj product. The dark purple/green shade parked at showroom looked simply beautiful.
2. Bike stands true to its name, a sports tourer. Cruising at 80 kmph felt like cakewalk for this engine and certainly the D390 nature isn't evident at all. Power band is very linear and the bike takes its own sweet time to build up speed. Engine doesn't feel stressed but you expect the progress to be more quicker from a high displacement engine. Bike felt sluggish to gain speeds in slow moving traffic but I never felt deficiency of torque except while taking off from a complete halt. Riding position is spot on for cruising and I had no complaints with the seat compound as well. Windblast was a major problem due to lack of a fairing/visor.
3. Bike feels heavy at slow speeds and add to it the wide front end limits flickability in traffic. It felt as if Bajaj had a well built person in mind when designing the bike. Those with a thin frame like me would feel that the bike is simply too wide and heavy to handle. Once on the move, there is no problem though. It feels stable as hell due to the weight. Potholes are dismissed with ease. My pillion was a bit overweight due to which the suspension was already compressed and the bike glided over broken stretches. On a solo ride I feel the suspension would be on the harsher side. The front forks weren't confidence inspiring and dived in too much upon hard breaking.
4. Headlights are brilliant. They look and function very well and the cooler colour temperature makes it stand out from the crowd. One thing I noticed was that the beams were a bit confusing and worked opposite way (low beam in high and vice versa). I think the problem was specific to my test bike. Coming to the brakes, the front brake felt very good. Bite was sufficient (a bit sharp) and braking was very progressive with good stopping power. Rear brake was lacking but anyway I don't use rear brake much.
5. Another good point worth mentioning is the refinement. The bike revved freely and vibrations were at a bare minimum. To be honest I had expected slight roughness frim this motorcycle but was surprised by the smooth nature. The exhaust note was different from KTM 390 as well, in a good way.
Overall this bike doesn't have anything special going for it. There is no big positive like extreme comfort, extreme power or extreme quality. Not exactly a Bullet alternative but offers good value to those people who look at bikes like Mojo, Inazuma, etc. for sedate weekdays and long weekends. In simple words, jack of all trades but master of none.
Regards,
Alpha
). Also having a fairing makes the handle very light which improves drivability IMO.![[thumbsup]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Thumbs%20Up.png "Thumbs Up [thumbsup]")
![[:D]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Big%20Smile.gif "Big Smile [:D]")
![[:)]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Smile.gif "Smile [:)]")
How much is the waiting period? Bike looks interesting and might dent RE sales.
