Bajaj Dominar vs Royal Enfield Classic 350: Spec Comparison

Bajaj has fired its biggest salvo yet – the Dominar 400. For what Bajaj terms as the first power cruiser in India, we have had a motorcycle for ages that is personified with power and termed as a cruiser – the Bullet. The present day iteration of the Bullet is the Classic 350 and we pitch it against the Dominar 400 and compare the specifications to find out which one does better, on paper at least.

Looks and Styling

The two motorcycles, the Bajaj and the Royal Enfield are poles apart in this aspect. Bajaj takes the modern take with the sculpted tank, hunched stance and a bunch of LEDs for the headlamp. The seating is sporty with the marginally rearset footpegs and the low-slung streetfighter handlebar. Royal Enfield sticks to the ‘Classic’ moniker to a T. The round headlamp, the shape of the tank and even the fenders have been taken straight out of the history books. The Classic 350 is bare metal with only some chrome to help it out on the styling front.

Engine and Performance 

Both get single cylinder engines. The Dominar displaces 375cc from its over-square bore, a remnant of the KTM architecture and develops 34.5 bhp of power and 35 Nm of torque. Unlike the KTM, the meat of the power and torque bands lie in the mid-range. The Classic 350 on the other hand gets a remnant of the old-school long-stroke engine. It develops 19.8 bhp of power and 28Nm of torque that can be felt right from 2000rpm. The Dominar comes mated to a six-speed gearbox armed with a slipper clutch while the Royal Enfield gets a five-speed ‘box. The Bajaj gets fuel-injection while the Royal Enfield is carburetted. The Dominar, thus, wins the performance battle comprehensively.

Features and Cycle parts 

The Dominar wins this one too. It gets a digital instrument cluster with two tripmeters, a rev counter and the speedometer. It also gets a mini-dashboard on the tank for ABS, side-stand indicator and battery indicator. It gets dual channel ABS for better braking performance from the disc brake offered at both ends. It gets a 110/70/17 tubeless radial tyre in the front and 150/60/17 tyre in the back wrapped around alloy wheels.

The Classic 350 gets a 19-inch spoke wheel in the front and an 18-inch spoke wheel in the back. It does get disc brakes, but the 280mm disc in the front and the 153mm disc are smaller than that of the Dominar and do not gave ABS in spite of the excess weight of the Royal Enfield. It gets twin gas-charged shocks in the back unlike the monoshock of the Dominar.

Price

Bajaj has played their price card to ensure an extremely competitive price for the Dominar. At Rs 1.36 lakh ex-showroom, Delhi, the Dominar 400’s introductory price is marginally higher than the Royal Enfield Classic 350 which retails for Rs 1.31 lakh. The Bajaj offers much more bang for your buck unless the thump is what you are looking at.