5 things we like about the Bajaj Dominar 400

The Dominar 400 marks Bajaj’s foray into a completely new segment. It might have lost the Pulsar badging and a few features that made the Pulsar CS400 concept so fascinating, but having ridden it we feel that the Dominar 400 was well worth the wait. In a nutshell, here are five things that make the Dominar 400 stand out of the crowd.

Styling

Power cruisers are conspicuous motorcycles, no denying that. But apart from the characteristic low-slung stance, muscular styling and the fat rear tyre, the Dominar 400 also gets LED lamps and that dazzling paint job which make it an attention magnet. Be ready to be bombarded with questions every time you stop at a traffic signal.

Seating triangle

Bajaj has hit the right balance between a sporty and comfortable riding stance for the Dominar 400 with its wide handlebar, spacious seat and the slightly rear set footpegs. These not only make it comfortable for city riding and touring, but also allow for an aggressive riding stance whenever you feel like making full use of the 35bhp and 35Nm of torque.

Digital dashboard

The Dominar 400’s dash is split between a bar-mounted LCD console and a secondary display mounted on the fuel tank. While there is nothing new in terms of functionality, the ‘reverse’ tachometer on the main display gives it funky look. The secondary console mounted on the tank integrates basic functions like a high-beam indicator, ABS and side-stand indicator.

Brakes

The Dominar 400’s braking hardware is made of Bybre callipers gripping a 320mm disc up front and a 230mm disc brake at the rear. A first-in-class dual-channel ABS is offered as an optional extra. While the specifications by themselves might sound impressive, they tell only half the story. The soft initial bite, braking feel and the progression make it an ideal setup for a touring-focussed power cruiser.

Price

What makes the Dominar 400 even more lucrative is the introductory price tag. The Dominar 400 retails at Rs 1.36 lakh for the standard and Rs 1.50 lakh for the ABS version (both ex-showroom, Delhi), which make it a good value-for-money proposition.