Dominar 400 Review | TheRevviewer.com

 The 400 cc segment was is the perfect corridor for touring riders. Surely you can be very happy with 250 cc little babies but the most comfortable niche is the 400cc. Back in 2016, you had very limited option for a 400cc bike. The Ninja 400 was unreliable and didn’t excel too much In its liking amongst the public. The KTM RC 390 was the demon to beat in terms of performance but it had a posture that it could kill your back and your mom cant sit on the bike if she wishes to go for the groceries with you. Then came the Dominar 400 with the same devilish engine but detuned to better efficiency and heat management.

 

Powertrain

The Dominar is powered by the same KTM 373 cc Oil cooled engine throwing out some pleasurable 40 bhp of power and 35 Nm of torque. Honestly speaking, if you ask me to trade 3 bhp and 2 Nm of torque for a more useable engine, better efficiency and a stronger mid range, I would agree immediately. This motor just pull and pulls and pulls. Unlike the RC it doesn’t jerk at lower RPS, and doesn’t just push all its power in a second. It has a very wide mid-range. It does inherits some genetics from KTM, it loves to be reved, it doesn’t like short shifting, it loves to use the gears long and hard. During my testing, I had to get adapted to the Dominar because every time I shifted at 2.5K RPMs like a normal driver, I always thought I am gonna stall her.

 

Dynamics

The Domiar has a lovely and plush ride quality. It does have Pre-Load and etc, but Bajaj was very smart about this, The duke has a relatively better front shocks than the RC and Bajaj developed some softer rear monoshocks for the Dominar. So the Dominar has a lovely handling and also a plush drive on the highways. So you can corner and still drive for long. It is like a good mixture of the Duke and the RC with a good riding posture.

 

Features

She has a Full LED headlight and taillight with an LCD cluster. It has a weird LCD gear shift indicator and Fuel gauge on the fuel tank. The so called AUX screen is even difficult to see without taking your eyes off the roads which completely defies the purpose. It gets USD forks and a really chunky tyres. It now gets a full smoked visor, knuckle guards, Dual channel ABS with dics and a phone mount. Dominar has a lovely posture, Confident enough and comfortable enough. It even has saddle stays for your touring bags and paniers.

 

Build

The Dominar has a very good build quality. It has been put together well and dosent feel lousy. The plastics are of great quality and the looks are fantastic on this bike. It has some unique colors like Green and White. Personally I have never enjoyed White color on a bike more than the Dominar.

Final verdict

For 2.8 Lakhs OTR, this is the cheapest and best 400cc bike one can buy today. And it is no compromise, it has the power, it has the grunt, it is fast enough, efficient enough, comfortable and a bike you can take your mom out for groceries. So for a person who has family needs and also highway cravings, this is the best for them, Period. If you are planning to  buy the Dominar, I will suggest waiting for some time for the new version right around the corner or a Second hand one for much cheaper.

 

Pros	Cons
Usable Engine	Very Outdate specs
Very refined	Not very compliant on potholes
Pillion doesn’t sit on your shoulders.
You can get best of both worlds.