Bajaj Dominar 400

At first glance, the new 2019 Dominar barely looks any different from its predecessor, barring its new bright green colour scheme of course. There are contrasting black panels and while their shapes are all the same, Bajaj has played around with some new textures. Visually, the other big change comes in the form of upside down (USD) forks at the front along with a larger, twin-barrel exhaust. But we’ll come to the mechanicals in just a bit. These aside, the Dominar also gets new, wider mirrors with cast aluminium stalks. However, we found that while these mirrors looked good and offered more viewing area, they were a bit difficult to adjust, especially in the upward direction. The overall headlight and tail light designs have been carried over, but now the headlight gets slightly different masking making it look a bit narrower and the tail light reflectors look more modern now. Bajaj has also dropped the golden colour wheels they had introduced on the Dominar recently for the original two-tone diamond cut design. And it might seem like an insignificant detail, but the side stand is now made of forged steel (for added strength) and looks much nicer now. 

A big change comes in the form of the revised instrument cluster. The basic layout of the main unit remains the same, with a large digital tachometer and speedometer. But in place of the odometer and trip meters, the 2019 bike now gets average and instantaneous fuel consumption readouts along with a side stand warning. The telltale lights which were on the tank have now been moved to the main unit, and in their place is a small, secondary digital display that houses the odo and trip meters, along with a gear position indicator and clock. While this is certainly a welcome addition, looking at this secondary display while riding means tilting your head down quite a bit and taking your eyes off the road. Rounding off the visual changes is a “D” logo embossed in the pillion seat and a new, funky tank pad.

One of the biggest changes for 2019 is to the Dominar’s engine. This KTM-derived 373cc single-cylinder, liquid cooled motor hasn’t seen any change in cubic capacity, but it now gets Dual OverHead Camshafts (DOHC). The engine’s compression ratio has also been bumped up from 11.3:1 to 12.1:1. Along with an ECU retune and the new exhaust, the Dominar now makes a whole 5PS more power than before. So peak power output now stands at 40PS @ 8650rpm, while peak torque remains the same at 35Nm @ 7000rpm. Through all this, Bajaj has managed to limit the weight gain to just 2kg (kerb weight is now 184kg), so the bike’s performance has seen a nice bump up. Bajaj claims that 2019 Dominar can get from zero to 100kmph in 7.1 seconds now, which is 0.7 seconds quicker than before. And the claimed top speed has now gone up to 156kmph. Not to forget, the new exhaust sounds rather good, with plenty of bass and grunt, whether at idle or at full throttle.

But outright performance was never really a complaint on the previous Dominar. One slight concern was the engine refinement, which has now been thoroughly addressed as well. The motor now feels much smoother throughout the rev range, and while mild vibrations can be felt at the handlebars and footpegs from about 4000rpm, they don’t really get bothersome till about 8500rpm. Considering that in sixth gear, the new Dominar manages 100kmph at 5500rpm and 120kmph at 6500rpm, you can be comfortably cruising at triple-digit speeds on the highway all day long in a lot more relaxed manner than before - just what’s needed from a touring motorcycle. And when cruising on the highway, the engine now has much more punch to overtake traffic, without the need to downshift to extract power. To top things off, with a (fairly realistic) claimed fuel efficiency of 27kmpl and a 13-litre fuel tank, you’re looking at easily over 300km on each tank full. 

While there have been no changes to the chassis (the bike is still built around a perimeter frame), the inclusion of the new upside down forks has made a big difference in the handling. The Dominar now feels more nimble than before and turns faster, whether your slicing your way through traffic, or going around fast sweeping bends. And the more sophisticated front suspension ensures that the front tyre maintains good contact with the road when turning quickly, increasing the amount of confidence you feel in the motorcycle’s handling.

But not only has the handling improved, so has the ride quality. The new front suspension is highly adept at soaking up bumps and even the rear monoshock has been softened for it to do the same. The rear suspension setup was the Achilles heel of the previous Dominar, as it felt extremely stiff over bad roads. With a revised spring rate, it now copes with bumps much better. However, on really sharp bumps, it can still send a few shocks to your back.

The Dominar always came in a single variant, and this hasn’t changed for the 2019 edition. The bike will be offered in two colour options at the time of launch - this bright green that you see in the pictures, as well as black, with more colour options to follow later.

Primarily, the Dominar’s tech is aimed more towards improving the motorcycle’s dynamics. The new, Endurance-sourced USD forks feature the same open cartridge design as seen on the 2017 KTM 390 Duke. These are highly capable units which endow the Dominar with great handling characteristics, but you can read about just how well they perform in the next section. 

The brakes have seen an upgrade too. While the disc sizes remain the same (320mm at the front and 230mm at the rear), the front caliper is now radially mounted - just like the KTMs. This has definitely upped the Dominar’s stopping power, especially when braking hard. But just like the original (2013) KTM 390’s brake, this one too feels quite spongy at the lever. Dual-channel ABS of course is standard, but there’s no option to turn it off. The slick-shifting 6-speed gearbox still comes with a slipper clutch that makes for a light clutch lever action and allows hard downshifting without locking up the rear wheel.

All the lighting on the Dominar remains LED, including the headlight, which is possibly the brightest in its class. Though we wish that the bike would not use its high beam as the Daytime Running Light (DRL), as it’s bright enough to dazzle oncoming traffic even in the middle of the day. Finally, while this might not qualify as a tech update, the new Dominar gets four bungee loops, which can be tucked away under the rear seat. These will be really useful for those wanting to strap down some luggage to the rear seat when riding long distances. Bajaj has also said that there will be a plethora of accessories for the new Dominar, when the bike goes on sale soon. These are being designed by Autologue Designs from Pune, but will be available at dealer level and not as company fitted accessories. Other alternatives in the same price bracket include the KTM 250 Duke, Husqvarna Vitpilen 250, and Svartpilen 250.