250cc Bajaj Dominar Under Development

The quarter-litre Dominar is likely to be launched by next month

• The smaller Dominar will be powered by a BS6-compliant motor.
• It will feature the same suspension setup as the Dominar 400. 
• The upcoming Dominar 250 could be priced between Rs 1.6 lakh and Rs 1.7 lakh. 

Bajaj Auto’s MD, Rajiv Bajaj, has confirmed that the brand is working on a 250cc motorcycle that could hit showrooms by next month. But what is this mysterious motorcycle? Is it a 250cc Pulsar or a 250cc Avenger? Well, neither. The brand is looking to launch a Dominar 250, which could be priced around Rs 1.6 lakh to Rs 1.7 lakh. 

Earlier this month, a spy shot of the Dominar 250 surfaced online, giving us a hint of what to expect from the new 250cc Dominar. Now, Bajaj isn’t going to skip on features just because it’s a smaller Dominar. The upcoming motorcycle will come with the same suspension setup as its bigger sibling, the Dominar 400. But we think Bajaj might tweak the braking hardware by equipping it with slightly smaller discs. 

The other major difference between the two is the swingarm. Being Bajaj’s flagship motorcycle, the Dominar 400 gets a cast unit, while the smaller Dominar 250 gets a box-section. Additionally, the tyre size on the test mule seems to be a tad smaller compared to the other variant. But we don’t have any confirmation on whether it is the final configuration or not.

It’s a no brainer that Bajaj will use the same 250cc unit as seen on the Husqvarna Svartpilen 250, Vitpilen 250 and the KTM 250 Duke. Now, this motor is already BS6-compliant, so all that Bajaj has to do is just detune this motor to suit the Dominar’s character. We believe the Dominar 250 could make 1PS to 1.5PS less than its other 250cc counterparts. For perspective, the 250cc motor in the KTM 250 Duke makes 30PS and 24Nm of torque. 

In terms of features, we can see Bajaj equipping the baby Dominar with the same split digital instrument cluster and the double-barrel exhaust as seen on the Dominar 400. However, we expect the new Dominar 250 to get a plain-jane halogen headlamp instead of the LED setup to keep costs in check. 

Enthusiasts might be wondering why Bajaj is coming up with a smaller Dominar. Well, right now Bajaj doesn’t have any motorcycle between 220cc and 400cc. The quarter-litre segment has started heating up with the entry of new motorcycles from Husqvarna, Benelli and Suzuki. So, it only makes sense for Bajaj to dip its toes in this segment.

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