Bajaj Dominar 250 vs Dominar 400: What’s Different?

Still having a hard time figuring out what separates these two bikes apart from the engine? Well, you need to read this 

After multiple spy shots and leaked information, the Bajaj Dominar 250 has finally been launched in India. The baby Dominar 250 is priced at Rs 1.60 lakh (ex-showroom), making it a whopping Rs 30,000 more affordable than the flagship variant, the Dominar 400. We know you might have a hard time telling the two motorcycles apart considering they look identical. Hence, we’ve compiled this report. 

Heart of the matter: 

Let’s talk about the most obvious difference between the Bajaj Dominar 400 and the new Dominar 250 - the engine. The name itself suggests the displacement size of each model. The 373cc engine in the flagship version makes 40PS and 35Nm (BS6-compliant version makes similar figures). The 248.7cc motor in the baby Dominar belts out 27PS and 23.5Nm of torque. This is the same unit seen in the KTM 250 Duke and the Huskies, but over there, this motor makes 30PS and 24Nm of torque. The bike comes with dual-spark plugs as opposed to triple-spark plugs in the Dominar 400. Both models are equipped with a six-speed gearbox. 

Slightly different set of underpinnings: 

On the surface, the underpinnings on both motorcycles look similar. But the spec sheet reveals a few differences. The suspension, for example. While the bigger Dominar 400 uses a fat 43mm USD fork at the front, the baby Domi is equipped with a 37mm USD fork (135mm of travel remains the same). The rear monoshock, however, is the same unit on both versions.

While the rear disc remains the same (320mm), the Dominar 250 uses a smaller 300mm disc at the front instead of a 320mm disc as seen on the Dominar 400. Another major difference between the two is the swingarm. The Dominar 250 comes with a box-section swingarm instead of an aluminium unit on the flagship motorcycle. 

To keep costs in check, the Dominar 250 rides on slightly slimmer 100/80 at the front and 130/70 tubeless tyres instead of radials seen on the bigger version. 

All these changes will result in quite a significant difference in terms of performance and mileage. But the question is by how much? You’ll have to wait for our first ride review to find out. 

Similar looks but different colours:

Apart from the ‘D250’ badge, differentiating these two motorcycles solely on their design is pretty tough. The major difference though are the colour options. While the bigger Dominar is available in green and black, the smaller version comes in red and, err, black. 

Same set of features as well:

In order to keep costs in check, Bajaj hasn’t fiddled around with the features list. The baby Dominar gets the same set of features as its bigger cousin! So you get a digital instrument console and a small display below it, LED lights, slipper clutch, and dual-channel ABS!