Is it a true successor to the adventure spirit of its elder sibling? Candid Automotive Review.
The Bajaj Dominar 250 was widely awaited and was launched
when the quarantine was in effect in some places. It featured the Red color
which the Dominar fans have been wanting for so long. Now that it’s finally
here, let’s see if the bike lives up to the expectations.
It features the same KTM-sourced engine that is found on
three other motorcycles – Duke 250, Husqvarna Svartpilen 250 and Husqvarna
Vitpilen 250.
As you can see the closest competitor in performance here is
the Husqvarna, which also happens to be the lightest at 153 kg. This obviously gives the Husqvarna an edge
over the Dominar. (just imagine the difference in the power to weight ratios!).
Now let’s see if the Dominar 250 does what it’s advertised
to do. As proven by many people, the Dominar 400 IS a great touring machine,
and as the differences in the ergonomics are not much in the 250 model, it
proves to be a great touring machine as well. The seating is comfortable, the
seating position is good with a little sporty stance, but it’s nothing that a
small handlebar raiser won’t fix. The fuel economy is best suited for touring
or “Hyper-riding” as Bajaj likes to call it. The bike feels planted on the
highway despite having no windscreen or fairings. It has ample torque for its
engine to be capable of overtaking (even at 100kmph). The exhaust note does
feel distinct in lower revs but in higher revs can remind you of its KTM
origin. In a way the situation is just like when the Dominar 400 was launched,
it had the engine of duke 390 but had lower figures of power and torque, but
after the “UG” update the bike is now very close to being the successful VFM
(only if Bajaj hadn’t done a little price hike on that one, but it’s still
worth it anyway).
The Dominar 250 doesn’t get the dual screen setup of the
dash like the 400 but it still qualifies as OK. I’m honestly surprised why
Bajaj hasn’t introduced a Bluetooth feature yet. The display has a Dot matrix
feature so it should be easy with that and besides TVS has done it already on a
similar display.
The Bike is still better than its Royal Enfield competitor-
the Himalayan (25 bhp). The Himalayan having a bigger engine heats up quickly
in traffic and is not rev happy beyond the 110 kmph mark and it costs more than
this (1.8 lakhs). A challenging competitor to it might be the Yamaha R15 (1.45
exS), the upcoming FZ25(1.4 exSE), The Gixxer 250(a formidable competitor
with 1.6lakhs ExS) . The Dominar 250 does however have an edge over them in
terms of touring capabilities.
Conclusion
In the end, I can confidently say that the Dominar 250 does have the touring traits of its elder sibling and has a highly competitive price and the
specifications to support it. It does what it is advertised to do (touring),
excellently. While the Dominar 250 is absolutely NOT a failure, part of me
thinks that Bajaj would have been better off putting the 250 unit in a Pulsar
NS instead (with higher power figures of course). The “NS 250” had great
potential as well. I will conclude by saying this: if you like the bike, get
it, if you like something else, don’t force yourself on this one. Pay heed to
the words of your heart, because the bike you own will be with you for a long
time, and there has to be absolutely no regrets. You Don’t want to Not turn and
look back at your bike after you park it ;-)
Technical Specifications
Dominar 250:
Source : Bajaj Dominar 250 Owner's Manual
KTM Duke 250:
Source: https://www.carandbike.com/ktm-bikes/250-duke
Husqvarna Svartpilen/Vitpilen 250:
KTM Duke 250:
Husqvarna Svartpilen/Vitpilen 250:
Source: https://www.bikedekho.com/husqvarna/vitpilen-250/specifications
