Bajaj Dominar 250 - what do you think about this bike?

[CLW]

As the title says, coming soon to Thai market and it looks interesting.

I am looking for commuter bike to max. 300cc and must have ABS.

Or should I go for second hand Honda/Yamaha?

I worry the previous owners didn't take care much of the bike, especially in the running in phase...

 

New bike you have it in your own hands and also warranty from dealer.

Bajaj has now promotion for free maintenance three years and good finance.

It ticks all features I would like to have and Bajaj bikes are very popular in India.

Btw Bajaj is part of KTM or vice versa.

 

 

[VocalNeal]

If there is a dealer reasonably close, why not. The only negative i can possibly see is resale after a few years?

[SheikYabodyline]

Of course they're popular in India, so were Royal Enfields and Morris Oxfords decades ago when they made them locally from plant bought wholesale and shipped from the UK. The question now is how good is the tooling and build quality for these road rockets, now they're trying to compete with Japanese quality?

[seedy]

CBR300R is 50K more - know which one I would pick

[piston broke]

3 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

If there is a dealer reasonably close, why not. The only negative i can possibly see is resale after a few years?

i tend to agree .....

[VocalNeal]

2 hours ago, SheikYabodyline said:

now they're trying to compete with Japanese quality?

Bajaj is the third or fourth largest motorbike manufacturer in the world. I don't thing they are trying anymore?

[CLW]

3 hours ago, SheikYabodyline said:

Of course they're popular in India, so were Royal Enfields and Morris Oxfords decades ago when they made them locally from plant bought wholesale and shipped from the UK. The question now is how good is the tooling and build quality for these road rockets, now they're trying to compete with Japanese quality?

I would guess in a price sensitive mass market such as India if Bajaj weren't any good, no one would buy them.

I compare it with Thai automobile market. Isuzu trucks have huge domestic market share but outside little known. Their cars are not fancy or have the newest technology but cheap to own and maintain and reliable. I see Bajaj like this in the global motorcycle market

[VocalNeal]

19 hours ago, CLW said:

I see Bajaj like this in the global motorcycle market

I don't think Baja are in the global motorcycle market, just the Asian motorcycle market!

[guzzi850m2]

Honda CB300F or Yamaha MT03 any-day of the week if I was looking in that category.

 

The Honda is under 160kg and the Bajaj is 180kg, that a huge difference, very heavy that Bajaj so not so flickalbe, slower acceleration & likely longer brake distance.

 

The Honda/Yamaha options got a bit more HP as well.

 

You can find a 2nd hand Honda/Yamaha cheaper than the Bajaj, spare parts all over Thailand, fairly good re-sale value, the Bajaj will be hard to sell again at a fair price.

 

I would never buy a Bajaj when there is much better options all things considered.

[piston broke]

On 11/15/2021 at 4:21 PM, VocalNeal said:

Bajaj is the third or fourth largest motorbike manufacturer in the world. I don't thing they are trying anymore?

Bajaj are building the New KTM 490 range (Available as either Duke, Super-Motard, Enduro, RC or Adventure) in a purpose built factory in Pune, India...

 

Expected to be available late 2022...

 

With a 60hp twin cyl engine & WP suspension - will knock the 500cc offerings from Honda / Benelli / Harley D / RE  into NEXT WEEK ..

 

My mate Kerry (who was Tony Rutter's race mechanic), reccons it's going to be the best new bike in it's class, for a long while - A true "game Changer".

 

Is it a problem it's going to be made in india ? - Nope (thanks Poppa)...

 

[papa al]

5 hours ago, piston broke said:

Bajaj are building the New KTM 490 range (Available as either Duke, Super-Motard, Enduro, RC or Adventure) in a purpose built factory in Pune, India...

 

Expected to be available late 2022...

 

With a 60hp twin cyl engine & WP suspension - will knock the 500cc offerings from Honda / Benelli / Harley D / RE  into NEXT WEEK ..

 

My mate Kerry (who was Tony Rutter's race mechanic), reccons it's going to be the best new bike in it's class, for a long while - A true "game Changer".

 

Is it a problem it's going to be made in india ? - Nope (thanks Poppa)...

 

No dealers here.

[Gottfrid]

A <deleted> brand, that I would only buy if I wanted to die a little bit quicker.

[piston broke]

33 minutes ago, papa al said:

No dealers here.

 

plenty of dealers in Thailand, Poppa - And more being added .....

[CLW]

38 minutes ago, Gottfrid said:

A <deleted> brand, that I would only buy if I wanted to die a little bit quicker.

Care to elaborate?

[CLW]

22 hours ago, guzzi850m2 said:

Honda CB300F or Yamaha MT03 any-day of the week if I was looking in that category.

 

The Honda is under 160kg and the Bajaj is 180kg, that a huge difference, very heavy that Bajaj so not so flickalbe, slower acceleration & likely longer brake distance.

 

The Honda/Yamaha options got a bit more HP as well.

 

You can find a 2nd hand Honda/Yamaha cheaper than the Bajaj, spare parts all over Thailand, fairly good re-sale value, the Bajaj will be hard to sell again at a fair price.

 

I would never buy a Bajaj when there is much better options all things considered.

of course there are 2nd hand Honda / Yamaha bikes cheaper available than the Bajaj. But how did the owners care about them? It starts already finding one with standard exhaust. I can imagine how these relatively small bikes have been tortured with highest RPM to get the most noise, no thank you....

[piston broke]

5 minutes ago, CLW said:

of course there are 2nd hand Honda / Yamaha bikes cheaper available than the Bajaj. But how did the owners care about them? It starts already finding one with standard exhaust. I can imagine how these relatively small bikes have been tortured with highest RPM to get the most noise, no thank you....

 

Many a true word spoken in jest ...

[OneeyedJohn]

Why is it so heavy?

 

I used to have 750 v twin Kawi that was 225 KGs, so 180 for a 250 is ridiculous.

 

 

 

Edited November 17, 2021 by OneeyedJohn

[guzzi850m2]

1 hour ago, CLW said:

of course there are 2nd hand Honda / Yamaha bikes cheaper available than the Bajaj. But how did the owners care about them? It starts already finding one with standard exhaust. I can imagine how these relatively small bikes have been tortured with highest RPM to get the most noise, no thank you....

I agree, buying one from a young Thai man is likely a bad idea in most cases but you see them sometime at Bathsold and Thaivisa classified, so owned by an expat. I bought my big bike from an expat with full service history. 

On another note, if something is wrong with a 300cc Honda/Yamaha you can get it fixed very cheap and quickly.

 

Edited November 17, 2021 by guzzi850m2

[Ralf001]

2 hours ago, papa al said:

No dealers here.

Was at the Pattaya KTM Dealer yesterday looking over a 790 Duke.

[Gottfrid]

2 hours ago, CLW said:

Care to elaborate?

Why? I thought my post was as clear as it can be regarding my opinion of the bike. If you have another opinion, just post it and go on with your life.

[piston broke]

2 hours ago, OneeyedJohn said:

Why is it so heavy?

 

I used to have 750 v twin Kawi that was 225 KGs, so 180kg for a 250 is ridiculous.

 

 

 

 

It's made of pig iron, that's why ....

[Agusts]

Dealers , spare parts, aftermarket parts, mechanics who know how to properly repair it - well, let's say they repaired a few before yours. ...., take all that into account..., if I was in India it would have been an option with all the above for  Bajaj bikes in every corner, in Thailand there are better options... 

 

 

[JeffersLos]

On 11/15/2021 at 4:21 PM, VocalNeal said:

Bajaj is the third or fourth largest motorbike manufacturer in the world.

Yes, and 1/6th of humans are Indians in India. 

[seedy]

Is it a good bike in LOS ? Only time will tell.

Dealer network efficient ? Mechanics knowledgeable ? Spare parts plentiful ?

Hope they do not fall down the same rabbit hole as Ducati - great bikes made next to useless here due to a lack of spare parts and knowledgeable dealers.

When your bike comes back from Laos in the back of a truck due to no parts in Thailand - what good is it ? No matter how "New", "High Tech" 'Best in Class" it is

[bojo]

That's a real nice looking machine in my eyes...........................

[piston broke]

1 hour ago, seedy said:

Is it a good bike in LOS ? Only time will tell.

Dealer network efficient ? Mechanics knowledgeable ? Spare parts plentiful ?

Hope they do not fall down the same rabbit hole as Ducati - great bikes made next to useless here due to a lack of spare parts and knowledgeable dealers.

When your bike comes back from Laos in the back of a truck due to no parts in Thailand - what good is it ? No matter how "New", "High Tech" 'Best in Class" it is

I guess someone got to be "first out of the trenches" - but it wouldn't be me ....

 

You deviate from the norm, you'll probably live to regret it .....

 

I remember a couple of years back going to the launch of the then new Benelli Leoncino 500 - 215,000 Baht asking price as i recall....

 

Last week i saw a sh/h one at a dealers for 89,900 Baht .....

 

Thats one hell of a kick in the teeth for the original owner ....

[Kinnock]

When I lived in India, I bought an Enfield Thunderbird against the advice of all my Indian friends, who recommended Bajaj.  In India Bajaj has a very good reputation for quality and reliability - and they compete against Honda.

 

So I don't think the bike itself would be the issue.  But dealer network and resale price may be a worry.

 

I would stretch to a Kawasaki Z400 if I wanted that style of bike (the Honda CB300 is made for midgets, so not an option for me).  But if you go for the Bajaj, I think you'll be happy with it.

[papa al]

On 11/18/2021 at 6:55 AM, seedy said:

 

When your bike comes back from Laos in the back of a truck due to no parts in Thailand -

W T F ?

[mahjongguy]

Last year we bought the latest model Kawasaki Z400 for 172,000 baht. That's more money but it's a lot more bike. And 12 kilos lighter.

[Agusts]

There is also a Bajaj Dominar 400, it was offered in Thailand last year I think..., if any think that might have a bit more juice considering the heavy chassis on these bikes...