Bajaj Dominar 400 Vs Pulsar RS200:

Bajaj recently shocked everyone when they announced the pricing of their new flagship brand, Dominar. The prices of the bike start from INR 1.36 lakhs and it is so competitive that they have smartly placed the bike in the segment of Royal Enfield making Dominar more affordable than any of its rivals. The bike does not have any direct rival in that same price bracket and stands a very good chance to eat the buyers of all those bikes which are less powerful than Dominar and are priced around in the same price bracket.
This also includes its own flagship model of Pulsar series, RS200 which is priced at INR 1.33 lakhs making Dominar only 3K more expensive than it. Which one makes more sense and gives more value for your money? Well to answer the question, we have come up with this comparison putting the flagship models of Bajaj up against each other to know which one makes more sense to buy. Let us find out.

Styling and Dimensions
Surprisingly, both these bikes are the end results of the concept versions shown at the Auto Expo 2012. The Pulsar RS200 is based on the styling concept of Pulsar RS400 while the Dominar gets its styling from the CS400. The Dominar is a naked tourer bike while the RS200 is a full fairing bike for racing enthusiasts with improved aerodynamics and riding position.The Dominar 400 has been tastefully designed with usage of full LED headlamp cluster at front with LED side turn indicators, black colored alloy wheels with flowing design short front fender and skinny cowl with a short and tinted visor on the top of its headlamp while the RS200 gets twin projector lamps at front with a long visor and an aggressive full fairing. Move the side and the naked and full fairing look of both bikes come out even better with their respective different styling matching their personality.
The Dominar is the bigger bike out o of two as it stands at 2156mm in length, 813mm in width and 1112mm in height giving it the much needed compact yet macho appearance while the RS200 measures 1999mm, 765mm and 1114mm in length, width and height respectively making it a full size and practical bike to handle. These both bikes are undoubtedly one of the best designed bikes ever from Bajaj.

Engine Spec
Both bikes are powered by KTM sourced single cylinder, liquid-cooled, fuel injected engines hence they are rev happy and refined with good outright performance. The Dominar400 is powered by the same 373cc, SOHC engine as used in the KTM Duke 390. This engine has been specially tuned by Bajaj to meet the proposed cruising abilities of this bike with incorporation of Triple spark technology. The bike produces a peak power and torque output of around 35bhp@8000 and 35Nm@6500rpm respectively. This results in a very strong low and mid range and that is probably what Bajaj wanted to achieve as their positioning of this bike demands it to be a relaxed cruiser than a performance bike.
For performance, you may choose the RS200 which also gets single cylinder engine from Duke 200 and has been tuned to churn out a peak power and torque output of 24.1bhp@9750rpm and 18.6Nm@8000rpm respectively. However despite the relaxed nature of Dominar, it has 8km/hr higher claimed top speed of 148km/hr then RS200 also making it the fastest Bajaj bike. The Dominar further gets equipped with slipper clutch and both bikes feature 6-speed gearbox.

Features
As far as features are concerned Bajaj has made sure you get more value for your money than you expect from both of their bikes. The Dominar especially is the most advanced Bajaj bike in India in terms of features as you get a complete digital instrument panel which also looks very practical, functional and premium with a small part of its placed on the fuel tank same as seen in bikes such as Ducati Diavel. The main display has digital speedometer, odometer, trip meter, time and tachometer while the tank display is for the tell tale lights. This whole set-up of instrument display is very appealing and premium. The RS200 also gets twin projector lamps at front along with a combined analog-digital instrument display while it shares few features with Dominar such as blue colored backlit switches on the handlebar, stylish alloy wheels, split seat, grab rail, LED tail lamp etc.
Suspension and Brakes
Both bikes ride on 17-inch wheels with radial tyres equipped at both ends. The Dominar gets rear 150 section tyre while the RS200 gets 130 section tyre to provide you enough grip on these bikes around corners and while going at fast speed. The added length of Dominar results in a nearly 100mm longer wheelbase of 1453mm in comparison to RS200 which makes sure you get great high speed stability which gets even better with its 43mm telescopic forks at front with a dual spring mono-shock at the back. The RS200 also gets similar suspension set-up at both ends including telescopic forks at front and mono-shock at the back.

Both bikes though have a low ground clearance of 157mm which may get affected by high speed breakers and big potholes on our Indian roads. The Dominar is the heavier of two as it weighs around 182kg which makes it nearly 17kg heavier than the RS and both bikes have been equipped with disc brakes at both ends. The Dominar gets a bigger 320mm disc brake at front while the RS200 gets 300mm disc brake at front. Both bikes share their rear disc brake of 230mm. Both bikes come with optional ABS however the Dominar gets dual channel ABS while the RS200 only gets single channel ABS to keep prices in check.
Verdict
Certainly, the Dominar comes out as a superior bike of two in terms of performance, features and usage of advanced technologies. The pricing of the non ABS variant is even more tempting for someone to own a 400cc bike equipped with all latest features, styling and offering adequate performance. The ABS variant is priced at INR 1.50lakhs (Ex-showroom, Delhi) and that is only where the major price difference arises.
So if you are not a fan of full fairing bikes and you are looking for a comfortable yet powerful performance bike then we will surely recommend you to go for the non ABS variant of Dominar which has a bigger front disc brake than the single channel ABS equipped RS200 which is not as powerful as Dominar and misses out many features which you get in Dominar and it will be even better if you can shed out some more money and buy the ABS variant of Dominar and clear your all confusions in a one go and enjoy your ownership of having the fastest and most powerful Bajaj bike ever.
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Source:msn.com