Bajaj Dominar 400 vs Royal Enfield: Who to bet on?

Bajaj Auto has been very clear that its latest, the Dominar 400, is primarily here to take on Royal Enfield. In fact, Rajiv Bajaj has gone on record to say that one could ride a Bullet, but if one wants to go faster, they should get a Dominar. Rajiv also expects its latest – or as Bajaj calls it: its most powerful bike yet – to sell at least 10,000 units a month. That’s as much as the Pulsar 220 sells; Bajaj’s best selling premium motorcycle.

Meet Royal Enfield. It sells around 58,000 motorcycles a month in the domestic market (considering October figures). But, it is the Classic 350 that accounts for more than 60 per cent of those sales. In terms of numbers, the Classic 350 sold a little over 37,000 units in October this year; generally considered the best month for sales. Then there’s the standard Bullet that commands another big chunk followed by the Electra and the Thunderbird; all in 350 guise, mind.

Poaching the RE customer

Royal Enfield has its own new generation of products with higher aspirational co-efficient, namely the Continental GT and the more recent Himalayan on sale as well. But their sales numbers compared to the 350cc lineup are dismal at best. The question then is – if Royal Enfield itself can’t get its prospective buyers to invest in newer REs, what chance does Bajaj have?

The simple answer is, it doesn’t. The Bajaj Dominar 400 will not be able to turn the die-hard RE fan. What Bajaj would be hoping for then, is that there is a good percentage of RE customers who aren’t really RE fans. And, they are buying REs because there’s nothing else in the market, presence of UM notwithstanding. Bajaj, therefore, is probably depending on these customers along with the ones buying KTMs, R15s and CBR150s to gravitate towards the Dominar 400.

The non-RE fan base

Firstly, I don’t think the percentage of non-RE fans buying REs is that significant to get the Dominar its 10,000 units a month target. And, no matter how small, UM Motorcycles will eat into this non-RE fan base as well. The Dominar then will have to make a big dent in the space currently occupied by the likes of KTMs and the R15s to achieve its optimistic target.

And that segment isn’t exactly brimming with numbers either. Going back to October, if we were to combine the sales of every bike that retails around the same price as the Dominar and those that come close to it even in terms of engine capacity, we are still looking at a total figure that’s a tad under 10,000 units. And therefore to achieve Bajaj’s goals, the Dominar 400 must be a game changer, a new benchmark, and a need that’s waiting to be fulfilled.

The Dominar challenge

Coming back to the Dominar vs Royal Enfield argument, there’s no doubt that the latter is at an advantage. We might not rate Royal Enfield motorcycles to be the epitome of performance, but the brand has heritage, fan following, and an aspirational draw that’s very hard to replicate. It would take eons for the Dominar to get there.

The Dominar then needs to speak a different language. The language of modernity, technology, quality, comfort and value. But, that means it isn’t bringing anything new to table that hasn’t already been served by the likes of the KTMs, Yamahas and Hondas. And for the Dominar to harp about these would make it yet another ‘me-too’ product.

That leaves styling and performance – at an affordable price – as the only cards worth playing. Would these be good enough to make a success out of the Dominar 400? I, for one, given my risk-averse nature, wouldn’t confidently bet on it; it will be an uphill task for Bajaj.

KTM 390 Adventure: adventure is out there

Those of you who are fans of the Pixar movie ‘Up’ will recognise that headline. Just like Ellie Fredricksen, those of us who yearn to get to previously unexplored places with our house have only one real two-wheeled option – the adventure-touring motorcycle. The KTM 390 Adventure promises just that.

In a country where potholes are like those relatives you don’t like (show up at inopportune times and never go away. Ever. ) and all the fun seems to be down dirt roads, a small adventure motorcycle would be perfect. Sure, we’ve got big adv models in the market, but time to explore, money and height all are genuine problems for the Indian consumer. The enthusiasts and practical-minded all prayed and saved, but KTM was focused on other models in its lineup. Eventually, there was the Royal Enfield Himalayan but the quality and execution let it down. We were back to square one. Again, where there is a BMW streetbike, there must be an off-road version, right? Unfortunately the BMW G310 GS is nothing but a streetbike on stilts – the very thing that KTM didn’t want to do with the 390 Duke to make the Adventure. Now there are spy shots all over the internet of what seems to be the 390 Adventure – what happens next?

There’s only one serious-ish contender for the segment in the next year or two, and that’s the Kawasaki Versys-X 300. This is based off the Ninja 300, but with all the appropriate modifications to make it capable of handling off-road situations. However, Team Green will not manufacture the Versys-X here. The only motorcycle in the segment at the moment is the Royal Enfield Himalayan, and while it is a competent product, it doesn’t have the level of sophistication that the 390 Adventure will bring to it. In effect, the segment will be bracketed by these two products, with one offering the joy in a simple, uncomplicated product that can be taken anywhere with no fear of it stymying mechanics should it break down. The 390, on the other hand, will have tons of technology but will market its off-road racing success to convert prospective consumers. Of course, KTM will charge a premium, and most units manufactured at Chakan will head for export, but that also means that spares pricing and service support will be consistent regardless of sales in the Indian market.

These are all things that point to a bright future for those looking for that pocket-friendly adventure motorcycle that will broaden their two-wheeled horizons. Should the Himalayan be running scared? On the face of it, not particularly – the RE customer is a unique personality who walks into the showroom because he is sure he wants a ‘Bullet’. But when you stop and think about it, the Himalayan isn’t a Bullet; it is in a class of one. A close look at how many owners of this model are first-time RE customers will offer a very clear insight into whether the Chennai-based manufacturer needs to have a plan to make sure sales don’t fall when the KTM equivalent launches.

We know one thing for sure, though: if there is one motorcycle model that can change the perception of the adventure-touring motorcycle in the Indian market, it is this one. And for a country whose road network is only half paved, (not to mention the dissolving of most of the paved bits during the monsoon) that’s not a bad thing at all. What’s more, Ellie Fredricksen would have approved of the KTM’s sense of Adventure