Bajaj Dominar 400 vs Mojo vs Himalayan comparison

The protruding tail-end on the Mojo is unconventional and looks quite nice on its own, but compare it to the rest of the motorcycle and things start to look a bit disproportionate. The Dominar’s tail-end looks nice and thick and sports Bajaj’s typical vertical twin-strip setup, while the Himalayan gets a raised rear fender, in keeping with its off-road-friendly theme. And where the Mojo unnecessarily gets two metal-finished silencers (that do sound quite nice, actually), the Dominar gets a nice thick, matte-black silencer that has a nice throaty note in higher revs. The Himalayan gets an upswept silencer to aid in ground clearance, but the exhaust note sounds a bit dull and is quite unappealing.

Riding the wave

The Dominar gets a set of beefy 43mm telescopic forks at the front, while the rear is armed with the Bajaj trademark Nitrox, two-stage, adjustable monoshock system. While the stiff setup makes riding over bad roads quite a hassle, the firm setup gives the Dominar sporty handling and excellent high-speed stability. It feels extremely planted through corners and the bike turns in to corners in a fuss-free, neutral manner. The Dominar 400 gets a perimeter-type frame, formed from steel spars and backed 
by a precision-pressed steel swingarm. This chassis setup is what makes the weight of the motorcycle feel so well distributed. It’s hard to tell that, at 182kg, the Dominar has the same kerb weight as the Himalayan.

The Himalayan does feel like a large motorcycle, and the weight is a bit more noticeable. The frame is a steel, semi-double cradle, and suspension duties are taken care of by a pair of 41mm conventional forks and a single rear shock. Both ends deliver relatively long travel – 200mm at the front, and 180mm at the rear. What this means is that on the road, there’s not much you have to slow down for. And even though this is a tall motorcycle that has more rugged, dual-purpose tyres, it handles corners wonderfully. This rigid chassis setup means you can dip into corners and the Himalayan holds its lines well, and gives you the confidence to lean in deeper. Although, the large 21-inch front tyre means directional changes are not very quick. Off-road is where the Himalayan really comes into its element. The front end, however, does feel a bit too soft and restricts the amount of feedback you need. And if you manage to get a bit of air time, the suspension does bottom out on landings. Royal Enfield has designed its adventure bike with touring equipment in mind, so the frame includes anchor points for panniers and supports.

The Mojo, on the other hand, gets a twin-tube, exposed chassis that looks nice and solid. But because we’ve had the chance to ride this bike extensively, we can safely say that it’s not the greatest chassis out there. It’s prone to flex at higher speeds, which can make choosing lines precisely quite a daunting task. It also weighs 3kg more and has a heft of 185kg. But, that being said, the Dominar makes use of 43mm telescopic forks at the front, while the Mojo gets more premium upside-down forks. At the rear, the Dominar 400 and the Mojo both get a multi-step adjustable mono shock.