Bajaj Dominar, 10,000kms
Bajaj Boxer mods
13 August 2020
Trip to the north
24 August 2020By Innocent Dan, posted on AMD-fb
Well well well. She has finally hit 10,000KMs.
Its exactly 4 months 29 days, 21wks 4 days, 151 dys, 3624 hrs, 217,440 mins, 13,046,400 secs since I began this beautiful journey with the amazing, immaculate, ultra-clean, spotless, pristine Dominar 400.
I started my biking career in shagz. I would steal my dad Suzuki(hii 175 ama ni 185cc). Ride around bare chest at the max speed it would hit caring less for the danger that would befall me if I kiss the ground. All in all thats in history. The greeks say "ihii ni cia ngai" which loosely translates to "Vipiis are for God" meaning they can get away with some of this death inviting activities.
Developed a great desire for bikes especially coz my bro #Tiger was flying around Nai on one n it seemed so cool. Traffic jam in this city n the desire not to keep moving places once I change jobs only fired up the desire. I quickly moved n got an old Bajaj Boxer 100. I will not speak much about it(Just zoom into the picture). I however once rode from Nai to Muranga n back on it. I was literary begging matatus to let me overtake 🤣🤣.
In about 3 months, I got a Haojin Hawk. I had made it. Rode about 30,000kms for appro. 1.5yrs. Its taught me unforgetable lessons. It however allowed me to make mistakes without having to pay a heavy price since its was low on power n speed. I however payed the price severally. Selling the Haojin at 70K by the way
Finally I jumped ship n booom onto the Dominar in March this year. Its has been an amazing journey since. Why did I go for it??
First, the big bike market in this country in full of cons. I was therefore extremely careful to avoid putting my lifes savings/investment into someones pocket in exchange for a shitty bike.
Second, I realized most bikes that I could afford were either too old or too small which I would outgrow quickly. Other available bikes were UG ones which I avoid like a plague(dont skin me please, its my story). When some names are mentioned I literary get goose bumps. From my experience with the Haojin, I did not want an old bike anymore. I would rather get a small cc new bike. I was also looking at a bike I would not have to spend lots of time at the garage.
What were my options at a rough budget of 300K, the Suzuki Gixxer - 155cc at about 310k brand new, Benelli 250 and around 280K brand new, Pulsar NS200(Non Abs) at about 317K brand new by then.
Working in an insurance company, I know the hell clients go through when parts of their motor vehicles become unavailable(Ask your insurance agent what Unavailable Parts Clause means). I was therefore interested on a bike with a local dealer. The Gixxer proved to be quite small but would ofcourse give me that great fuel economy. The Benellis support from the dealer was abit shaky. I also had doubts of its build quality compared to the Pulsar n Gixxer. My mind was settled on the NS 200.
Along the way, someone told me I would outgrow the NS quickly n that I should consider the Dominar. By then, it went for about 421K. Waaaay beyond budget. It was just about an additional 100k for a 400cc ABS bike as oppossed to a 200cc Non ABS. I gave it a thought, settled for it n started gathering my resources towards it. Finally bought it at 427K.
What were my greatest fears:
1. Dealer support
2. Maintenance
The dealer proved to the super reliable. All my fears were gone n am super happy with the bike.
In regard to maintenance, while I see guys buying parts like oil filter at Kes. 1,500 I buy mine at Kes. 250 thereabout. I must say am amazed at how affordable parts are in this place. The only thing I find quite high is the service fee for Dominar, its at Kes. 3,000 per hour. Its dealer service which is hightech ofcourse but in my opinion still high. I would however better deal with that than get a cheaper service which turns out to cost me heavily in the long run. Service intervals have been at 1,000KMS, 5,000KMs, n now 10,000KMs.....
On the reliability part, lemmi say something. When buying the bike,I really wanted the green one but none were available except one which had a minor issue. Which issue? The fuel tank had been scratched during transit n they had to be replaced. I asked to buy as is n replace once the parts are here. Am actually having them changed on Teusday on my 3rd service at no extra cost. What else would you want from a dealer. Covid delayed shipment which I did not mind. You would actually have to be vry keen to note that the tank had issues. I would not have known that had the dealer not revealed it(Honesty is key in business).
Issues with the bike so far;
1 An ECU error(which freaked me out) from the car wash which disappeared once the bike dried off. I have since cleaned the bike myself. This car wash guy is))used too much pressure in the wrong area.
2 Exhaust slip came off which seems to be a design weakness. This was fixed in about 10 mins at a cost of Kshs. 250 thereabout. This was the price for the graphite ka-thing that had fallen off. No problem since. Its was such an easy fix. No labour charge. Am amazed by the care the dealer gives us.
3 No other issue.
Some have not had any of this problems by the way.
Performance on the road
It rides like a dream. Good power n speed. It allows me to overtake quickly. Very smooths ride especially after 2500KMs. I cruiser comfortable at about 140Kph. Top speed so far 162Kph. Am okay at 140. I cant wait however to get a windshield, top rack etc. Indian market has them in plenty but importing from there is a nightmare.
Issues in my Riding Career
1 Mechanics and business ppo out to milk bikers. Yaani bei vitu huuzwa huku nje. My God. Wacha tu. I almost gave up on biking while new. Unapewa invoice after repairs unashangaa why not get a car. That's in the past anyway. Its a free market.
2 Careless cagers who dont seem to care about bikers. Am slowing learning to live with it especially being thrown out of your lane esp. on Nakuru Nairobi highway.
3 Cons cons cons. Not experienced it but some respectable bikers here have fallen prey. That tells you how good this guys are at their game. Some have developed "horns" hata wakianikwa wanaendelea tu.
1 Comment
Awesome rwciew. Thank you Dan.