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Bajaj has been working on its 400cc range for quite some time. The company has been actively downsizing the engines on its 400cc motorcycles to benefit from the revised GST rates. As part of this change, Bajaj has reduced the engine capacity on the Dominar and the NS400 while keeping their names the same.The bikes have already started reaching dealerships, but Bajaj had not initially revealed the power and torque figures of the updated models.

Both the Bajaj Dominar 350 and the NS 350Z are now available at dealerships. Earlier, both these bikes were offered with a 400cc engine, but that has now changed. They now come with a smaller 349cc engine that generates 40.6 PS and 33.2 Nm of torque. This is 2.4 PS and 1.8 Nm less compared to the older version.

It should be noted that both the Bajaj Dominar 350 and the Pulsar NS 350Z produce the same power and torque figures. The older versions of these bikes came with a 373cc, single-cylinder, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected engine. As part of the downsizing, the motorcycles now get a smaller 349cc engine. This has been achieved by reducing the stroke while keeping the bore the same.

This change has allowed Bajaj to bring down the engine capacity and position the bikes under the 18 percent GST slab. As a result, the prices of the bikes have also come down. The Bajaj Dominar has seen a price reduction of Rs 37,000, and we expect a similar revision for the Pulsar as well.

The Bajaj NS 400Z remains the most powerful Pulsar in the lineup. It retains this title even after the engine downsizing. Visually, the motorcycle remains unchanged, except for the engine. In fact, Bajaj continues to call the motorcycle the NS 400Z. This has been done intentionally to avoid confusion at dealerships as well as among customers.

The motorcycle continues with the same graphics, colours, and badging. It also retains all the features from the earlier version, including anodised golden USD forks, large front disc brakes, LED projector headlamps, a monochrome instrument cluster, traction control, ride-by-wire, a slipper clutch, ride modes, and a quickshifter.

Coming to the Dominar, Bajaj has followed a similar strategy. It carries forward the same paint scheme, badges, and graphics as before. The bike also continues to offer all the features from the previous version. There are already multiple videos from vloggers and riders sharing their experiences with the downsized Dominar 400 and NS 400Z.

Many users claim that the engine on both motorcycles feels more refined and offers better torque at lower revs. The NS 400Z still delivers strong performance and remains quite torquey. Bajaj has managed to retain the fun-to-ride nature of the motorcycle despite the downsizing.

Bajaj is not the only manufacturer to adopt this strategy. The Triumph lineup in India has also undergone a similar change, with newer batches of the 400 models now featuring a 350cc engine while retaining the 400 badge.

Similarly, KTM has also introduced the Duke 390 and Adventure 390 with a smaller 350cc engine. However, unlike Bajaj and Triumph, KTM is currently selling both the 399cc and 350cc versions of the Duke and Adventure models simultaneously.