Naturally, the motorcycle market varies depending on the needs of specific countries. North America's sprawling freeways and open roads make it perfect for cruisers and sport-tourers. Meanwhile, the dense urban cities in Asia and South America mean that small-displacement commuters reign supreme. As such, the small-displacement models you'd find in Asia are very much similar to those you'd find in countries like Brazil.
Case in point: the Bajaj Dominar 160 and
200—two sporty, entry-level naked bikes which have just been debuted in Brazil.
At a glance, these two bikes look more premium than their displacement class
may suggest, and this is largely thanks to their large proportions and premium
components. When contrasted with their Indian counterparts, the Dominar 160 and
200 are pretty much rebadged Pulsar NS 160 and 200 models. However, despite
bearing similar styling and performance, they receive inverted front forks,
much like the Dominar 400 receives back in India.
Now, inverted forks may not really seem
like a big deal, and in reality, they're don't provide a huge performance
benefit, especially if your rides are limited to the street. They do, however,
give the bike a much more premium aesthetic. Moving on to the performance side of things,
the Dominar 160 packs a single-cylinder, fuel-injected, 160cc engine that pumps
out 15.5 horsepower and 10.2 lb-ft of torque. Meanwhile, the Dominar 200 gets a
199cc, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, single-cylinder engine with 23.5
horsepower and 12.8 lb-ft of torque. Both bikes are pretty decently equipped in
their displacement classes, and have a pretty solid track-record when it comes
to dependability and overall performance.
Other standard features on both bikes
include full-LED lights complete with DRLs for maximum illumination at night.
The two naked bikes are also equipped with a semi-digital instrument cluster,
as well as front and rear disc brakes with ABS as standard. Although equipped
with premium inverted forks, they feature no adjustability. At the rear,
however, they're outfitted with a preload-adjustable monoshock.