the bike is ok, commuter, do it all, reliable, unless you get a lemon or (very) ill maintained bike - suitable for daily, but depending on the road maybe you'll need wind protection and storage

two types, ABS and non-ABS
ABS is known to be intrusive, so if you're a manual car person, you might find this annoying

very basic, nothing spectacular - conventional forks, steel frame, axial brake calipers, halogen lamps

have a feel for the bike, test drive a few units to decide
not a beginner friendly bike, torquey and without rider assistance

180 rear tyre, so slightly more expensive to maintain in this regard, its competitors usually runs with 160 - SV650, Z650 etc

IMO: upgrades needed - suspension components, brake MC

hi bro,

coming from similar situation as you, straight bfull with little or no experience in riding bike. (except once in awhile kapchai during study). I would suggest buy cheap dominar v1.

Get use with a bike weight, weaving between traffic, split lane, taking corner, throttle play, braking front vs rear( big bike tend to use front 90% of time). It wont take long but its better to experience all those as a 'bike virgin'. Its no where similar as riding basikal except for balancing.

Regarding the er6n , its cheap too with v2 starting from 8k+++, however, may need to dump another 1k-2k+ from fix here and there. I bought er6n after use dom for 4 month. Lucky to get a 75% rebuild er6n v2 with new paint, good condition fork etc but had issue with electrical stuff but nothing major. Its a good bike, and learn more on throttle control and braking without abs. Mind you that riding er6n in circuit and on the road is different experience.

you can do this while in L and reward yourself with mt07 later once passed the test

This post has been edited by marsha1l: Oct 14 2024, 11:41 AM

lol, no it wont. It simply doesnt have the power and power delivery of the bigger bikes.

But as a commuter bike, the MT25 would be a good starting platform. But for the used prices, you can do better.


Most people don't factor in a running costs of a big bike if doing some serious commuting miles, primarily tyres.


Tyres : That big 180 section rear tyre will need replacement every 12000km to 15000km depending on how you ride. More expensive sport touring rubber like the dual compound tyres will last longer but you are still looking at about 20k km ish. And at 600-700 a pop, it aint cheap to be changing rear tyres every year or less. I personally go through about 2 rear tyres a year given my mileage.


I would still recommend someone start off on a used 250 to 400cc bike if he/she is a complete greenhorn. Get a year or 2 of seat time and miles before moving to the 600-700cc bikes. The smaller bikes would handle commuting just fine and cost less to run.

Personally I am in favour of a cheap used Dominar, as I spent 3 years and 70k km on one learning the ropes. Jumping to something significantly more powerful like my 800NK takes experience. Its shit scary when it wheelspins at 160km/h.

Wow! Thanks for all the pointers and tips shared. It's so much to process as I shift my mind away from the MT07 towards a beginner bike like the Z650 or ER6n.

Would be leaning towards the ER6N as I heard good things about it and to be honest, being an older bike, I wouldn't feel too bad about small mistakes and learning along the way. And it being significantly cheaper is a plus point.

@Kaellis thanks for sharing your experience on the service cost. Definitely within my ballpark expectations for a bigger bike.

That said, I've been hearing quite a bit about the Dominar as well. But I'm not too sure about the spare parts compared to the ER6N though. How would the maintenance and running cost for the Dominar 400 and ER6N differ? Which would be easier to find workshop and spareparts for?

Any thoughts, sifu sifu sekalian?

Much was asked and many questions were answered about the dominar previously. Head over to the dominar thread and read the archives. Everything you need to know about the bike is there.

For our market here. The Dominar has become the quintessential b full starter bike since its launch in 2018.

The good. Cheap. Robust. Parts availability, has ABS. Decent entry level touring bike. Stable highway speeds

The bad. Heavy for its class, vibrations at higher highway speeds exceeding 130-140 (it's a big single).

JPlaSMaY666 30km each way, highway or backroads?

If you're gonna be weaving through a lot of traffic, get something light and nimble instead of the ER6N/Dominar 400. You can get used to it yes, but the ER6N will not let you cut through lanes like the Duke 390, the same way the 390 will not be as easy as a supermoped. Lighter weight trumps speed anytime of the day in the traffic, as you won't be able to move fast anyway while splitting lane.

why don't you try renting a bike from BINO

try a week to see how it feels before buying a bike

cheaper than upgrade a few months later

For an experienced rider maybe.

But for a.greenhorn that might end up dropping the bike....probably not a good idea.

Ah, thanks! I'll look into it and do my own reading. That's one of the things that worries me as I know the Dominar 400 is roughly 210kgs and yet only has a 400cc engine. But will look around to test it if I can.

When you mention vibrations at highway speed, wouldn't vibrations cause what's known as the 'death wobble' which could be dangerous for a Newbie like me? Hahah, granted I'm not sure how 120km/h feels like on a bike but I'll imagine for someone new, it'll be freaking scary. Hopefully it behaves if I stay below 120km/h..

numbing vibrations on handlebar, footpegs, seat

It's 30KM each way, 90% of the journey is through the Federal highway.

Understand. I don't think I will cilok like those bikes la. At most, lane-splitting only but of course, there is always the danger of idiots cutting lanes like their grandfather's road in which ABS is supposed to alleviate that issue. But earlier someone mentioned ABS might be detrimental for someone who drives a manual vehicle like me.. So I'm still kinda up on the fence, to ABS or not to ABS..

Will definitely keep that in mind.. after I've built up a level of confidence riding first.

But thanks for sharing! It's interesting to see I can rent bikes to test em out first.

Ah, numbing vibrations I can handle. I drive an old manual pickup truck so I'm pretty used to vibrations and loud engine roars. I think the bike vibration might even be an 'upgrade' to the vibration I experienced driving that truck on a daily basis

I start my journey with lc135 then MT-07 V2.... Just be careful with the throttle... Learn more about how to take corner at motojitsu

Why would ABS be detrimental? It's a safety feature. Especially for an inexperienced rider.

Btw, a Dominar isn't 210kg. Not sure where U got that from. The official kerb weight with fuel is 182kg.

Ah, I was mistaken on the weight then. Apologies. 182, sounds about right.. I think I mixed it up with the ER6n which was around 200KG.

With regards to the ABS being detrimental, I was referring to Alexei's note mentioning ABS is known to be intrusive. Not sure what's the context for intrusive, but I wouldn't want any unexpected 'intrusion' if I'm riding on a bike going 100km/h

I think you might want to read up what ABS does.

I think Alexei's choice of the words is misinterpreted. Alexei is no greenhorn when it comes to bikes. His complaint of ABS being intrusive only applies to riders that actually know how to use the brakes properly.

But yes, seasoned bikers prefer not to have ABS as they have the skill levels to properly handle the bike without any rider aids. I doubt it applies here. When you are not paying attention like he would be on the track, say when commuting and in the wet, then ABS is crucial.

Right, something to add to the list of features I should be looking out for then. Which means the beginner bike that ticks all boxes is the Dominar.. Hahah, guess I know what to look out for now.

By the way, can anyone share their experiences starting out on their path to a B Full license? How was it in the beginning? And how long did it take for you to have the confidence to take it on the road for real?