I bought a Unicorn in June 2006. I wanted a 150cc bike which was reliable and had 3 options in mind at that time. pulsar 150 dtsi, apache and unicorn. I had a test ride of Apache, but didn’t find anything spectacular about it besides its smart looks. I eventually dropped apache due to recommendations from my friends and the fact that it was relatively new at that time and it was also hard to find much reviews about it. I had ridden the old pulsar 150(non dtsi) and also the unicorn. I found the ride in unicorn to be very smooth. I hadn’t ridden the dtsi that time. I finally zeroed in on Unicorn after reading a lot of reviews.
I used the bike heavily during the first 2 months covering around 1800 kms. Now after 7 months the odometer reads a pretty average 4800 kms on Chennai roads. Though I took care not to exceed 50kmph during the first 500 kms, there are times when I exceeded 70 and dat was coz of its super smooth ride quality. Its difficult to predict the speed without looking at the speedo.
I’ll least the important features in this bike.
Excellent engine - I didn’t feel any vibrations even over 100kmph. I tested this on ECR while going from Chennai to Pondy. Pickup is pretty good, though its a bit slow in the 2nd gear. Mileage, pretty good. I tried 50kmph with 1 litre of petrol from reserve to reserve and got a decent 67 kmpl on a highway. I used to get 45kmpl in chennai city traffic before the 3rd servicing. Now I get 48kmpl in the same city.
Superb handling - You can manoeuvre it through the traffic even at high speeds without being an expert rider. I don’t know whether the mono-suspension has anything to do with it. The transmission is also excellent. Except for the pull, you won’t feel any difference you have shifted up. Shifting can be done by just a feather touch once you depress the clutch, though you have to exert a little force when shifting from 1st to 2nd gear.
3. Riding comfort - Pretty good. No sign of any back pain. I tried 150km without a break, everything was fine except for my bum which started aching terribly. I don’t have much idea about how a pillion rider feels.
Looks - Pretty average, but can be drastically improved by using alloy wheels and a wide rear tyre.
Headlight - This is the worst thing in the bike. It is difficult to ride at top speed during night travel.
Suspension - Pretty good, but can’t find anything outstanding in it. But even after 7 months, it performs the same as the new one.
I can’t comment on the maintenance costs right now as mine is a relatively new bike. Only once have I met with an accident and that costed me repairs worth some 600Rs. Service in Chennai is pretty okay. I didn’t have any issues with the bike and hence did not get a chance to test the service centre staff.
So if you are interested in a bike for use in Indian conditions and if you prefer performance and reliability over looks, then this is the bike for you!