Please check the 1st & 3rd comment in the comments section for my first test-ride experience. Also check 45th comment for the new Pulsar 150 DTSi (alloy wheels, power etc)
Since their launch, the Pulsar twins have ruled the premium segment of the biking in India. Bajaj gave world-class performance, quality, style & panache at a very reasonable price & also made sure their bikes returned a GREAT mileage even with the performance that was equal or rather better than the competitors like CBZ/Ambition/Fierro etc.
Product Strategy: Honda waited for their Scooters to pick-up & also to get dealerships established before launching a bike of their own. The bike is a 149cc making a 13.3 bhp versus 12.6 of the CBZ. The bike has just average styling & returns 52+ kmpl in real world which is not that off from the Pulsar 150 DTSi.
Styling by judging the official launch snaps seemed good enough but in rear world there is nothing special and it is almost a commuter class. The looks are of course enhanced by the mono-shock suspension. The color-quality seems to be segment busting & in my opinion the bike looks better in the Red & Blue colors. Overall, the bike looks too generic. The front is very much like Wind125 & the rear has some Karizma/Ambition touch to it. I think Honda has played safer than needed with the front styling. Also, there seems to be a lot of cost-cutting as mirrors are straight from Splendor? No side stand indicator, No Trip Meter, The horn-quality etc.
Performance: The performance is expected to be a match to 150 DTSi (not 180 DTSi) i.e. 0 to 60 is around 5.5 sec. The tires are a bit letdown especially the new pulsar 150 now comes with the same meaty ones as 180! The unicorn tires are puncture-resistant tuff-up tubes. The Frame is a single-tube frame with the engine mounted as the stressed member. I found the performance very similar to 150 DTSi, the bike was very comfortable/relaxed with a pillion.
The Gear-box is the standard fair i.e. 5 speed with 1 down, 4 up pattern. This time Honda chose a taller 5th gear to aid the highway mileage. I found the gear-shift of my Pulsar 180 DTSi quality but a little longer-throw than Pulsar, good to find the neutral easily but a little frustrating when in heavy-traffic going from 1st to 2nd.
Suspension: The biggest attraction about this bike is the suspension. Unicorn is India’s first bike with a mono-shock suspension. This is an international std & race inspired setup that gives better ride & handling characteristics than the conventional shock-absorbers. Honda has always been the company doing it ’the hard-way’. Even with the Honda Accord which is supposed to be a mainstream car with volumes of 400, 000+ in USA, Honda gives cutting edge technology both with the power-train (engine/X’mission) & also the suspension componentry which is race inspired double-wishbone. I expect no less from Honda in India too. With the Unicorn the expectations were high and the result although good, didn’t match expectations.
Pricing: Hero Honda had to adjust prices on CBZ due to pressure from Pulsar twins & same is the case with Unicorn now. Honda has set pricing from 50-53 depending on region (check url below). That means on-road it should cost around Rs. 5400-58000 which is less than 58000 of Pulsar 150 DTSi fully loaded & also the CBZ !!
Pulsar 150 Vs. Unicorn: I guess with the latest changes to Pulsar 150 DTSi it is a much better deal and a better executed bike than Unicorn. The Pulsar now has as good gear-box, better engine and more power. Not to mention class leading instrumentation and of course much better styling! It is a straight forward decision for me especially with the latest 150 DTSi avatar. The Pulsar costs a bit more than Unicorn but much better equipment levels make it a great value. The Pulsar although in 2001 had some issues with reliability has proven to be a HIGHLY reliable thereafter. I have a 180 DTSi from last 3 years abused by Pune’s WORST roads and still not a single complaint, rattle etc by the bike. It still returns 45 Kmpl in combination of heavy traffic and highway drive to work. If I was in market for one I would go for Pulsar. I think sales charts also show the same picture. Almost 30000 Pulsars are sold per month. The figure would only go up with 200 and 220 in show rooms.
Conclusion: The launch of Honda’s own bike is a great news & hope it is start of the new era when Indian consumers get the ’real stuff’ from the biggest 2 wheeler Automaker & also the biggest engine-maker of the world. I do not think I am in danger of developing ’buyer’s remorse’ as I bought the 180 DTSi & couldn’t be happier. I just hope Honda gets down the CBR600 in India soon, I know at least one customer ready to buy it the day it is launched!! :-)