New unicorn in 2010---I am updating this review after long time. The old one below was written when first model of unicorn came up. I took a new unicorn around march 2010. red with black graphics.while many of the pros and cons remains same from my old review, some additional things are as follows.
prosliked the magwheel instead of spokes wheel.good graphics though at first glance you may not be really overwhelmed.
consThe biggest con is its rear tyre. The mrf zapper Y series tyre that comes with the unicorn is very stiff rubber. And more, it has a flat surface withought any grooves in the middle. It is the surface that touches the road most. Thus if a road is even a slight wet, or there is a gravel on the road, the tyre slips. This is too dangerous. Ask any tyre shop owner and he will assure that this zapper Y series is a flop tyre. The zapper Q or C are better ones but they are of different size. (I guess the C comes with stunner) After a long search, I found dunlop geocruiser as excellent replacement. I had asked the dealer if there is any another tyre offered by honda, for the unicorn. he said no. While paying final price for my unicorn, I saw dunlop geo cruiser tyre kept in the display. I was told by the dealer that it is for unicorn. He also said that honda offered this tyre on unicorn, in last monsoon season. i.e. 2009 june july or so. I asked if I can get it instead of zapper. He refused. This is the exact tyre I had decided to change to, after lot of study. So obviously, if it was there at the honda dealer itself, I thought I will get it. but I was mistaken. Anyway, when I got the bike delivered, I immediately changed the tyre to geocruiser from a private tyre dealer. But then I spent couple of thousands extra.
A little bit more height than first model. about an inch or 1.5 inch. gives less stability.
If honda offer an option for single gear shift bar, or front and back both type gear shift bar (like old one), it will be best. This is what I changed to after taking the bike. Many users do this regularly as they do not want that so called sporty gear shift. The main reason is, while putting high gears, the toe of your shoe gets damaged. But many do like it also. it is a personal choice.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
old review---unicorn is the best bike in its segment. I have this bike for about 6 months now. excellent looks, great pick up. gives about 53 kmpl average in city. best part is its mono suspension, that gives beautifully smooth ride. looks really stylish. the engine is pretty smooth in running, almost noiseless. fantastic well thought headlight. ran it at about 120 kmph. can go to 140 I am sure. I liked the low decibel horn. Those power horns on other bikes sucks. if u hear some noise in the back when riding, just check under the seat. the tool kit doesn’t fit tightly and that makes noise. also, the front fender makes noise, but dealer will do some padding if you tell him. some cons I can say are, 1) its seat is more slanting than it should be. thus, on every break, the pillion rider slides forward and hits the driver. one has to constantly negotiate this situation. of course, everyone may like it when with girlfriend, its a problem for long runs. a pillion rider with more than 5.5 ft ht will surely face this problem. 2) a bit heavy. and turning radius is higher. thus can not do much acrobatics. handling in heavy traffic, and especially on off terrain roads is not easy, although it has great stability. //////////////// well, this is update with new unicorn. Have you seen the new Unicorn graphics? well, it just sucks. The stickers on fuel tank looks most ugly especially with white colored wing. Earlier plain colored fuel tank with golden wing was too good. at least the golden wing should be there. the mono suspension written in the middle part looks good. also all the new design changes are for good ride. the handle grip is better. New disc brakes are very good looking. the back grip is chrome plated. what will happen if someone like me who has old styled fuel tank wants to change the tank for some reasons like leakage? do they have to change all the 3 things like tank, front fender and back side? Honda should give choices, one plain colored and one with new graphics. btw, why did they keep the fuel tank lid that comes fully off? why it is not attached to the tank?