I had bought my unicorn back in may-2005 from silicon honda, bangalore. i’ve done 16000 kms so far. Personally i’m quite satisfied with the bike since it has been quite reliable and the maintenance cost has been quite low. Back in the day I had to choose between the pulsar 150 dts-i and the uni and i’m happy with my decision. I went for this bike due to the brand name honda since they have a history of being reliable even though this one didn’t have alloy wheels.
Fuel Efficiency-I’m getting a fuel efficiency of 43kmpl on average, the best i’ve got is 46kmpl and if I drive very fast I get about 36-38 kmpl. I’m not able to get beter fuel efficiency despite speaking with the mechanics in honda many times. No matter what other bike owners tell me or what the dealers tell me i’m very skpectical regarding what the actual fuel efficiency of other bikes.
Maintenence Cost- So far i’ve had to change the brakepads on the front twice, tube at the back wheel, oone of the front shock now needs to be replaced since it has starting leaking the oil pu in it. that’s preety much all that I could remember. a usual service cost would cost me 300 bucks, if there are no parts to be replaced and if I don’t opt for any special treatment for the bike.
Present Condition- The engine of the bike is still very smooth since this is the core part of the bike it’ll definitely be a reliable in the long run. The engine does take a bit of time to start in the morning. Electric start has instantaneous response. However the gears became very hard after the first year, I think that happened after a service but am not sure. it gives a loud sound if I shift at even slight high rpm from 1st to 2nd gear. the rest of the shifts are good.
Handling- The bike doesn’t handle that well however it took me a long time to really manuevre the bike the way I wanted to, would suspect the height and also the length of the bike for this reason. if u learn to manIf you compare it to a small bike like the y-r15 or the apache they would be really easy to handle. Also even though this bike weighs almost the same as the other bikes in it’s category it feels very heavy due to the height. i’m 5’ 5" so the height of the bike for me is just manageable but I would definitely not recomment this bike for anyone shorter than 5’ 7". Also the tyres are thin so bending at turns have to be done wih extra care. Also due to the heightened handles it good for straights and not in cases of bending.
Comfort- This is a very comfortable bike, due to it’s design it’s very good for long distance riding. the back seat is very comfortable and is much more comfortable than the front. The vibrations of this bike are at a bare minimum.
Power- the power of the bike is good but it does feel underpowered in the 2000-3000 rpm range.
Present Problems- The front wheel woobles at times, I had suspected the front shocks for this but the mechanic said this wasn’t the reason. wanted to change the front shock but it was out of stock in the service center so mechanic told me I could change it later and it wouldn’t be a problem if I rode it till then.i already told u bout the gear problem and those guys just haven’t improved it in any way.
If ur looking at this bike from a long term perspective then I would definitely recommend this bike since it’s very reliable compared to my friends pulsar 200 and my brother’s apache. tons of problems on those bikes.every service costs them a lot.i heard it’s the same with all indian company made bikes. so it’s better to go with honda, yamaha or suzuki, even hero honda. if u don’t mind not having a digital speedo in the newer unicorn and are looking for a bike that will last for a long time and is ur taller than 5’7". then this bike is for u.