I was extremely excited when Honda said they were launching a new bike in the 150cc segment to take on the FZ and the gixxer. But most of us including me where left disappointed when images of the new unicorn started to leak on the internet. I think most of us were expecting an extremely sporting, naked bike kind of looks. But if you can let go of that aspect, the unicorn 160 is a great bike. If you are on the market for a 150 cc motorcycle that offers reliability, practicality and efficiency and not too snazzy looks the obvious choice has been the Honda CB unicorn. And if you want the same things in a slightly updated and sporty package you could have had the CB trigger.
Honda felt there is a gap between the unicorn and the trigger and to plug this gap have introduced the all new CB Unicorn 160. Now you may feel Honda has just put the old Honda unicorn into a new package, but that’s where you are wrong. Honda has done their homework this time and this bike has been improved both visually and mechanically.
Its pretty clear how good this unicorn looks. The new headlight cowl looks much sharper and sportier than before and comes with a small bulb that functions as a park light. It also features a new digital display that shows everything you need including trip meter and clock. The Gear indicator and engine kill switch are still missing. The bike now sports a nice chunky cylindrical exhaust. I feel the bike looks beautiful when viewed from behind. The new H shaped tail lamp is a real attention grabber and looks great when you use the brakes.
All of this good work has been undone by once again sticking on the switch gear taken straight from the Honda dream, the cheapest bike in the Honda stable. The overall fit and finish of the bike is great and it looks well put together.
Coming to the engine, the unicorn 160 comes with a whole new engine and not a re-bored cylinder version of the old 150cc as some people are saying. Everything from the old engine has been tweaked to give more power and torque. The engine now produces 14.5 ps of power which makes it even more powerful than the trigger. Its torque figures of 14.61 nm is the highest in the 150-160cc motorcycle range.
The gearbox is pretty much the same as the old unicorn. The gear ratios have been changed a bit and have been made taller now, so you don’t end up changing gears as often as you usually do on the older unicorn. Acceleration is good in any gear. I did feel vibration on the foot pegs after going past 5000RPM but that is understandable. The wheel base has been reduced by 6cms from the old unicorn to aid handling in heavy traffic and twisty roads. Shockingly Ground clearance has been reduced from 180mm to 150mm. No particular reason it seems. But this is foolish in a country like ours where there are potholes that can look like a pond in the rainy season. In my 3 years of owning the old unicorn, I have never scraped its bottom even when riding with 3 people. The brakes on the standard version are exactly the same as the older one but a CBS version is available although you have to pay a premium for it. No rear disc on either version. The engine refinement and smoothness is as excellent as it was before and its reduced weight of 135kgs and increased power and torque means that the unicorn 160 is a lot quicker than the old version.
Thanks to Honda’s new innovative technology called HET, mileage has increased. Owners have told me the mileage in the city is around 49-52kmpl and on highways anywhere from 55-58kmpl. The company claims 62kmpl as average. Handling is also quite good thanks to its reduced weight.
Commuter friendly ergonomics means that even though Honda have given it better looks and more power, this bike is aimed at the commuter segment and not actually trying to take on the gixxer and FZ. The bikes comes with complete chain cover and Heel-toe shifter. Handlebar and mirrors are same as the old Unicorn, but handlebar comes in black now instead of chrome. I felt that the seat is a bit harder than before. Should be ok for normal use, but extended rides may not be as easy as before. Also the rear suspension is a different unit and feels stiffer than before. None of the new owners have taken it for long rides so no idea how it feels after long rides.
Pricing is very confusing as the standard variant of unicorn 160 costs 83k on road and the CBS version costs 89K. Now the trigger, which is considered to be a bike above the unicorn 160 is priced at 79K for the base model and 89k for the CBS model. So the top end model of the unicorn 160 which doesn’t have a rear disc costs as much as the top end model of the trigger that also has rear discs. So buyers might be in a dilemma as to which bike to choose.