150 cc Shootout The BAJAJ Pulsar DTSi Vs HONDA Unicorn
Hi Guys!! This is my first ever review. I am glad to have it on mouth shut my favorite website till now. Actually I was in search for a 150 cc bike that had adequate power and decent milege. As I am a great fan of HONDA I had a test drive on the most awaited Honda machine-UNICORN. But can?t tell the performance by a ride of about 2 or 3 km.
After some months my friend bought a unicorn and I had a long run on that bike after the first service. He got it after 2 months of booking time.
Engine and performance
The first time I rode the unicorn I was very impressed by smooth engine and even today I have to check the speedometer to find out I am riding at near 70-80 speeds. Needless to say the Unicorn is a bike from HONDA and we know the performance of HONDA engines. The bike is very silent. One can hardly hear its sound (for good or bad). The HONDA builds up speed quickly without and dramatics or what..but I like to grab everybody?s attention which is hardly getting from the unicorn.
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The 149.1 cc HONDA unit develops a max power of 13.3 ps at 8000rpm and a max torque of 12.75 Nm at 5500(which is really great for in gear acceleration than the pulsar). The gear shifting is really smooth when compared to pulsar and no false neutrals (remember pulsar). But the 102345-gear pattern makes a little difficulty when on junctions or for wheelies while the pulsar with all down pattern makes it for lightning quick getaways.
While riding the pulsar I feel that where the pulsar can?t match up to the unicorn is on the clutch and gearbox front. Clutch shudder is still present and visiting false neutrals is a big problem of pulsars. What we can do on a pulsar is to rev hard and emulate our Valentino rossi?s fantasies like none other.
Unicorn just fails to make an event of grand prix business. But I think it?s the Unicorn, which gets a speed of 60 quicker than the pulsar. Exhaus-Tec is a new technology with pulsar that improved low and mid range torque dramatically and helps in gear acceleration and excellent engine elasticity. For raw sensations of speed the pulsar quite simply has no parallel. The unicorn does everything sedately. That?s why the college guys still love the pulsar.
STYLE
No competition here!! Right?? The fresh-faced BAJAJ Pulsar DTSi gets my beauty crown by a sizeable margin. The stylists of BAJAJ Auto are very careful about pulsar, changing this and that to keep the bike up to date. Now we have the alloys improving the looks (though some cool looking alloys are available on the market). The smaller radius (17 inch) wheels especially the rear 100/90 tyre is really cool.
The unicorn looks OKAY. The headlight is not good as expected, just like wind 125, which I really don?t like. Fuel Tank is good. Where the unicorn redeems itself is at the rear, with an upswept tailpiece and good-looking tail lamp. Which I really like but it will be better with at least a 100/90-rear tyre. Trip meter is absent, which is useful for checking milege or what. As a conclusion it?s the BAJAJ Pulsar DTSi who is ahead in style.
RIDE & HANDLING
No Surprise here!!! The HONDA Unicorn with its Advanced Technology Mono suspension is way ahead of the pulsar. It?s a brilliant handler as here are a lot of speed breakers, which kills the thrill of riding. Unicorn handles brilliantly and the mono shock working beautifully to keep it stable and planted. In this segment the Unicorn really gets 9/10 marks. I had long ride of about 150 km on the unicorn and it was really great for me.
The smaller 17-inch wheels improved the ride quality of the pulsar but can?t get the stability of the unicorn with the twin dampers (gas filled!!). But on road the sporty riding position on the pulsar encourages to ride faster.
FUEL EFFICIENCY
HONDA is offering a milege of 55 kmpl. My friend is getting a consistent milege of 60+ after first service. He is happy coz his old bike was CBZ!!!!!.
With Exhaus-Tec pulsar also manages to deliver 55-60 kmpl on road. In both bikes we can ride between 25-30 kmphr in the 5th gear.
FINAL ANALYSIS
Both bikes are good enough to buy. I think college guys will still love pulsar than the unicorn since it?s more fun to ride and looks good. The Unicorn is from HONDA and is definitely a good bike. But I feel that Unicorn must be designed good to compete the pulsar in looks. Unicorn?s Performance is slightly better than the pulsar. Final choice is yours.