Happy New Year and Eid Mubarak
Introduction :
Honda Unicorn-Honda?s first bike launch in India. Honda is not new to the Indian market and so it entirely understands what the Indian consumer needs. So after many years of joint ventures in India, it finally steps in as its own and thus launches Unicorn aiming directly the booming 150 cc segment and giving fierce competition to Pulsar, CBZ, F2/FX. So does it thrive upto the expectations people(including me) have from the Honda brand name or not>>lets find out.
And as I always say lets analyze each and every segment of the bike:
Looks:A Mixed Bag Frankly speaking I didn?t expect such looks from Unicorn. I mean what the designers were thinking when they were designing the accessories of the bike. The bike takes forms here and there from many bikes. Starting from the front, the headlamp is arrowed type similar to CBZ fairing having a beak in front. The bike looks Ok from the front and in my opinion the angry look is missing. Coming to the side the petrol tank starts like a slope and then connects to the seat similar to CBZ once again.
Now in my opinion this is a good advantage in riding posture(which I will describe later). What mesmerizes me the most is no stickering only the flanged wings of Honda which is unique. The portion below the seat is similar to CBZ as well. Just a tad bit of difference in the fiber design. The rear tail is similar to Karizma only difference being it?s a combination of red light and with white covering so that it gives a different look. All in all I m not quite satisfied with the looks of the bike. But the looks aspect depends on person to person so what I disliked u mite like it.
Engine and Transmission: A beauty!! Guys after all it?s a Honda what do u expect? The engine is a 4 stroke 149.1 cc, 13.3 Bhp at 8000 rpm.. Now if u compare this with Pulsar then on a theoretical basis it?s a tad powerful then Pulsar 150. But when I started the bike and engaged the first gear this theoretical thing transformed into practical reality too. The pick-up of Unicorn is better than Pulsar and the bike is slightly heavier than 150 DTSi (a difference of 5 kgs kerb weight-Thnx Milind..).
The max torque is 12.8 Nm which comes at about 5500 rpm. The engine is silent and the kick is soft too. Now as boasted by Honda this baby sprints 0-60 in about 5 sec. which is about a sec less than 150 DTSi. Ofcourse some auto magazines do suggest it makes 0-60 in a little more than 5 sec. but this is still comparable to 150.The bike has a top speed of 101 ks/hr. The dual mapped CDI ignition provides the bike perfect power not at the cost of fuel-efficiency (which is not the case in CBZ).
The transmission as u would have expected is a one down-four up gear shift pattern which suits me well. Frankly speaking when DTSi was launched I thought Bajaj would give this pattern in that too. But I was disappointed. Coming to Unicorn the gear shifting is smooth and mind u no false neutrals. So Honda scores in this portion well. Once again like the CBZ and Wind the bike allows kick starting in any gear so no need to bring on the neutral everytime unlike the 150 DTSi.
Mileage: Well the company claims it to be 60 in Indian driving conditions. Now in my opinion u can expect a mileage of around 50 and maximum 55 which is more or less similar to 150 DTSi. Of course u can add a extra few ks in DTSi if driven properly but I don?t think Unicorn would be able to give 60 in Indian city roads. Again this aspect depends upon riding conditions so depends on how u ride and treat ur bike.
Suspension: A DEBUT Yea Unicorn is India?s first bike (after 1985) which employs a single i.e. mono-suspension. Now is it a suitable idea to introduce a mono-shock on Indian roads or not still remains a thought. Actually the mono-shock technology is used in racer-bikes and Honda has introduced it here. What this means that since there is only a single shocker present at the rear in the bike the frame on which it rests has be more tough and strong which in turn helps the bike to have greater stability at higher speeds.
Also the shocker has to be tough enough to handle the tough Indian conditions which I am sure Honda has kept in mind while designing the bike. Now I had a chance of riding the bike as well as sit on the bike as pillion. And the suspension proves to be super-soft no jerks at the back and while riding too u don?t feel the stiffness. And since the mono-shocker in below the seat at the center of the bike it will thus provide greater stability because of the situation in which it is present. Additionally for earlier cornering the bike has a rectangular swing arm as well. So all in all its a good attempt.
Tyres and Braking: A Debut once again Boy Honda has put in some new features in the bike. Another of its feature is Puncture Resistant Tuff-up tubes-(Honda patent). Mind u these are puncture resistant and not tube-less so they will prevent punctures to a certain extent. And in the event of puncture it can be repaired as any ordinary tube. The baby rests on a 2.75 x 18 front tyre and a 3.00 x 18 rear MRF Zappers.
Coming to the braking the front is a 240 mm Disc and the rear is a 130mm drum. The brakes are common usually found in 150cc segment and they are good. Now it would have been better if Honda had kept a rear disc too since u r directly debuting in the 150cc seg then why not make it a step above the currently available. But since Honda had also kept the price in mind it was bound to make a compromise somewhere. But this doesn?t mean the braking is bad. The brakes are perfect.
Instrumentation and Ride Comfort: Coming to the instrument cluster it hosts three dials one is the 160 Kph speedo in the middle and is bulged out. At the left is the 11000 rpm tacho and to the right are the fuel gauge incorporated with the neutral, main beam and the signal indicators(not separate for left and right). The switch gear is a typical HH type and is normal. What disappointed me the most is the Horn. Its too low I mean even my 115 sounds more louder than Unicorn?s horn so I guess Honda should provide a better quality horn. Fit in Activa?s horn..lol.
What impressed me greatly is the Riding position. Now if u have seen in Pulsar there is valley in the seat. I mean the seat slopes down meeting the tank in the middle. So we need to adjust far from the tank else in case of sudden braking u know the consequences. While in Unicorn and even in CBZ the seat directly blends with the tank and seems in continuation with it. So even a person of about 6 feet tall wont experience any problems in sitting on the seat and pillion too is comfortable. What results is a breeze ride on the Unicorn and is a big plus of the bike.
OK guys I m approaching the limit of my rvu. The price about 54 ks is slightly cheaper then 150 DTSi. The bike comes in 5 colours and most are black I have seen. At the end I would like to tell u that the bike comes close to 150 DTSi. But where the DTSi scores is that the bike is about 1.5 years old and is proven. Ofcourse it has its share of flaws but then Unicorn is a new bike and as it is there is a waiting period so in my opinion wait for sometime to see many Unicorns on road and buy after sharing user experiences. Else if u r too eager then it?s a Honda u can trust its reliability so go for it if u feel 150 DTSi is too common.