Hi,
While I am totally convinced that the Technical Aspects of Honda unicorn 150 cc outperform most of the (or shall I say all of the) other bikes, I was in for a surprise with the other side of the coin.
1. The people at Honda Showroom were the MOST un-friendly lot. They are overwhelmed by the demand (and they say a 45-day Waiting Period after Booking) but lacked the basic curtesies that need to be extended to a prospective Customer. I dont want to jot down all the happening at the showroom (Autofin Honda Showroom in Himayat Nagar, Hyderabad), but if you are interested, drop me a mail and I’ll Surely reply you with details.
2. They allowed me to test-drive it ONLY for around half a kilometer, that too on one a Very Smooth road. ( I really dont Call it a Test-Ride, but a joy ride you give babies). Wonder if such are the condition in which it is tested by reviewers or they actually purchase and then test it?? (Im sorry, Im not so rich).
Coming to my disappointment, the HORN was the BIGGEST disappointment. You can faintly hear it in loud traffic ( common in Hyderabad ). And the Test-Drive-Accompanying engineer himself admitted that it is the worst part of the bike. Then, the bike lacked the sturdyness (heavyness).
After driving bikes like CBZ or even Caliber, you feel like you are riding a Tobu cycle (sorry fans, but thats the way I felt, dont agree if you dont want to). The shape itself looks like a Frankeinstein (made by assembling/copying parts of other bikes, nothing truely original).
Coming to the engine sound, I generally categorize bikes in two sections...
1. The Quite bikes: You dont hear them come or go.
2. The Beat bikes: They give you the beat that pumps up your adrenalin.
This youngster is an intermediate, neither quiet nor with that male beat.... Its that humming bee-sound which is somewhat a turndown.
Coming to the Plus Points, there are a LOT. Technically, by far, this is the best bike for average Indians (letting alone race bikes probably). My test drive results proved that it is VERY flexible and manueverable (but so are many bikes that I’ve driven).
Conclusion: I will like to wait. The news is around that Other Bulls of the industry are gearing up to launch their own new products (infact Honda has some in line too) in a span of a few months....
So, if the next gen bikes combine the technical-strength of Unicorn and add a good amount of other aspects, that would be the steal.