I have purchased the new Honda unicorn 2007 edition in May 2007.
So far the experience with the vehicle is good.
I have used TVS Fiero F2 for over two years, and I was happy riding that. My brother joined his college and he needed the bike, hence I gave my F2 to him and was searching for another 150 CC+ bike.
In my search I have gone tried Bajaj Pulsar 180, Hero Honda CBZ Xtreme, TVS Apache and Honda Unicorn.
Pulsar 180 is surely a good bike with good power and pickup, but reliability was a concern for me. Though Bajaj Chetak was a champion, I somehow couldn’t find the same with pulsar after two years of usage. One of my cousin have a pulsar 150 and he complains that the engine is making louder noise after a usage of two years. Another point which pulled me back from P-180 is its price.
I liked CBZ Xtreme, wow what a bike to look at, really awesome. Its definitely far far better than pulsar or any other bike today in Indian market. The engine of Hero Honda is also very good and very smooth. The balance on bike was also very good and also the braking, and the price was 4000 lesser than Unicorn. But.:(, the mileage was a concern, as I travel around 60 KMS each day. Apart from that the single side gear lever(or whatever it is called) was another thing that pushed me back from Xtreme.
TVS Apache is another excellent combination. I have used TVS Fiero F2(for more than two years), and I know how durable it is. I have used F2 for approx. 60 KMS daily and I always had a mileage between 55-60, and I drive at 50-60 KM/HR speed. Earlier it used to give me 55 KMPL, but now it has increased to 58-60 KMPL. Touchwood, F2 is performing very well in my hands. With Apache the same impression was further improved. Really amazing pickup and the smoothness. I had read a lot of reviews about engine vibration, but I couldn’t find any complains with that in the improved Apache. I spoke with one of the service engineers there and he told me that the older apache had this engine vibration problem due to some clutch issue and now its fixed, and the bike is really smooth. To tell you I was so impressed with Apache that I almost booked the bike, but then I thought of taking a test ride of Honda Unicorn.
The test ride of Unicorn was not that good; the vehicle couldn’t pull two people(me and the sales guy of Honda) from the cellar. I have to struggle hard to bring it outside the cellar. After riding for a minute or so the engine just stalled, the sales guy said, "Sa’ab petrol khatam ho gaya honga". Hell, I was very upset with the test drive and was not sure about the unicorn.
I asked some of the customers of Unicorn at the service center and all of them said that the bike is really very good, and some said it’s excellent.
Finally as I already had TVS bike in my stable(with which I am very satisfied), I decided against the Apache(and also the height factor of the bike) and booked a Honda Unicorn(black color). I got the delivery after two weeks and now my experience with Unicorn after riding it for one month and clocking 1200+ KM.
I will be mostly comparing Honda unicorn with TVS Fiero F2 as I used that for two years before this purchase.
Honda Unicorn has a very silent engine. The engine almost makes noise like the activa, it sounds like a scoorette rather than a bike:D, but I don’t have any problems with that, I like engines which are less noisier. Secondly I felt that the power is little less than what I saw on Apache or with F2, though its not bad. The quality of plastic controls you find on Unicorn is pathetic; if you are surprised just check TVS Apache’s plastic controls or F2. I was lucky to have the trip meter in my unicorn, as the older models were deprived of this facility. Headlights are again not up to my expectations when compared with F2 or Apache, the higher beam of Unicorn is not as bright as the lower beam of F2/Apache. You have electronic start in Unicorn and don’t have an engine kill switch. At traffic signals I always need to go all the way to the key to switch off my ignition. The same can be found on the right hand side in F2. There is no Handle bar adjustment setting in Unicorn, the same can be found in Pulsar and F2 both. I must say that the gears are smooth; the suspension is ok(not excellent as people might think it is due to mono shock). There is no side stand indicator light or sound, common it’s present in all 150 CC range of bikes now. I am getting good mileage of around 53-55 KMPL as of now(before the first service). The disc brake in front is very good, and it saved me many times from collisions. Its spot on, though the rear drum brakes lacks the same efficiency. One more thing, the bike sometimes skids on wet surfaces and while on little sandy roads. I always be little scared when I see a wet road or sandy turns, the same is the case with F2.
The major satisfaction to me is the engine, though I think Unicorn is definitely 5000/- Rupees more expensive than what it is priced. Overall I am happy so far with unicorn.
If I get a chance, will update more in future after using the bike for some more time.
Do leave your ratings.
Happy Riding:-)