I had booked the Honda bike in October Last year. I wanted to buy TVS fiero or pulsar and had infact booked TVS fiero . I got the news from my friend and I booked the Honda immediately. I received the bike in December. The best thing about the bike is its handling. I have driven pulsar and in fact learned driving on pulsar. Pulsar is also a good bike but there is no comparison to Honda unicorn’s handling. I have slipped a couple of times on pulsar even now after driving for so long. But never had any problems with Honda. Pulsar’s disadvantage is its top heavy and skids while breaking. Honda on other hand has been designed for fast biking and maneuverability. There will always be comparison with pulsar as both the bikes are targeted towards the same segment of Customers. Both have its Pros and Cons. A person who owns Pulsar will never like unicorn and vice versa, simply because we envy each other for its Good things. I will give you all a detailed comparison between both the bikes. I don’t want to give you any specs. You must have seen many of them. This comparison is based on my own opinion and the experience I have with both the bikes.
1) Pulsar has been marketed very well. They have 100’s of dealers and Sub dealers in Bombay alone. Apart from that the service centers are everywhere. I have heard t only three Honda dealers in Bombay and two service centers. So if you have to take the bike for servicing then it may be a long drive.
2) The Honda Service center is good and everything is organized and systematic. I have heard that Pulsar service center is not that so good.
3) Pulsar can be seen anywhere and everywhere and so it has less resale value. It’s become too common like the splendor. That is one reason it has lost its charm. Honda does not do aggressive marketing like pulsar and has maintained its position as an esteemed bike.
4) Bajaj Engines have never been good. I have two scooters apart from my bike. One is the lamberada, which is 30 years old, and other is bajaj chetak, which is 10 years old. And my older scooter starts in one kick and the Bajaj Chetak has to be tilted to 45 degrees to start. It’s something that is very important. My friend had got pulsar three years ago and during a recent servicing he had to spend 6k on the bike. Honda is still not even a year old. But I feel the Bike has a better engine. Of course it also depends on how you use it.
5) Honda has got amazing handling and I would rate it the best in handling and simply because of the new technology (mono suspension). And trust me after driving this bike for a couple of weeks you will realize there is no comparison for this bike in case of handling. In simple words I can do things on this bike that I cannot do on pulsar or any other bike. As I said earlier pulsar is top heavy and skids while breaking.
6) Unicorn gives me a mileage of 55 – 60 kmph in Bombay roads. That’s the highest in 150cc category. TVS has similar mileage but the bike is very light and that will definitely increase the mileage a bit. Pulsar gives around 52 –55 kmph. And again that may be because it’s very heavy. Honda is in between and the engineers have done excellent job by keeping it this way. The Mileage really doesn’t make much difference in these three bikes. Unicorn is little faster than pulsar. But again that won’t make much difference. In short what really will make the difference is the durability and reliability in the long run. I will rate Unicorn a bit higher than pulsar for its sheer charm and exuberance.