Not happy, not sad. Review on Honda CB Unicorn Dazzler

I finally sold off my Avenger and bought a Dazzler couple of weeks back. I have done over 1000 Kms and here's my review.(For those who want to read why I sold off my Avenger, please read this:

https://mouthshut.com/review/Bajaj-Avenger-srrsmnrnln)

I have a mixed response to my purchase. I'm not  very happy and not utterly disappointed too.

The dealership experience(Honda Matrix) was one of the worst I have experienced so far in my life. Had to wait for over an hour for the delivery, the bike was not washed(the sales person tried to wash it at the exact time of delivery and there was no water) and the crash guard was a defective one(got it replaced the next day). No sane person would take the delivery of an unwashed vehicle but I had to because I wanted the delivery on that day itself due to religious reasons.

Apart from that, there was some tuning problem as I had to use choke every time I start the engine(not just mornings) and jerks at low speeds. Even though I mentioned it at the time of first service, it was not rectified and the service people simply increased the idling speed. When I went back again and contacted the service manager, he promptly adjusted the tuning. Now there's no starting problem and jerks.

Another thing that really disappointed me is the suspension. It's very hard(even though I have the setting to soft). If you do solo riding, it will not be that evident(it's still hard). But pillion riders will not love to sit on your bike for sure. I experienced this myself when I had to sit behind the sales guy in the demo vehicle to go to the warehouse to take delivery of my Dazzler. The ride was so hard behind that I literally had to stand over the foot rest sometimes to ease the shocks over potholes. This was later confirmed on my own vehicle by my wife. She told that Avenger(whose suspension I used to curse) was way more comfortable behind than Dazzler. As I ride solo most of the time, this aspect I can ignore but this is certainly not expected from a bike of this class.

There is another issue in my bike. It makes some khat khat sound and some vibrations in the front fork/handle when I apply front brakes too hard or when I go over potholes. It was pretty faint in the beginning but has increased now. I'm going today to the service station to get it resolved.

Apart from these short comings, the engine is very smooth. Going at 60 is as effortless as it can get. While on my Avenger, it would give a hell lot of noise and vibrations at 60. Brakes are excellent, though the back brake emits some sound when applied. And then there's tubeless tyres, which I always great.

Mileage wise, I'm very happy as it gives me around 58(decent driving with speeds not exceeding 60).

I haven't ridden a Unicorn or a Hunk so I cannot compare with them. But I'm sure that Unicorn will beat the Dazzler anytime if you take out the disc brakes and tubeless tyres. The only reason I didn't go for a Unicorn is because it was little big for my size.

While I certainly miss the power and aggression of my Avenger, it is made up by the Dazzler with it's disc brakes, engine smoothness, tubeless tyres, handling and maintenance free ownership.

Update: The service guy told that the khat khat sound is from the stem and tightened it a bit. It got resolved. However, the vibrations and sound(as if the handle is not fixed properly) still exists. I just went again to the service center and they told there is some fork problem and it needs to be reset. All this makes me pretty disappointed as this is not what I expected from Honda. I certainly didn't enjoy the quality.

Update(06/03/11): The steering nut was found defective and it was replaced. Now the the handlebar vibrations have gone. However I'm very disappointed with the service. There was engine oil leakage and it was found that the drain nut was not tightened properly after first service. The service people also appear tired and disinterested. It simply looks that they can't handle the work load. What is the use of manufacturing world class bikes if there are no equivalent service guys to manage the supply.

Seeing the number of two-wheelers coming everyday for the service I really doubt that apart from changing engine oil and washing, these people hardly do anything to your two wheeler.

Update(29/03/11): The shocks have softened a bit now and the ride isn't that bumpy as earlier. I have changed my recommendation to a Yes than the No that was at the time of writing this review.