Apr 22, 2005 03:09 PM
4861 Views
(Updated Apr 25, 2005 11:34 AM)
I have been riding this bike for about a month (30-50 kms/day). Here are my comments (not in comparison with any other bike in this category):
Pros:
Too good suspension - The rear mono shock absorber makes the ride very smooth. But even wonderful are the front ones - Superb!
Good mileage - (above my expectations) - about 55 kmpl in city
Good pickup
Smooth clutch - Very smooth clutch making which could have made city riding really good, thanks to Worst Gear Shift. Read more below.
Cons:
Though most of these pros are subjective, here is a list of cons which are real ones and not subjective. I agree that some of these may be very specific to my bike, but then chances are that they are not!:
Bad Engineering - when ridden through potholes, the rear axle bolt used to hit the silencer making a loud metal noise. It has also spoiled the silencer
Bad Engineering again - The front registration number plate is hardly visible from front. One has to sit to view the number. Hope the traffic guys dont catch me!
Noisy Front disc brakes - when applied they make too much of noise
Very bad seat - Honda has totally failed in designing the seat - seat makes a lot of noise on even slightly rougher or uneven roads. It also doesnt fit symmetrically on the bike thereby leaving a wide gap on one side and no gap on the other side of the bike.
Not very smooth engine and transmission - The transmission and engine are not very smooth. The engine doesnt fire well when started in the morning though it works good when its hot. HH Splendor is far better than Unicorn in this respect
Worst Gear Shift - Shifting from a higher gear to lower (5th to 4th, 4th o 3rd) is very very hard. Problem also lies with the neutral indicator while shifting between 1st and 2nd gears. The indicator on the console sometimes shows the neutral indicator ''on'' when the bike is actually in 1st or 2nd gear and ''off'' when the bike is in neutral gear.HH Splendor is far better than Unicorn in this respect too
Lights!Not sharp. Spreads across the whole width of the road as a result of which it loses focus and noting is visible!
Slight oil leakages from engine
Cant resist from some subjective ones or missing features
Cheap looking side panels should have been better.
Cheap looking fuel cock
Bad grips
No engine kill switch
No trip meter
No side stand indicator
I hope that most of the problems are fixed in the first servicing! Till then I wound not recommend this bike to anyone as I feel there are un-ignorable problems which I never expected from HONDA!(And please note that by saying this I do not intend to recommend its competitor)
