A great product let down by the dealers and ASC. Review on Honda Unicorn 150 cc

I brought a Honda CB Unicorn 2012 model in Madurai, Tamil Nadu in march. I had previously paid a advance to the honda dealer in Madurai - Kalyani Honda on September 2011. The dealer said that I can take a bike if I pay full cash after one month. As I was in no hurry(i was moving to Chennai to start a career) I let the dealer take their sweet time and I got my bike in March.

I have been driving the bike from office to home for about three months now and still I have clocked only 4K Km. During the first 5 months the bike was in Madurai and rarely used - 4 to 6 km runs every other day.

During second service I notified the dealer that there was some weird noise from the engine and the power delivery seemed off - the bike was out of breath after 50Km/hr. The fittings around the engine mount were loose so they were tightened and the'clutch outer cam' was cracked. The dealer asked me to take the bike as it was working pretty okay till the spares - some three parts which I don't know- arrive. So even after the time for third service the spare never arrived and I got no call as they said. So during third service I left the bike and said plainly that i'll not take the bike without the changes done. Then after three days the spares(which he said will take 20-30 days to come) came and the bike was back to usual. I thought that this fiasco will have some negative impact on fuel efficiency - but no. Fuel efficiency as per my reserve to reserve trip measure is~60Km/L. Which is very good. But then again I only drive it in OMR in Chennai for~ 20 Km per day and I am a early shifter.

Th bike has pretty predictable handling - nothing to write home about - still good. But while going through the bumps in the highway I sense a little lateral movement in the rear suspension - Feels strange and needs a firm hand to prevent swerving into the traffic on the other lane - I think it is a isolated problem, The brakes - both the front and the rear- need constant adjustment and this becomes kinda a problem if you expect to get it tightened during service. Within 3 months I have to do it at least 4 times - so better to learn how to do this - it is pretty simple, But being a lazy a$ that I am I didn't do it and I dropped the bike when a dog(stray) jumped inside my path today. No big damage - slight scratches in the doom mount, leg guard and the rear view mirror and heavy ones in my right palm. I'll update the damages after service in a couple of days - the handle bar seems out of sync too.

The headlights are a little inadequate. The beam is not bright and it might be a bit of a problem when traveling in unlit roads. I cant comment on the batteries - I had a touch sensor attached to the bike - fuel robbery was becoming a problem in chennai.  The mechanic warned that the battery will be hit if I use it, and I went ahead anyway. So now the battery is not at its best but it still has some life left in it.

The tires are good - grippy and pretty airtight. No problems there. After three months the engine mounts are again loose I think. Slight  noise when in 1st or 2nd gear. Nothing major. Engine oil changed every service - I honestly don't know why though, considering the odo reading. Great bike to cruise in 5th gear all the time.

Overall ownership experience was just good enough. The product itself is great. The service - well I have only serviced it in Madurai Honda ASC. The experience was pathetic. Routine service will be okay - just make sure they really change the engine oil. But if something breaks then you are screwed. Spare availability is a big problem. If you think that this is a 8 year old model and spares will be readily available, you are soo wrong. Tomorrow I am taking the bike to Kun honda ASC in thiruvanmiyur. I'll post the damages in a couple of days.

I just dropped off the bike in the service center. I wanted to get a coat of Teflon and a routine oil change. The cost quoted is Rs950. So it is pretty economical I'll say.

So, will I recommend this bike to my friends?. If you are in the marked for a frugal 150cc bike then I guess you have no where else to go. Welcome to the club. I have heard that CBZ Xtreme is good but a bit less fuel efficient. I have not personally driven that. And the Hunk had a pretty weird seating position. I also went through the dazzler conundrum when I bought the bike. I did test-drive one and my friend has it, so.

In my opinion the dazzler was light - not the feeling I was going for. Besides it has open chain - no chain guard. This reduces the life of the chain itself - duh, it is called'chain guard'. But it looks sporty. The engine is a little sporty too - or it is the weight difference, I don't know. It sure moves faster off the block than the unicorn. But it feels like a samsung phone as opposed to a nokia one. The unicorn always felt better put together. Marginally better looks and performance vs marginally better build quality and better mileage(as per my friend). I don't know about you but I am a sucker for build quality. So sure this gets my vote.

[Update after 10K Km] Mileage has settled at a steady 52-54 Km/l if driven with a steady hand at the throttle. If I race the engine with no regard to consequence then the mileage comes down to 48-50. Battery has completely died - the ASC guys forgot to hook up the battery to the alternator after a service so, the battery got drained and the acid started leaking after a while. So, yeah DEAD. They are blaming it on the touch sensor that I had attached [i have removed the actual sensor but left the wiring as is], ASC guys said that the battery needs to be changed and the wiring restored(which they said they cannot do) and they are claiming that the new battery will also die if I leave the sensor wiring as is. Load of BS IMO. If any of you guys have any opinion on this - "do I really need to remove the wiring modification", please leave a comment. Otherwise no issues. Running as smooth as new.

[UPDATE 20K KM] Now I have logged 20K Km in this bike, mileage is great 50-54 Km/Litre. Some rust has started to form in the place where the silencer is welded to the engine - I'm surprised that this took so long, my friend's Apache RTR started rusting within a year. Stopped servicing the bike in ASC, found a mechanic I can trust, and changed engine oil to Shell 20W40 semi-synthetic. The tires that were so grippy in the beginning have started to loose grip. The confidence level is hit more than anything. But I see no point in changing the tires before 30K Km as the threads are still pretty deep. Plan to replace the stock MRFs with Michelin Siracs(if I can find an imported piece, I don't trust the TVS made ones) else I will have to go with an Apollo tubeless tire which seems nice.

No regrets after 20K Km. Just run away from the ASC as fast as you can.