Feel on top of the world.....with Uni. Review on Honda Unicorn 150 cc

Hi guys, Venu here. This is my first review on my first bike'Uni'.

Let me start with a breifing on how I zeroed in on Uni.

I was toying with the idea of buying a bike when my friend bought a pulsar 150. I rode it a few times. I liked the bike apart from the fact that the riding position was not very comfortable. I got back ache the very first time I rode it for more than 20 km. But I thought it is bcoz I have not rode a bike for a long time and my body will get used to it gradually.

So, I decided to book a pulsar but there was some issue with bank loan bcoz of which I decided to wait for one more month before booking the bike.

And thats when I happenned to ride my colleague's Uni.

It was a short ride but it was enough for me to feel the superior quality of this Honda machine. Smooth engine and gearshift, excellent pick-up, amazing control inspite of its weight and finally the looks of a gentleman's bike. And more-over u dont find too many Unicorns around in Bangalore but Pulsar is everywhere. I wondered why dint I give'Uni' a close look before. I checked the reviews in Mouthshut and also some other similar sites and found that most Uni owners are very proud of their posession. I dint delay any further and booked a black with grey Uni the very next week without even another test ride. I also thanked the bank in my mind for the issues with the bank loan which resulted in me buying Uni ;)

Some facts and figures:

Bought the bike from the ‘Silicon Honda’ showroom in Jayanagar, Bangalore on 5th May 08. The showroom guys were quite helpful throughout the booking and delivery of the bike.

I use only Indian Oil Xtra-Premium fuel.

She has clocked 610 KM till date.

Never exceeded 50 kmph.

Mileage as of now is around 48 kmpl.

Now to the actual review -

It has been 2 weeks of pure exhilaration on my Uni. Once you start riding the bike, u don’t feel like stopping her at all. This might sound crazy but I actually often feel sad when I reach my destination as I have to stop riding the bike.

First things first, the engine is super smooth and when compared to other bikes in the same category, u can say that the engine is almost silent. And it is smooth through out 0-50kmph speed and also on all the gears. Truly a world class refined engine.

Gearshift is so smooth, u sometimes wonder whether the gear was actually changed or not, before you increase the throttle, that is. However, I would like to mention one incident here. I was riding my Uni and came to a halt at a traffic signal with my bike on the first gear. I changed the gear to neutral and made sure the neutral indicator is on and switched off the engine and turned the ignition on again. The green neutral indicator was still on and when the signal changed, I just pushed the button for self start and to my utter shock, found that the bike is still on first gear(bcoz of the forward jerk it had) even though the neutral indicator was ON! It has never happenned again and could be just a one-off incident but it definitely had me worried for a couple of days.

Acceleration and pick-up are pure joy. The pick-up is not as abrupt as Pulsar but is very smooth. She might not match Pulsar initially but once she gains the initial momentum it will be Uni all the way. Best way to put it is ‘She picks up speed gracefully’.

Control is awesome in spite of the heavy weight. Once I was passing by an auto rickshaw that was stopped by the roadside when the rickshaw guy suddenly took a right turn and almost hit my bike. I had to suddenly turn right to avoid the auto and then take left immediately to avoid the traffic on my right hand side. All this happenned in a split second and it was as easy as handling a bi-cycle.  Also, she responds beautifully during cornering on curves.

Braking is very effective. The disk breaks give u the confidence to cruise through the city traffic. Although I had a problem where the rear breaks were not powerful enough when I got the bike, I followed the manual and adjusted it easily according to my needs.

Rider comfort is amazing. The mono-suspension plays a huge role in this. Rider will feel very less shocks even on bumpy roads as the mono-suspension absorbs most of it.  The riding posture is very good and u don’t feel tired even after riding for a long time in the city traffic.

She might not be as attractive as Pulsar to ‘look’ at but she is not bad at all. She has this ‘no non-sense’ attitude on her.

Over all, this is an excellent machine to have and you can rest assured that she will not let you down in any way. One of the most comfortable and reliable bikes to hit Indian roads. I am going to get the first service done this Friday and planning to take her to Mysore over the weekend.

PS: Will keep updating this article after each service and each long ride with performance details. So keep looking for more on the best 150CC bike in India, ‘Uni’.

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Hi Guys,

I am back with the updates after the first service. Unfortunately, this part of the review is not going to project a good picture I had a horrible experience with Silicon Honda service center in Jayanagar, Bangalore. I gave it for service on 22nd May and got it back the next day. My only request was to attach a lady grip to the bike apart from the normal servicing routine. When I got my bike back, I found that the lady grip was not attached. I proceeded to check all the lights and buzzers and found that the break light was not turning ON when I applied the front disk breaks. It used to work absolutely fine before I gave it for service.

I immediately brought it to the service center in-charge's notice. But he responded in a very irresponsible and unprofessional manner. He said that the switch is faulty and needs to be replaced and I will have to pay for it. Also, he said they do not have the stock right now and I will have to come back next week. When I asked isnt it your responsibility to give the vehicle back with all the parts working as it were before, he said that the switch might have gone bad at any point of time before the service and I could be lying that it was working before the service. Also, he said there is no guarentee for electrical components as they might stop working even after a water wash. I thought it a waste of time to even discuss about the lady grip after such a response from him.

I have now escalated the matter to Honda through their website and they have already tried to contact me twice but I was not available. I am waiting for them to contact me again so that I can know the further course of action. I am not concerned that I have to pay for the switch. I just want to let Honda know how these delalers are treating its customers.

Apart from this bad experience, the bike still remains a dream on wheels to me. It is giving a mileage of around 51kmpl now and the engine is just getting smoother by the day. My trip to Mysore last weekend was fun. Enjoyed the ride on the Bangalore-Mysore highway and all my comments in the earlier post still holds good. No complaints on the product but only the service center.