Mar 21, 2009 12:07 PM
5723 Views
I've been reading a lot about the Honda Unicorn here at Mouthshut.com and decided to share my experience with you.
I owned a Suzuki Shaolin and wanted to buy a different bike (not that the Shaolin was not good, infact great). But since it was not in production I was finding it difficult to get parts. That's when my dad asked me to think about buying a new bike.
I started looking around. I went on a test drive of the Pulsar 180. It was nice, a different bike on the roads apart from the Yamaha RX, Hero Honda, Suzuki Fiero. I almost decided that I will buy a Pulsar 180. One evening, a friend of mine said that Honda was launching a new 150 CC bike with a monoshock. So I said to myself, I'll wait and see.
I tried to search on google and never found pictures of the bike, except snippets of the launch and what it has to offer. Even the dealers were not sure when there would be a bike on display, but they did tell me that it will definitely be displayed at the Vahan Yatra (In Bangalore).I saw the bike at the Vahan Yatra and decided that's the bike for me. Went to the dealer (Haiku Honda in Bangalore), took a test drive and booked the bike. Black is what I like on a bike.It is with a kickstart.
Had to wait nearly 2 months for delivery. It was and is awsome riding the bike, a new bike people had not seen or heard of much. People kept asking me about the performance, mileage handling etc.It's been 4 years since I've had her. I must say she's never disappointed me one bit. I work for the BPO's, so I use her most of the time during weekends. She's done about 16000 kms, (less for a 4 year old vehicle).
About the performance, what can I say about the Honda engine. It's absolutely silent. Had to keep looking at the RPM meter when I was at a standstill to see if she was still running. She has great pick up and top end speed. I once had a drag with 2 Pulsar 150 (One pulsar was the first model & the 2nd was the 150 DTSI). My Unicorn was able to catch them even after they having a headstart and after overtaking them, the only place I saw them was in my rearview mirrors. I think the first model unicorn's are very powerful.
I say this cause a friend of mine has also purchased a unicorn about 2 years back and whenever we have a drag, he's not able to keep up with my bike.Thought I use the bike only on weekends, she starts on the 3rd of the 4th kick with the choke on. Once she has started, I leave her on idle for abt 15 seconds with the choke. She's fine after that.
Mileage: The traffic in Bangalore is a mess. To add to that the roads are in an even bad condition. I get an average of about 45 - 50 kms.
Looks: The big petrol tank, the longish bike, headlamps make it look great. I'm not a great fan of stickers on the bike, so I am happy with the strickers put at the time of manafacture. It only has the Honda sticker on the petrol tank, a 'Unicorn' sticker on the sides. It's simple and looks great. One thing I would have definitely liked is broader wheels compared to the size of the bike. But if Honda designed it that way, they must have a very good reason for it.
Since it was the first model I bought, my mech was telling me that there were a lot of changes made to the later models (from the selfstart models onwards). Example. The front disc brake pads were making noise. I had them replaced about 2 years back & till today they don't make a sound. I personally think the gears can be made more smooth. I've owned 2 Suzuki bikes before buying my Unicorn ( a TVS Suzuki - the one with the Japanese engine and a Suziki Shaolin) and I feel that the Suzuki's have the best gears....they are very smooth. I've never found that in any other bike I rode.
I also feel that the horn could be more powerful. Pulsar's horn comes in a pair, I've had only one from that pair put on my bike and it's really powerful. I read somewhere that the horn on the Unicorn was good, maybe cause we are used to people having powerful horns we feel that way. To add to that I think we need a powerful horn cause people in India need to be reminded that they don't own the roads and to let other people move on.
I have just had her serviced 10 days back. The mechanic has done a great job & she is absolutely smooth. I've had the air-filter changed adn after that I feel there is an increase in the pick up and fuel effiency. According to the mechanic, since the air-filter on the Unicorn is made of paper, it has to be changed once in 10, 000 kms.
Overall to conclude, I must say a great value for money and a superb motorcycle.
Thanks for reading,
Deepak
