Oct 11, 2010 11:41 AM
5639 Views
A transfer at work meant that I would have to travel about 40 km to my place of work and back every day, so I decided to buy a bike that would allow me to do so without too much strain as I'm now 50. After about a month of research on the internet and quite a few visits to different motorcycle showrooms, I decided to go in for a Honda Unicorn. The model I got (CBF150S) was the one that was available before the 'CB' prefix was added to the bike's name. This in turn was followed by the 'Dazzler'. The mono shock absorbed and upright sitting posture suggested more comfort than other bikes, and I'm glad to say that I was right.
As another reviewer put it, 'the Unicorn is like a four wheeler on two wheels'. That's a very accurate description of the comfort this bike offers. It literally glides over rough patches of road. I travel 80 km every day, and I don't feel very tired when I get back. On the other hand, when I travel to work on my colleague's bike, (since both of us got transferred to the same place, we travel together, alternating on his bike and mine) I feel very tired and experience sundry aches and pains. The Unicorn is very fast, too. Cruising at 80 kmph is no big deal, and despite being a 4-stroke bike, the acceleration is pretty good.
The brakes are excellent, and using the front and rear brakes together will bring the bike to a halt from almost any speed. The front brake is a disc brake, while the rear one is a drum brake. Most automobile and motorcycle magazines praise the Unicorn's engine and gearbox, and I agree with them. You can actually feel the refinement while driving. The exhaust too is decently quiet. The Unicorn comes with a gear shift lever that has to be operated with the toes. You have to press it down from neutral to get into first gear, and then keep lifting it up with your toes to get to second gear and then all the way to fifth.
This didn't agree too well with my shoes, so I got the lever replaced with one that has an extension at the rear. Now I can use my heel to shift to second and above.
So far I've dwelt on the Unicorn's merits, I'll now deal with the demerits. My bike's fuel gauge stopped working within 6 months of purchase, and the rear brake light switch gave out in the 9th month. Thankfully, I've been assured of replacement of both parts as the bike is still within the guarantee period, but one would expect better quality parts from a premium segment bike made by such a reputed company. The other concern I have is regarding fuel efficiency. I always knew that this bike wouldn't be economical and I was prepared for something in between 45 to 50 kmpl, but now it seems that the consumption is higher.
I haven't got down to actually measuring the fuel consumption, but from rough calculations, my guess is that it returns 40 to 45 kmpl. This is OK for me as I was prepared to sacrifice economy for comfort, and I suppose any bike would consume more fuel when driven at high speeds most of the time, but prospective buyers should check this issue out before taking the plunge. Finally, one more small detail. I was provided with a Instruction Manual for the bike in Hindi. I told the dealer that I would have preferred one in English, but he told me that the company "had stopped printing manuals in English". I then posted a request on the company's website, and the next day I received a PDF copy of the English manual by e-mail. When I wrote back requesting a hard copy and even offering to pay for it, there was no reply!
All things said and done, I'm very pleased with the motorcycle, despite the few issues mentioned above. I'd strongly recommend it to others looking for comfort and reliability, but prepared to compromise on economy.
