Honda Unicorn

Honda Unicorn (149.1 C.C, Front Disc Brakes, Self Start, Rear Monoshock, 13.3 bhp, 12.8 Nm Torque)

Showroom: Haiku Motors, Airport Road, Bangalore

"Likes:
+ Smooth Gear Shifts
+ Smooth Engine
+ Strong low and mid end torque
+ Comfortable/Natural riding stance (makes no bones of being a commuter)

Dislikes:
-Conservative Styling
-Weak Top End performance
-Alloy Wheels not available"

Neatly arranged, well maintained but very few visitors. On entering the showroom, an employee in uniform greets me. I tell him that I am interested in the Unicorn. The employee requests me to be seated while he calls a senior employee, whom he adresses as the manager. The senior employee sits down with me along with a blank quotation paper and without ado jots down the Unicorn's price structure. He then asks me about my personal details, to which I tell him that I am not from Bangalore and I am just there for a test ride. He then promptly arranges a test ride for me.

Pretty professional I would say. By directly getting down to the purpose of my visit, the manager did not waste neither my nor his time. It’s Typical Japanese way of managing business by eliminating waste efforts.

Price: The price quoted for Unicorn was Rs. 60,586 (On road price, Bangalore)

Looks: In a nutshell all I can say is that the looks of the Unicorn might not excite everybody but at the same time it also won't offend anybody either. Its difficult to find fault with the styling of the unicorn (maybe the non availability of alloy is one) but at the same time I can't find anything to admire at the bike. One word sums up the styling of the unicorn.. i.e. "Conservative"

Test Ride Experience: To my delight, I was allowed to test ride the bike alone without any pillion rider. All I had to do is to hand over my Driving License. The gears were butter smooth and the initial acceleration was strong. The engine pulled effortlessly till the mid range. But the engine doesn’t show as much pulling power as you rev the engine harder. This obviously has been done to make riders to stay in the mid range of the revs in favor of fuel efficiently. This is fine but it does take away the fun the ride the bike at higher revs. The engine remained smooth all through out the revs though. The riding position of the bike is very comfortable and comes naturally. The rider easily sits upright in a commuter friendly stance.

Conclusion: The Unicorn has been around for a few years. Though having the reputation of being a very good bike and the famous winged logo of Honda, sales have not been that spectacular. Probably it is the conservative styling and the commuter oriented nature of the bike.

Likes:+ Smooth Gear Shifts
+ Smooth Engine
+ Strong Low and Mid end grunt
+ Comfortable/Natural riding stance (makes no bones of being a commuter)

Dislikes:-Conservative Styling
-Unenthusiastic Top End performance
-Unlike the competition, Honda still shys away from providing Alloy Wheels