Honda CB Unicorn "Lord of the Roads" Review - My first 5000 kilometers

I bought Honda CB Unicorn on 23 March 2013. I did not just go to the dealer and paid for it. Before buying
I did enough research for at least 3 months. Googled around. Discussed with many including Unicorn's proud owners.

On Road Price Delhi : INR 72000

First let me tell you what was my preconditions for a bike.
1) It should be strong enough to carry 2 heavyweight persons. as I and my wife both are overweight :)
2) It should have good pick-up. so 150 cc segment was my first choice.
3) It should have decent look, I am not a sporty kind of person. So it should give feel of maturity.
4) Pillion seat should not be very high. As ladies used to have problem while sitting as pillion. And should not be very flat like splendour/passion. So that they can also see what is in front.
5) Better mileage :)

My first choice was Yamaha FZ-S series as Yamaha is something we trust blindly for consistency, pick-up, easy handling and balance. (except for Crux one).

But as I said I was not looking for kind of sporty bike and the rear seat is bit higher and mileage is poor in FZ-S. FZ was not a fit for me.

Bajaj Pulsar and Discover were not in my list. Because of they need more maintenance, gear problem and they loose their paint very quickly. Just in one year looks ages old.

If 125 cc segment was my option then I might go for TVS Phoenix or Discover 125 cc ST. both looks amazing and are proving great in the market.

Apache RTR series have vibration issues and poor mileage.

My brothers own Honda CB Shine and one thing I like about them are lowest maintenance. But another thing I do not like is that it jumps a lot due to their low weight.

Now I chose Honda CB Unicorn due to below reasons. Ok I agree I had not test ride before buying but I went with it due to various reviews and I found them correct.

Let me tell first what it lacks when we compare it with latest state of the art bikes from Yamaha FZ series, Bajaj Pulsar/Discover, TVS Apache etc, Honda CB Trigger

1) No rear disc brake :(
2) No digital speedometer :(
3) No sporty look :(
4) No tubeless tyres :(
5) Gear pad is half :(
6) No rear LED lights :(

But still Unicorn is clear winner and truly called "Lord of the roads"

Let me tell you that I was willing to write a review since when I bought it. But I waited because when we buy something we love it in start and we think them best but slowly as time passes the fire starts fading. So I waited... I waited for more than 3 months and 5000 kms before saying anything.

Here is my experience with Unicorn.
1) There is no other vehicle in 150cc segment that looks this much dashing and matured. You just find it standing beside any other bike and they look very timid or chotta bhaiyya kind of. :)
2) Every weekend I go for long ride 130 km in single sitting and I never had any issue and never ever any two wheeler dared to overtake me (so far). :)

3) These beast are really very silent. When on Delhi roads you will see pulsar/apache making so much noise to overtake, Unicorn overtake them silently and very smoothely like king.
4) It is really very balanced bike. At speed 2-10 kmph it remains steady. I do not need to support it from legs.
5) Yes these are very heavy even heavier than pulsar 220 cc bike. So you need bit stamina to handle it when they bike is off. But once started it manage its weight by itself. Many times I feel proud when friends and bike washer try to park/de-park it with light hand. And then they surprisingly say "What is this beast" as they fail in first attempt.
6) I really admire its rear suspension which is "Advanced Technology Mono-suspension" and that is really amazingly comfortable for the rider. I have no experience as pillion. :)

And here comes the real feature which no other bike in this segment has.

53+ KMPL mileage for 150cc bike

Yes you have to ride well to get this mileage. Try to take minimum clutch and brake. Ride between 45-55 km.

Recently Honda has launched its new version of Unicorn with all the missing things from competitors with Name Trigger. I hope that will fill the gaps of technologies and will do best.