Re: Honda Unicorn

My Unicorn completed 30000 Kms @ 3 years 1 months.

Has been a great ownership experience till now. Mileage is good above 55 always.

Changes due to wear & Tear:
Rear Tube (MRF regular 350 rs)
A spring in gear box responsible for gear shifts (Cost below 100 & Labour 380)
Rear break shoes (Front break pads are still intact)

Regular Changes:
Oil (1800Kms to 2200 Kms - Now running with Gulf Pride)
Air filter(100 rs - twice)
Spark Plug(79 rs - twice)
Fork Oil Change (@ 19000 kms)
Chain adjustment - ~once is a month(20 rs)
Break oil Topup(TVS girling cost 30 rs per bottle and still is 3/4th full)


Services done:
4 Free services at Honda SC
2 or 3 Paid services till now
rest Self-serviced

Been a problem free bike. Have suggested this bike to most of the people who ask me.

Timing Chain, Chain & Spockets needs to be replaced shortly. Any idea on the cost of Timing Chain ?

Re: Honda Unicorn

Chain sprockets should cost about 800-900, not sure about timing chain , are u sure u need to replace it? coz my uni has run 41000km and its still fine.

Never put anyother engine oil

I am warning each and everyone here never ever use any other engine oil apart from what company recommends or what ever u r using use that always learnt a big big lesson. As I was using 20w40 of gulf pride till 6000 km I changed to shell ax7 10w40 to my surprise at 7000 km I was hearing a sound from the engine got it checked at the service station first I thought it must be of tappet no it was not then the clutch was opened as first the sound was suhi suhi hence it was diagnosed it is coming from clutch housing and the other nut which is next to it got it replaced had to pay 1500 rs plus 400 rs for that nut which is next to it wow amazing the sound had gone could not get the warranty here as I was using a different engine oil then the recommendation was given to use now honda 10w30 oil so I got that put after the replacement of the clutch housing then I was hearing tic tic tic sound went back at 7200 km saw it was tappet then it was not then the valves were checked and saw there was a gap in the middle part so got that green and set but again when the bike was heating a lot now it has been diagnosed that it is the piston which is making this noise. Now the asc here is saying u have to wait as u were using another engine oil and not the honda oil hence u will not get the warranty for the same but as now u r using the oil ride the vehicle with this sound for 1000 km let the engine give smoke then u will get the warranty for the piston as we have to change that and the gas kit so u have to wait learnt a big lesson. Here but I am surprised as I was always using w40 engine oil let it be 10, 15, or 20 after all was w40 how come this problem has come is honda making a bad quality stuff. I don't trust honda anymore. After my bike is been made boss I am selling her and going in for pulsar 180 atleast u know when the problems will come. This sound is so bad that I think I will go mad by the end. The bike is heating so much that by then end my leg is like burning like shit.
But very surprising she goes till 90 km/hrs even at this condition but that sound is there. well after the new engine oil I have just done 300 km waiting for 1000 km to done hope that this problem is solved soon.
Throught of giving this information to my friends here. If its usefull for you all do keep this in mind my friends what I am going through wow cant sleep my eyes are red my heart is hurt. Only a biker will understand my heart at this moment. What I am going through.

----consecutive posts auto-merged-----

Sharing some snaps which contains the clutch housing changing and now the current spark plug how does it look like and the current level of engine oil what do u guys say on this. Please friends who have ever heard or can give your reviews of what to do which will help me please give your comments

Re: Never put anyother engine oil

At what interval do u change oil?

Re: Never put anyother engine oil

@arjunb
I totally disagree with your conclusion that the cause of the damage was engine oil. If the svc says you are not using the recommended grade, please take your owners manual and flip to the oil grade chart . You will clearly see that the grade that is suitable to our temp is the 10w40/20w40.
Looking at the last pic of the plug, it looks like you were running a lean mixture and this damage was just 'waiting' to happen. could be other reasons
as well (clutch not adjusted or used improperly/riding habit etc) but definitely NOT the oil if you always maintained the correct level with regular changes.

(i have also seen your prev posts on this and other forums reporting of bad 'quality' on the pulsar/your prev bike - so maybe there is something wrong in the way you ride or maintain ur ride)

Push for warranty ! and don't fall for the 'oil' bullshit of the svc.

Re: Never put anyother engine oil

Well thank u so much u were following me.
Riding style:
My riding style is in between 40-50 km/hr I like to stay under 4000 rpm on the 5th gear for a long period.
Engine oil change period:
Changing of engine oil is done every 1800 - 2200 km I am very strict about this.
Harsh driving:
I hate it I don't

What do u guys say should I ask the asc to change the dam piston asap.

----consecutive posts auto-merged-----

As u mentioned the engine oil grade which the company recommends I am attaching here with 2 snaps one which is in the book as 10w30 and the other one is a soft copy in pdf format which the company had sent me since my manual book was in hindi hence they sent me in english and I got it done in a hard copy please have a look no where it says that we could use 10w40 engine oil anyways I have done the harm to my vehicle its my fault but anyways what's done its done shall not be done again and as for the pulsar problems yes 220cc was not ment for me I agree that was a bad investment done by me and only me. And yes 180 ug4 was and is a very nice machine same as our unicorn and yes unicorn will always be my first and the last love for 2 wheelers.
Have a look at the snaps yourself.

Re: Never put anyother engine oil

Bro 10w40 oil cannot possibly cause so much damage on a bike, actually any oil will not cause that much damage, it could be due to less oil or some other reason. Many ppl on the unicorn thread and other threads have used shell 10w40 on their bikes for a longer period than you and haven't reported even a small damage caused by that grade oil.

Re: Never put anyother engine oil

buddy i do not see any attachments/snaps, could you pls re-upload them ?
And i don't understand why they are asking you replaced the block/piston when there is an issue with the clutch side !? Is there any smoke (blusih-white) in the exhaust ?
can you be more specific on what work/parts were actually replaced ?

Or could try this: Take your bike to another SVC and ask them to check it and see what they have to say. Since you are running the honda oil now,they shouldn't know that you used another oil unless you tell them. I would advice a second opinion and getting the work done at another svc to avoid hassles in warranty claim if the need arises.

PS: how in the world did the svc find out that u dint use the honda oil ? did you tell them ??

Re: Never put anyother engine oil

Yea there's no way to find out what oil is in the bike

Re: Never put anyother engine oil

first of all the issue which was with the clutch housing has been changed now the scene is that a loud noise is coming for the engine which was diagnosed by the asc when they had checked the valve tapit timing chain everything was ok but still they suspect it is the sound coming from the piston hence I have got it confirmed not only from the asc but also from few of the senior mechanics hence the company is going to change it under warranty.
what I am mentioning here is the quality of Honda what it used to be 3.5 years back has gone down,
well I hope I have not hurt any of my fellow xbhians feelings if so then sorry for that.

Re: Never put anyother engine oil

Oh gud ur getting warranty, but it happens bro, they make thousands of bikes out of that 1 or 2 can turn out faulty.

Re: Never put anyother engine oil

take a look at the manual u posted (English one) - clearly indicates 20w40 is the right oil too for our Indian temperatures.
Good to hear that you are getting things replaced under warranty.
btw can you post a clip of that 'noise' you are hearing ? could be piston slap noise..

Re: Never put anyother engine oil

The manual of CRF150 states that 10w40 is best for that engine . Other members have agreed to fact that 20w40 reduces mileage by 5-10kmpl . Shell AX7 10W40 is by far best suited oil for unicorn as my friend is using it from 5k km without any issues.

----consecutive posts auto-merged-----

The manual of CRF150 states that 10w40 is best for that engine . Other members have agreed to fact that 20w40 reduces mileage by 5-10kmpl . Shell AX7 10W40 is by far best suited oil for unicorn as my friend is using it from 5k km without any issues.

Re: Never put anyother engine oil

Oil won't reduce mileage, a very thick oil can reduce the pickup but not mileage, I haven't tried shell ax7 but as of my experience gulf pride even though its 20w40 its very bad during summer, my engine feels too rough and gets heated too soon, but in motul 20w40 I don't face this issue in summer, no matter how much I strain the bike it doesn't overheat and remains smooth throughout. Whereas in winter motul doesn't heat up soon and gives me cold start issues but gulf is fine.

Sent from my A7+ using Tapatalk 2

Re: Honda Unicorn

Anyone found any handlebar mods yet? I found this one



Sent from my A7+ using Tapatalk 2