Re: Honda Unicorn 160

Oh my God! That's pretty fast. When I saw the last post was by you, I thought you had asked a query. Congrats! It's a fine bike, break-in well and have fun.

Re: Honda Unicorn 160

I actually got it yesterday. This is a pic of yesterday afternoon at 4 p.m. Like B7ACKTHORN suggested, early to rise and early to go to showroom really helps. I reached there exactly at 11 a.m. and rode out at 3:30 p.m.

Got ultra lucky too with the Paytm cashback. Got 2500 Paytm CB (after 500 convenience charges) and immediately transferred that amount to my bank account. I was quite skeptical about this since Paytm announced a few days back that all CB will be in the form of loyalty points, which can't be transferred to bank account. I guess they'll introduce this from 1st Jan or something :P

Edit: About break-in, yes sir. Haven't received the manual yet (coz registration pending) but I know I shouldn't go over 4500 RPM. Besides, I don't tend to ride it before I get it registered.

Re: Honda Unicorn 160

Praise the Lord ! So, you picked a vehicle from their lot, did a PDI before okaying it ?

Honda doesn't mention any RPM limits like Yamaha or Suzuki, but 4500 rpm is a good upper limit for the first 500-700 kms. Drive normally but gentle acceleration without lugging, don't worry about plastic or rubber-burning like smells in this period !

Re: Honda Unicorn 160

Do post your detailed ride experiences and photos. Take it easy for the first few thousand kays.

Congratulations on the newest member of your family. Ride safe!

Cheers!
VJ

Re: Honda Unicorn 160

Yeah. Since I was very specific and made my intentions VERY VERY CLEAR to the salesman, he said he will only accept my booking after I've picked and finalized a bike from his lot. He said customers aren't allowed in the godown and can't pick a bike from the lot because there are cameras everywhere and the owners are watching, etc., so he ordered one of his guys to bring outside a bike from the lot, and I can choose or reject it. He had two black colored bikes, and I chose the one you see in the pic after checking everything in the PDI list. After I selected and confirmed the bike, he then filled out the forms, I made the payment, he allotted that bike to me, sent it to their own PDI section, got it washed, fitted all the accessories, and once all the paperwork and insurance, etc., was done, he let me ride it home.

I had to haggle a lot for the accessories. Didn't get the extended warranty, but I got a sweet parking cover (official Honda - Rs. 390) included in the deal.

Final price after Paytm CB was Rs. 85,500 for the CBS variant

Re: Honda Unicorn 160

That's a steal. Please keep us updated on the services - what they did, cost, etc.

Re: Honda Unicorn 160

Friends,
I am a 37 year old male and looking for a practical city commuter since I need to replace my trouble-free Hero Honda Splendor this year due to FC getting expired.
My preferences are very simple - hassle-free maintenance, above avg. mileage, decent power and normal seat (ladies friendly)


Not interested in sporty bikes. Hence dropped Gixxer, FZ, Pulsar 135. Also, I have practically tested and realized that I cannot handle heavy bikes like Hornet, Unicorn 150, Pulsar 150, Hero Extreme (all in the 140+ kg range). Maybe due to my short stature.


I have narrowed down to Honda Shine SP 125 and Unicorn 160. Personally, I prefer the latter as I want to move to a 150cc segment bike but concerned primarily about Stiff suspension and any potential engine performance issues in Unicorn 160 (Engine is the only reason I am preferring a Honda). Recently i have been reading about poor sales and reception to Unicorn 160 against Unicorn 150 as well as some of the members writing about faulty engine and related issues of Unicorn 160.


Should I still go for Unicorn 160 or play safe by taking Shine SP?
Also, should I wait till April 2018 to see if any good ABS enabled bike gets launched that may suit me? I know the price will go up for sure.
Thanks in advance for all your replies and guidance.

Re: Honda Unicorn 160

Firstly I m using honda unicorn 160 cb since 2 yrs from the last 5 to 6 months the mileage of the bike is going low 35kmpl
and also pickup is not good as previous performance
I had change oil and done service time to time

awaiting for your reply
ps : sorry for bad english

Re: Honda Unicorn 160

I don't think there are any engine issues. People are just paranoid, and the multi-brand dealers are spreading bad rumors about Uni 160 coz they get better commission for selling Uni 150. Technically, they earn more money after people pay "the on price" over and above the regular price.

Unicorn 160 has the SAME EXACT ENGINE as the Hornet 160. Hence, the quality, the specs, the performance, everything is similar. Go figure.

I would say go for the 160. It's an awesome bike. It's really powerful and has the best mileage in its class (50+ kmpl). I just bought mine a few days ago. Do a proper PDI before accepting the bike. Read up on the PDI thread here on the forums.

Even if a bike comes out with ABS, I don't think it will be in the "commuter section" of bikes. Unicorn comes under the commuter section. ABS will most likely apply to sporty bikes like Hornet and the Gixxer (the Gixxer SF already has a single-channel ABS). Hence, I think the wait wouldn't be worth it.

Re: Honda Unicorn 160


Thanks 'ravihpa' for your suggestions. I will have to try out both Shine and Unicorn 160 at a nearby Honda showroom to see how I feel. Some people are complaining in this forum that after 1 year or 2 years or so, the mileage drops to less than 40 or the engine becomes very rough or heating issues, etc. Hence, somehow, the nagging doubt on the worthiness of the Unicorn 160 as a proper package still remains.

By the way, need a clarification, if the rules for ABS state that ALL bikes above a particular capacity (for example, 150cc and above bikes) need to install ABS, then don't you think it doesn't matter if its a commuter or sports bike, it becomes mandatory for all bikes?

Re: Honda Unicorn 160

How much kms has it run? Depending upon that, it could either be the clutch plates or tappet clearance. When was the last time you changed spark plug and air filter?

Re: Honda Unicorn 160

Friends,
I have more info. I visited the Honda showroom during the weekend and here are the updates -


1. Was told Unicorn 160 (and Uni 150 as well) have a min. waiting period of 1 month for new units to arrive. They told that current lot they are getting is all scooters.
Importantly, I asked whether these new arriving units would have a 2018 mfg. stamp - but they told me it would be 2017 only - Is this correct?

2. I did not even get a test bike of Uni 160 for taking a TD . Even Uni 150 was not there in the showroom at all.
3. I took a look at an available Shine SP test bike but did not go for a TD - however, it looks and feels good and comfortable to handle.
4. Also, was told that they are not receiving batches of CBS version - both Shine SP and Uni 160.

5. Here are the prices -
Unicorn 160 STD - roughly Rs. 89,900
Shine SP STD - roughly Rs. 77,900
(both - On-Road price + Reg.charges + Std. accessories worth about Rs. 2700 odd)
(The Ex. showroom price quoted matches with what is available in the Honda website)

6. I was told to call after Sankaranthi/Pongal to check if I can get an Uni 160 for TD - another 1 week.


I am thinking of the time it would take to - first take a TD, wait for sufficient number of new units to arrive before I can take a look in the godown before confirming the order. My mind is slowly but surely veering towards Shine SP. What do you think?

Re: Honda Unicorn 160

All the 125 and 150 fall under premium commuters, and their chassis doesn't differ significantly, apart from the 2 and 4 bhp increase on the 150 and 160 when it comes to Honda. Find what suits you, the Shine has an extremely smooth engine, and so is the Uni 150. All are equally good workhorses.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: Honda Unicorn 160

No idea about that. Maybe they have some unsold units?

Same thing happened to me also. The showroom wouldn't even have a bike for me to test drive. What you can do is check out other Honda showrooms in your city or check out those multi-brand dealers (not official showroom) who sell bikes at a little premium. Hopefully, you can get a TD from there. Another thing that I did was, I visited another Honda showroom in a nearby city. In total, I visited four Honda showrooms in nearby towns and got quotations from ALL OF THEM, which helped me with bargaining.

No idea about Shine. My brother in law has it and he's quite happy with it. Gives almost the same average as a Unicorn (according to him). I was quite stubborn with my decision of not going below 150 cc. Wanted a powerful bike but with good mileage, hence Unicorn 160

Sounds bullshit to me. Nonetheless, try to get a test drive of the normal version and if you finalize it, you can book the CBS version and they'll get it for you. It's totally worth it.

You can bargain, a lot. Tell them you don't want any accessories. All of them are crap anyways except the leg guard (Rs. 700). They'll reduce the price by that much. Since number plate and grip covers, etc., are too cheap, they'll throw that in for free (after reducing for other accessories). Pretty sure that 2700 also includes extended warranty (which you can drop if you want). Ask for a breakdown of that 2700. Ask for a breakdown for the WHOLE THING, starting from ex-showroom price. See how much they're adding. Some of them add stupid charges like handling charges, which you can complain about and get it removed. Ask for the breakdown of price and make sure everything makes sense in what they've added. If you do visit other showrooms in nearby city/towns, then compare the breakdowns

Your decision. I waited for over three months for getting my finance fall into place and then it took another month for doing my research, visiting showrooms, getting quotations, doing TDs. All this takes time but by the end of it, it's totally worth it

Re: Honda Unicorn 160

The unicorn is a good bike. The official service centres ruin the bike, causing the problems you see mentioned in the forum.

I'm a former owner of the unicorn 160, which was most probably a lemon.

I noticed that the service centres adjusted the valve clearances using the recommended specs for the unicorn 150, which are different, causing a lot of issues some of which were described here.