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Where have all these 'Stunners' gone?? I need their report very badly. Need to decide a bike for my friend.

Ownership Experience

Hi guys, I have been riding the Honda CBF Stunner for about one and a half months now and even though I have not completed a lot in terms of kilometers, I do have many thoughts to share with you guys.

The most obviously discussed point is the looks of the bike. One of my friends owns a Karizma and side-by-side, it really is quite hard to tell the difference in some angles. The extended cowl is arguable the most wonderful feature and it makes the bike look the best in its class. I am not a big fan of the tail lights even though I do like it. I would have loved Pulsar style LED but that was a decision made in interest of reducing the final price. Apart from that, the entire look of the bike screams "awesome" and will leave everybody drooling. The display in the front is also very good with the only sticking point being the choke lever which is a real disruptor of the whole thing. A tachometer would have been awesome but that decision is again to reduce the overall cost of the bike. I have had more than 10 people ask me about the price, handling and the all important "mileage" when I am standing in signals.

The bike is very comfortable to ride. The split seats really make it easy to sit and ride. Plus the way the fuel tank and the extended cowl is designed to make it such that your leg is firmly fixed to the tank when you ride, all make it easier to ride the bike around. The front suspension is also very good. The seat for the pillion rider is not as comfortable. I have not yet ridden it around with my mother in the back but reports say that it will be difficult for ladies to sit on one side only. Plus the rear suspension is also the 3 step spring hydraulic shock absorber unlike the Unicorn which has the wonderful mono suspension. The pillion rider seat is still comfortable but the addition of the Mono would have made it awesome (again a decision made in order to reduce the overall price).

For obvious reasons, I have not driven far into the 60kmph range (not that I would since I am not performance oriented) since I have not yet reached 1000kms and I am trying to be on the safer side to ensure future reliability. Also, as Sunny bhai mentioned when he previewed the Stunner, it has great pulling power. Time and again, I go at 30kmph in the 4th or 5th gears and it pulls easily which is very pleasing. Also, I have not had any high throttle starts (again to be on the safer side) but the pickup is also very good and arguably the best in its class. I have not had time to accurately check the mileage but the amount of petrol I have filled and ridden so far approximately suggests something in the 55-60 kmpl range which is very good for a 125cc. I cannot tell whether the tubeless tyres really make any overall difference but I do feel that the handling is slightly better overall to a similar Gladiator which could be because of them. Overall, I have to say the performance of the Stunner is the best in the 125cc range closely matched by the Gladiator.

I have come across only two minor problems so far. The bike is slightly poor at idling especially when you are taking it out for the first time in the morning. The engine constantly shuts off when I relieve the throttle when I am taking the bike in the morning. I have no idea whether this is common to all Stunners or only my bike but it is still worth noting. I am going to take a look at this in my second service and will update with the info here. Also, the shifting from the 4th to the 5th gear is not as smooth as with all the gears before it. Sometimes I cannot even tell whether the bike has shifted from 4th to 5th or not. Again, this could be with my bike only but it is still worth noting for others out there.

My final thoughts are this on anyone looking for a 125cc bike. There are only really 2 bikes that I looked at (as should anyone look at) in this category - Honda CBF Stunner and Yamaha Gladiator. The performance of both the bikes are literally the same with my personal experience of the Stunner compared with a friend's experience of the Gladiator suggesting the former gives slightly better mileage. The Stunner is arguably the best looker and the Gladiator (which looks good in itself) cannot hold a coin to the Stunner side-by-side. The price will be the deciding point for many. The Gladiator costs 52k on-road for the ES-Disc-Alloy version whereas the Stunner costs 8k more at 60k but comes with tubeless tyres. I chose the Stunner because this was my first bike ever and I wanted to have the best even if it meant I had to pay slightly more for it.

Any further questions, you are welcome to ask but don't go too much into the nitty-gritty aspects of biking because I don't have too much knowledge in those areas. However, I will come back and report if I have to update any information and I will "definitely" be back with photos soon.

Very nice report Balaji. I have been waiting for a report like this. I still need to know how the bike feels after 60kmph with respect to Gladiator. I will be waiting for your update in this regard. Thanks for posting the review. Enjoy the ride.

The Front, Rear and Side:



Side and Rear Tank View:



A look at the Fuel Knob (which is the best in any bike) and Engine:



I could not capture some of the photos properly because I was standing in a small space. These photos were taken on Ayudha Pooja.

As for adding to the thoughts I posted previously, the only thing I have to add is that I took my mom out for a ride and it was not as uncomfortable as me or my mom thought it would be. My mom said it was more inconvenient because the pillion seat was at a great height. She is a bit short but once we started to ride, it wasn't that difficult. Although when I used the disc brakes heavily once or twice, she slide down because of the slanted rear seat but overall it was a pretty pleasing ride (first time I have taken my mom out for a ride in any vehicle and was very happy to do that ). My second service is due on 21st Oct and I will update after that as to how it performs after 60kmph.

a stunner is at 60k my apache Rtr costed 63k 2 months back

yea lotsa bucks for a 125cc....!!

Then this bike not Vfm at all,
Apache performance is way better n has many many more features

yeah!!
stunner is the most xpensive but here stunner with DB and ES cost around 56k and apache rtr refresh around 67k so makes sense

dude apache RTr refresh costs 63 k

here rtr refresh cost about 67k on road i think cuz of octroi tax and other tax....

thank you for the report Balaji. I will help me decide on this bike for a cousin brother of mine. I test rode the bike today and I noticed a few things. I realise it's very expensive but at the same time if some is looking for a very good looking, relatively powerful, light weight everyday bike I think Stunner is a good choice.The engine has that typical Honda soft humming sound. Infact when I engaged the clutch the engine became almost silent as if it was turned off. Seating is extremely comfortable and very well designed. Seating on the bike or while riding it you feel as if you are actually riding a bigger bike. But the pulling power is not as good as compared to it's elder siblings. Powerband starts from 3rd gear onwards. Nevertheless, the gear shifting mechanism is just like cutting through butter. It doesnt get any perfect than that - typical Honda which is almost lightyears ahead of the shifting quaity of my P180 UG3. There is no sound or effort while shifting in any gear. Even finding the neutral is such an easy job on this bike. Gear shifting is feature touch. Even the clutch is damn good. The best part is that it's pretty light so even after riding for hours in city traffic one wouldnt feel tired. Few cons I noticed were the absence of engine kill switch , the placement of the choke button & the wierd design of the switch gear.

To sum it up all if some one is looking for VFM look else where but if some one is willing to pay for a very good bike in the 125cc category then I think one may look at the CBF stunner.

@ Owners: Kindly confirm on the mileage figures.

Hi Guys....I own a Stunner CBF and believe me its undoubtedly the best 125cc bike available in India today....and only Glady is next to it......It has very refined Honda engine with decent power and pick-up....it feels like u r riding a 150cc bike or even more....and the mileage which I'm getting is 60-61km/l...and its true.....I do not cross 60km/h speed...as it is new....however it reaches 60km/h from standstill very quickly....the only disadvantage which I feel is its rear shockers r quite stiff......and I like heavy exhaust sound as in apache rtr....but it is quite silent just like any other Honda engine....Rest all is very good....I strongly recommend Stunner for those who r looking for a good durable 125cc bike.....after all its a Honda..

Guys I saw Yellow CBF Stunner today in the showroom....it rocks...atlast yellow has arrived !!