HONDA Unicorn

The Unicorn is the first foray for Honda Motorcycle and Scooters India in the Indian motorcycle market. The 150cc Unicorn takes on the existing players with extremely high fit and finish levels synonymous with the Honda name. Developing 13.3 BHP the Unicorn has adequate power to compete with the existing players in the segment. The muscular styling and add to its appeal.

The Unicorn incorporates a single high performance rear shock absorber allowing the suspension to be placed closer to the centre of gravity allowing for better traction and comfort. The Unicorn uses Hondas global R&D technologies to deliver an ideal combination of fuel efficiency and power.

The origin of the bike:
One of the auto magazines said, “To many, the unicorn is hardly an apt name for a bike, but when it comes from the Honda stable, anything goes”. Fact is Unicorn is actually the MOST apt name for this bike because the Japanese never do anything without solid logic, Honda even more so. When Alexander invaded India in 326 BC, he saw for the first time in his life a one-horned Indian Rhinoceros (which does not exist in Europe). He named it Uni-corn (Uni=one; corn=horn). Now everyone knows that this bike is the first bike in India to have mono-shock (Uni-shock) rear suspension. Thus, mono=one=uni, and as we all know the shape of a shock absorber is cylindrical like a Rhino horn. The rear end & tail light is also very horny. So what else would you call this bike but Unicorn?


History apart, mono-shock really makes technical sense, because un-even-ness is impossible in this design. It is a fact that in our body, our two legs are not absolutely identical, neither are our two hands or eyes or ears. We might be born with identical pairs, but as we grow our limbs and components become non-identical due to the unequal work we put them to. Same with twin rear shock absorbers. As we ride any bike, our personal biases and external conditions cause them to wear un-evenly. And over time we get wobble, pulling to one side, instability etc. But in the Unicorn, this is obviously impossible. Indeed, rear mono-shocks are almost de-rigueur in most modern super bikes. I would not be surprised if the Pulsars too adopt this pattern sooner than later.


Bike details:
This bike with powerful 4 stroke 150 cc engine delivering output of 13.3 bhp engine clubbed with many other high end equipments like Constant Volume (CV) Carburetor, pulse exhaust system, offset crank and 2 way air jacket. Its multi mapping CDI, roller rocker arm, 5 speed gears, tumble free combustion etc. determine the performance as well as its aesthetic value. Its aerodynamic body lining, sporty and sleek design, appealing tail lamp and excellent body graphics etc are enhancing its style statement day by day.


Unique shock absorbing mono suspension prevents discomfort due to the sudden jerk caused by uneven road. Its flexible seating arrangement, ample foot space give the total comfort of journey. Fully equipped with various cutting edge technology, this bike comes with hole plugging mechanism, tuff up tube, easy primary kick etc




Setting a new benchmark in the motorcycle segment in India, Honda Unicorn Grand Prix Edition is engineered with state-of-the art mono-suspension fitted on flexible diamond frame that renders stability and comfort for confident riding in any condition. It is the only motorcycle in India that is equipped with puncture resistant tuff-up tube. The bike confirms to stringent Honda endurance tests for engine, suspension, frame and electricals.


Engine details:
The Unicorn is powered by 149.2 cc engine having 57.3 mm bore and 57.8 mm stroke. Contrary to convention, the Owners Manual DOES NOT mention any BHP or Torque figures. However, it is known that it develops 13.3 bhp (9.9 kilowatts) of power at 8000 rpm and produces 1.3 KgF (12.8 Nm) of torque at 5500 rpm. The engine breathes through a constant vaccum (CV) carburettor for which air is filtered through a paper element air filter. Ignition is through a multi-mapped CDI unit.



The engine has a two-way air jacket and cam followers are rollers, which reduce friction and hence reduce power loss. A pulse exhaust system (EC?) mentioned earlier, gives it the brilliant torque spread that it delivers. Electric power is produced by a 125 watt AC Generator backed by a 12 volt -- 2.5 Ampere-hour battery. Headlight power is 12 volt - 35 watts, while tail-lamp is of 5 watts.




The advanced design diamond chassis frame has a 1337mm wheelbase with a ground clearance of 168mm, and rectangular section rear swing-arm for good road holding. Dry weight of the bike is 126 kg, while kerb weight is 138 kg. Fuel tank capacity is 13 litres, including a one litre reserve, while engine oil capacity is 1.2 litres. Front tyre size is 2.75 x 18, while rear tyre is 3.oo x 18, and tubes are of the tuff-up, puncture resistant type such as used on the Honda Activa. Stopping is by a 240mm disc brake in front and a 130mm drum brake at rear.


Performance:
I did some acceleration (zero to sixty) and braking (sixty to zero) tests. Rider was 20 year old, sometime racer Bhardwaj Jadhav, who is 179 cm tall and weighs 70kg. On the same day at the same time I also did the same tests on another 150cc bike and one 125cc bike, both of which also have front disc brakes. I was surprised to find that the Unicorn did much better on both the above parameters than either of the other two bikes tested on the same day on the same road.




My braking (sixty to zero) tests are very manual, like in panic braking to avoid accident. Rider has to jam both brakes with full force, lock both wheels and skid to a halt. I admit this is dangerous, but there is no choice. While both the other two bikes gave braking distance figures of @ 14 meters, the Unicorn gave a figure of 12 meters. Since both the other bikes have same as Unicorn size tyres front and rear as also front disc, I can safely conclude that Unicorn has 14% better braking than other equivalent bikes. Whether this is because of having better brakes or because of monoshock suspension, I cannot say for sure, but it is so.

As to pickup, the best zero to sixty figure I actually recorded was 4.52 seconds, which again is far better than the other two bikes tested at the same time and place. Since my measurements are totally manual and fairly rudimentary, the actual zero to sixty figure would probably be less than four seconds, depending on how sophisticated and accurate the measuring instruments are.

Top speed I managed on the Unicorn was 113 kmpH, which I was able to do on that part of the Pune-Bombay Expressway bye-pass where two wheelers are allowed. Not only that the Unicorn achieves this speed faster than any other bike I have tested, but is also the fastest among all the 150cc bikes.



First ride:
The first time you ride the Unicorn, the thing that immediately strikes you is the PROGRESSIVE nature of the braking characteristics of the front disc brake, which is brilliant. Indeed, I would say this is the best disc brake on two wheels

among all bikes in India today, and it shows in the sixty-to-zero braking distance figure for this bike, mentioned elsewhere in this report.

I have already done over 1500 km on the Unicorn. Many solo long rides PLUS a long double seat ride with FAT pillion on bad country roads made worse by this year’s heavy rain as also shorter rides in the city, with equally bad roads due to the rain. And Honda launches Unicorn when the roads are in the worst condition as if to say, “You bloody horrible road, lets see what you can do to me.” And as I found out, the answer is, “nothing”! The bike is very much at ease in all conditions, whether double seat on country road puddles or singles on city pot- holes. Pickup is great, in any gear. Low End Torque (LET) is unbeatable. Surprisingly, so is High End Torque (HET) as well as mid-range. This is most gratifying. Sometime ago, when two-strokers still ruled the road, I used to fit Expansion Chambers (EC), also known as Proton or KRP exhaust, on my 2-stroke bikes such as Shogun, RX, Shaolin etc., to enhance performance. I had to choose between three different types of ECs depending on my requirement, be it Low End, Mid-range, and High-end. There were no ECs available that would enhance torque all thru the rpm range. Yet, thru ONE tuned silencer of the Unicorn, Honda has been able to achieve un-paralled torque spread, something that needed THREE different ECs earlier.

Road holding and cornering are superb. Again I feel this is thanks to the monoshock. Leaning confidently into corners is much more easier than any other bike with same tyre sizes. Rectangular cross-section swing-arm helps further. Handling and criss-crossing to get away from “road-hogging-100cc-mileage-maniacs” is a breeze and a lifesaver, especially for those having high blood pressure.

Shocks and brakes apart, the rest of the bike is tops too. Paint and plating, fit and finish, weld quality, is all Honda. If you want to know the quality of workmanship of any bike, just take a look at the shape, size and contour of the welds and you’ll know.

The lockable seat (with tool-kit and first-aid-kit under it) is very thoughtful. The instru-dials are top class, but the absence of a trip-meter was sorely missed, and I found the horn not loud enough for such a fast bike. Apparently, Honda thinks that Indian road users are as well mannered and courteous as the Japanese, which of course is not true. Therefore I am going to fit a VERY LOUD horn. I’d rather pay a fine for noise pollution than have an accident with deaf people. The other surprising thing is that there is only one single tell-a-tale light on the dashboard to indicate turning, which only indicates that one of the blinkers is flashing, not telling whether it is the left one or right one. This is definitely a drawback on such a premium bike. More important is that I am not really thrilled with its headlight beam quality. Sure it is 35 watts and as bright as any other 35 watt job, but again, it’s throw and spread is more concerned with being polite to oncoming traffic rather than to the visibility of the road to the Unicorn rider. Obviously, the Japanese would rather commit seppuku (=hara-kiri) than survive by being impolite! I am a bluddy impolite Indian and would rather blind the oncoming traffic than be blinded by them!