HONDA UNICORN 160 OVERVIEW

The Honda CB Unicorn 160 is a premium 160cc motorcycle, which has been aimed at a young breed of audience looking for a stylish commuter motorcycle for use on a daily basis. The CB Unicorn 160 fills in the void which was created in Honda’s line-up, when it discontinued the CB Dazzler, a few years ago.

The premium 150cc segment is full of muscular motorcycles, and the CB Unicorn isn’t any different. Cosmetically, the CB Unicorn 160 carries influences from the Honda CX-01 concept which was unveiled at the 2014 Auto Expo as well as the CB Trigger. The fuel tank gets a muscular design while the headlamp gets a bikini fairing. Most of the electrical components have been shared with the CB Unicorn and the CB Trigger, which should help in cutting development/manufacturing costs.

The CB Unicorn 160 is powered by a 163cc single-cylinder engine, which produces 14.7bhp and 14.6Nm of torque. While these figures might be higher than what the 150cc engine in the CB Unicorn produces, Honda has managed to extract better efficiency figures out of the rebored 163cc engine . The engine is mated to a five-speed transmission.

The premium 150cc to 180cc segment has seen a rapid growth in recent years, with the Yamaha’s FZ series successfully grabbing the biggest share of this lucrative segment. With the CB Unicorn 160, Honda will hope to regain its lost glory in this segment, rivalling the likes of Suzuki Gixxer, Yamaha FZ-S and the upcoming Hero Xtreme Sports.

Above all: The CB Unicorn 160 is still a conservatively designed motorcycle. While I admit that it looks better than its predecessor, the bike needs some tweaking to match upto its rivals. With the new trapezoidal headlamp unit and sharp fuel tank, the front fascia of the CB Unicorn 160 doesn’t look as contemporary as it should. However, the nicely designed tank shrouds gets our thumbs up.

The CB Unicorn 160 is priced at Rs 73,210 (ex-showroom, Delhi).