There is no replacement for displacement, as goes the old American saying, with which the rest of the world often nods in agreement. Increase in the number of cubic centimeters of fuel that our engines burn, seems only to be a pleasant idea to almost every petrolhead. More power, more torque and a healthier sounding grunt from the exhaust are the common expectations from larger engines. Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) has walked this same path, to add 10 extra cubic centimeters of capacity to the now proven CB Unicorn engine, to make the Honda CB Unicorn 160.
FROLIC FASHION
Although some of the features of the older CB Unicorn have been bettered, we’ve gone ahead and pitched it right in at the deep end, to face off against the very best in the segment to find out the exact degree to which this motorcycle has improved. So, in steps the Suzuki Gixxer, a Japanese-made premium commuter that’s fast rising to the top of its segment, with enough promise to overshadow all of the competition as the market stands today.
The CB Unicorn 160 and Suzuki Gixxer make sharp-looking, modern motorcycles, and in the case of the Unicorn, it definitely is a leap forward from the plain-jane looks of the previous one. It has a much sleeker looking headlamp, and sharper lines across its sides. Standing side by side, the Gixxer is clearly the more muscular bike though, with more bulges showing through in its tank region, and a hunkered down headlamp cluster. It even has beefier tyres, which only add to the motorcycle’s powerful presence.
Look at the two of them from the back, and you could notice a larger rear wheel arch on the Gixxer, giving it a more action packed look. Even the grab-rails look meaner, split and neatly incorporated into the rear cowl. Among all this, a highlight remains the Gixxer’s stubby exhaust, which has chrome finish to its side and end. The end also has a dual-pipe finish, which gives it a more sporty air than the Unicorn 160’s old school, more conventional longer unit.
RAPID SKILL
Get astride, and there is a huge difference in how these two motorcycles feel. The Gixxer has a sporty, slightly forward inclined, legs-back seating position. Still not too extreme though, and you can get comfortable with a little adjustment. The Honda, on the other hand, has a more upright, truly comfortable seating position, as you sit with a straight back, legs straight down and arms wide apart, and relaxed. While you sit comfortably on the Unicorn 160, it still does not feel as ergonomic as the Gixxer. You have to stretch a little to meet the handlebars, just that wee bit extra than the Gixxer, which feels well thought out. Also, while overall quality and build is good on both Jap bikes, the Honda seems to have taken some important steps backwards, for example the position of the choke on the Honda has moved down next to the carburettor, below the tank, and you have to reach down to engage it. Likewise, you will feel disappointed, like you’ve taken a step backwards, when you see that there are now tubular steel sub-frame sections that mount both pillion footrests, instead of up-market alloy bits as Honda were previously offering 150 buyers on the original Unicorn. Then there’s the lack of a clutch adjustment nut at the left control lever on the Honda. The Gixxer, on the other hand, clearly feels more generously equipped, in so many ways.
The main talking point of the comparison here though, is the Unicorn’s larger heart. The 162.7cc, four-stroke, carbureted motor now outputs 14.5bhp at 8,000rpm and 1.5kgm of torque at 6,000rpm. Thumb the starter and this refined Honda engine comes to life with barely a frown, and a dash of extra grunt in its stronger exhaust note, before settling down into a smooth idle. Rev the Honda hard and the needle swings rapidly to meet its redline, at about 11,000 revs. Honda has totally redesigned its powerhouse, increasing torque with a longer stroke than before.
On the other hand, you’ve got a 155cc, four-stroke, carburetor-fed Suzuki engine in the Gixxer. This makes a little higher power, 14.6bhp and 1.43kgm of torque at the same engine speeds as the Honda. Bring the motor to life and it sounds potent and gruff, and easily able to settle into a steady idle. When you rev the motor on the Gixxer, it spins just as eagerly to the redline as the Honda.
There is no replacement for displacement, as goes the old American saying, with which the rest of the world often nods in agreement. Increase in the number of cubic centimeters of fuel that our engines burn, seems only to be a pleasant idea to almost every petrolhead. More power, more torque and a healthier sounding grunt from the exhaust are the common expectations from larger engines. Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) has walked this same path, to add 10 extra cubic centimeters of capacity to the now proven CB Unicorn engine, to make the Honda CB Unicorn 160.
FROLIC FASHION
Although some of the features of the older CB Unicorn have been bettered, we’ve gone ahead and pitched it right in at the deep end, to face off against the very best in the segment to find out the exact degree to which this motorcycle has improved. So, in steps the Suzuki Gixxer, a Japanese-made premium commuter that’s fast rising to the top of its segment, with enough promise to overshadow all of the competition as the market stands today.
The CB Unicorn 160 and Suzuki Gixxer make sharp-looking, modern motorcycles, and in the case of the Unicorn, it definitely is a leap forward from the plain-jane looks of the previous one. It has a much sleeker looking headlamp, and sharper lines across its sides. Standing side by side, the Gixxer is clearly the more muscular bike though, with more bulges showing through in its tank region, and a hunkered down headlamp cluster. It even has beefier tyres, which only add to the motorcycle’s powerful presence.
Look at the two of them from the back, and you could notice a larger rear wheel arch on the Gixxer, giving it a more action packed look. Even the grab-rails look meaner, split and neatly incorporated into the rear cowl. Among all this, a highlight remains the Gixxer’s stubby exhaust, which has chrome finish to its side and end. The end also has a dual-pipe finish, which gives it a more sporty air than the Unicorn 160’s old school, more conventional longer unit.
RAPID SKILL
Get astride, and there is a huge difference in how these two motorcycles feel. The Gixxer has a sporty, slightly forward inclined, legs-back seating position. Still not too extreme though, and you can get comfortable with a little adjustment. The Honda, on the other hand, has a more upright, truly comfortable seating position, as you sit with a straight back, legs straight down and arms wide apart, and relaxed. While you sit comfortably on the Unicorn 160, it still does not feel as ergonomic as the Gixxer. You have to stretch a little to meet the handlebars, just that wee bit extra than the Gixxer, which feels well thought out. Also, while overall quality and build is good on both Jap bikes, the Honda seems to have taken some important steps backwards, for example the position of the choke on the Honda has moved down next to the carburettor, below the tank, and you have to reach down to engage it. Likewise, you will feel disappointed, like you’ve taken a step backwards, when you see that there are now tubular steel sub-frame sections that mount both pillion footrests, instead of up-market alloy bits as Honda were previously offering 150 buyers on the original Unicorn. Then there’s the lack of a clutch adjustment nut at the left control lever on the Honda. The Gixxer, on the other hand, clearly feels more generously equipped, in so many ways.
The main talking point of the comparison here though, is the Unicorn’s larger heart. The 162.7cc, four-stroke, carbureted motor now outputs 14.5bhp at 8,000rpm and 1.5kgm of torque at 6,000rpm. Thumb the starter and this refined Honda engine comes to life with barely a frown, and a dash of extra grunt in its stronger exhaust note, before settling down into a smooth idle. Rev the Honda hard and the needle swings rapidly to meet its redline, at about 11,000 revs. Honda has totally redesigned its powerhouse, increasing torque with a longer stroke than before.
On the other hand, you’ve got a 155cc, four-stroke, carburetor-fed Suzuki engine in the Gixxer. This makes a little higher power, 14.6bhp and 1.43kgm of torque at the same engine speeds as the Honda. Bring the motor to life and it sounds potent and gruff, and easily able to settle into a steady idle. When you rev the motor on the Gixxer, it spins just as eagerly to the redline as the Honda.
There is no replacement for displacement, as goes the old American saying, with which the rest of the world often nods in agreement. Increase in the number of cubic centimeters of fuel that our engines burn, seems only to be a pleasant idea to almost every petrolhead. More power, more torque and a healthier sounding grunt from the exhaust are the common expectations from larger engines. Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) has walked this same path, to add 10 extra cubic centimeters of capacity to the now proven CB Unicorn engine, to make the Honda CB Unicorn 160.
FROLIC FASHION
Although some of the features of the older CB Unicorn have been bettered, we’ve gone ahead and pitched it right in at the deep end, to face off against the very best in the segment to find out the exact degree to which this motorcycle has improved. So, in steps the Suzuki Gixxer, a Japanese-made premium commuter that’s fast rising to the top of its segment, with enough promise to overshadow all of the competition as the market stands today.
The CB Unicorn 160 and Suzuki Gixxer make sharp-looking, modern motorcycles, and in the case of the Unicorn, it definitely is a leap forward from the plain-jane looks of the previous one. It has a much sleeker looking headlamp, and sharper lines across its sides. Standing side by side, the Gixxer is clearly the more muscular bike though, with more bulges showing through in its tank region, and a hunkered down headlamp cluster. It even has beefier tyres, which only add to the motorcycle’s powerful presence.
Look at the two of them from the back, and you could notice a larger rear wheel arch on the Gixxer, giving it a more action packed look. Even the grab-rails look meaner, split and neatly incorporated into the rear cowl. Among all this, a highlight remains the Gixxer’s stubby exhaust, which has chrome finish to its side and end. The end also has a dual-pipe finish, which gives it a more sporty air than the Unicorn 160’s old school, more conventional longer unit.
RAPID SKILL
Get astride, and there is a huge difference in how these two motorcycles feel. The Gixxer has a sporty, slightly forward inclined, legs-back seating position. Still not too extreme though, and you can get comfortable with a little adjustment. The Honda, on the other hand, has a more upright, truly comfortable seating position, as you sit with a straight back, legs straight down and arms wide apart, and relaxed. While you sit comfortably on the Unicorn 160, it still does not feel as ergonomic as the Gixxer. You have to stretch a little to meet the handlebars, just that wee bit extra than the Gixxer, which feels well thought out. Also, while overall quality and build is good on both Jap bikes, the Honda seems to have taken some important steps backwards, for example the position of the choke on the Honda has moved down next to the carburettor, below the tank, and you have to reach down to engage it. Likewise, you will feel disappointed, like you’ve taken a step backwards, when you see that there are now tubular steel sub-frame sections that mount both pillion footrests, instead of up-market alloy bits as Honda were previously offering 150 buyers on the original Unicorn. Then there’s the lack of a clutch adjustment nut at the left control lever on the Honda. The Gixxer, on the other hand, clearly feels more generously equipped, in so many ways.
The main talking point of the comparison here though, is the Unicorn’s larger heart. The 162.7cc, four-stroke, carbureted motor now outputs 14.5bhp at 8,000rpm and 1.5kgm of torque at 6,000rpm. Thumb the starter and this refined Honda engine comes to life with barely a frown, and a dash of extra grunt in its stronger exhaust note, before settling down into a smooth idle. Rev the Honda hard and the needle swings rapidly to meet its redline, at about 11,000 revs. Honda has totally redesigned its powerhouse, increasing torque with a longer stroke than before.
On the other hand, you’ve got a 155cc, four-stroke, carburetor-fed Suzuki engine in the Gixxer. This makes a little higher power, 14.6bhp and 1.43kgm of torque at the same engine speeds as the Honda. Bring the motor to life and it sounds potent and gruff, and easily able to settle into a steady idle. When you rev the motor on the Gixxer, it spins just as eagerly to the redline as the Honda.