Car & Bike Need A 150cc Commuter In This Week

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Arihant.EXE

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Like the title reads, I need a 150cc bike for myself.

I've had a gruesome experience with my last 2-wheeler(spent more than the vehicle's cost on repairs and overhauls within a short period of time) so totally want to avoid it this time. So, here I ask for suggestions for a motorbike, with durability and comfort as the key points.

-Budget is flexible (not more than 70k)

-I hate Pulsars for their uncomfortable seats and coarse ride with all those vibrations.

-Handling should be good for bad road conditions

I'm a total rookie when it comes to automobiles so need some desperate help from the experienced TE'ians.

Any pointers will also be appreciated.

Please pour in your valuable opinions. Thanks in advance folks.
 
Try the Honda CB Unicorn or the Hero Honda Hunk.....

Both are good value & within ur budget.

The Unicorn is your best bet for bad roads.....

:)

And do edit the 1st line of ur post above..... It reads u want a 1500cc bike........!!! :p
 
nehaladsul said:
Try the Honda CB Unicorn or the Hero Honda Hunk.....

Both are good value & within ur budget.

The Unicorn is your best bet for bad roads.....

:)

And do edit the 1st line of ur post above..... It reads u want a 1500cc bike........!!! :p
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Hey thanks for pointing that out :p.

And yes, I'm seriously looking forward to the CB Unicorn Dazzler. Can anyone shed some light on the durability factor of Unicorn? Why, being such a good bike, has this not been a hit? Any shortcomings to it?

speedyfreak said:
Go ahead to FZ , cool looks - a decent 150 bike !
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Well, I'm currently not taking FZ as an option, because:

- I find the design too flashy for my taste.

- I had a ride with my friend's FZ-16 and was not really impressed with the handling and power(could be that the bike needed tuneups or something).

- My immediate cousin just bought this bike and I just don't feel like getting the same(2 same bikes in the house). :p

Keep the suggestions coming guys, need to decide on it very soon.
 
^^ not been a hit !!! ? there are enough of unicorns out there. Although the presence of Pulsars are dominating u still would find Unicorn boasting a huge amount of sales. Also the only things which u mite need to worry about are the small plastic/ fibre parts as they tend to be weak at times but it still wouldn give you a reason to look at any other bike :)
 
How about the Hero Honda Hunk with rear disc brakes? Comes to 68k on road with Helmet and Extended Warranty. My dad is very much inclined towards getting a Hero Honda and I am kind of too.

About the Unicorn, well, here in Gurgaon or Delhi, I rarely see a Unicorn on roads but that's just an assumption and could very well be completely wrong.
 
Honda CB Unicorn Dazzler. Lovely bike at your budget. I think the reason why this bike isn't selling that well is probably cause Honda isn't advertising it. I'm yet to see one advertisement of it anywhere in Ahmedabad.

As for shortcomings of the Dazzler would be-
1. No engine kill switch.
2. Rear disc brakes << More or less a love it/hate it feature. I think of it as a hazard though.

The rest of the bike is pretty good.
 
^ Thanks for your inputs RD274. Can you shed some light on why you think the rear-disc brakes as a hazard? I've seen it on almost all the high-end bikes and I really considered this thing to be present in my bike. The Hunk will then be Rs.3000 cheaper if I do away with the rear-disc.
 
To be honest, I'm scared of using disc brakes as I met with a minor accident with them a few weeks ago thats why I think of them as a hazard.

If you want them then take them, they looks awesome and perform better too. Just watch out in the rains .... :)
 
The key to good breaking is using both the front and back breaks simultaneously.. You just do it involuntarily. By the way, why is the TVS Apache 160/180 left out?
 
test ride Honda Unicorn and Suzuki GS150R
Smoothest and most comfortable among 150cc bikes
Personally I would go for Suzuki (6 gears, better Instrument panel, sadly lower resale value)
 
Disk Pads are costly than break shoes....and specially any Honda Product, Plus the disk break mechanism maintenance.

One more thing here between Hunk vs Dazzler

Hunk got full chain-cover (mean less maintenance on chain) where Dazy got naked.
This is crucial for daily commuter bike...whatever weather it is you need to get out from the home with your bike. So my vote goes to New 2010 Hunk.

If I were you, I'm going for new hunk with Rear Drum Break version.

Though Dazzler have powerful Headlamp compare to older Hunk (no offense to anyone,I found so).

GS150 also considerable if you surround with a good dealer/service network. This is the only 2nd Indian bike got blessing of 6 Gear after R15.
 
Hmmm...... So, it's the Disc vs Drum dilemma now......

Discs are better anchors than drums...... everyone knows that.

Now as far as discs being risky is concerned, it depends on the braking style & skills of the rider. I know 'n' number of people who think that discs are cause of accidents.

These 'n' number of people cannot be wrong...... They are correct but only to an extent. Discs in the hands of the last-second-braking-speed-freak can be dangerous. But sumtimes, conditions force us to brake in an emergency & then..... poor discs take the blame......!!!

I have tried all possible combinations. Front first then rear (U end up getting a stoppee at best!!!) , both simultaneously (U end up at the hospital at worst!!) etc. etc.

I never engage both brakes at once..... I engage the rear brake first & seconds later I engage the front brake......

Also, braking has to be progressive..... U shouldn't get into the habit of locking up ur rear wheel..... U don't wanna be Drift Kid & Indian bikes don't come with ABS yet!!!

I would personally prefer Discs front & rear..... Makes more sense. In fact, in the right hands, it is an excellent safety feature.

U just need a few kilometers of sane riding to get a hold of the discs. Once u get in command, nothing (except the discs!!!) can stop u.....!!!

:D

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---
RD274 said:
To be honest, I'm scared of using disc brakes as I met with a minor accident with them a few weeks ago thats why I think of them as a hazard.

If you want them then take them, they looks awesome and perform better too. Just watch out in the rains .... :)
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I really appreciate ur post.....

People generally blame the poor discs all the time..... Few (like u) admit that they are gr8 performers in spite of having had a fall......

Hats off.....
 
If you are considering a very fat tyre at the rear (110mm or more), only then I would also recommend discs at rear. Here I am assuming the following:

1. The bike doesnt have a flawed rear disc. I've heard some bikes had the issue that the rear disc was over-sensitive. Over-sensitive brakes for medium-low grip rear tyre is bad. And incase you brake on a wet patch of road, it's hell.

2. You are a fast learner and have good practice on braking. Slamming on the discs in case of emergency braking on a turn (very very probable) would lock up the rear tyre and would result in a skid and a hard fall. Same with the front brake. You will need to learn pressing the brake accurately and releasing it incase lock-up occurs.

If the tyre width is <110mm, means the grip is not sufficient to demand a disc brake. Drums are capable of locking such tyres when slammed hard in case of emergency.

The choice also depends on following scenarios:

Lots of highway riding on dry roads (70kmph or more): DISC brake at rear

Lots of city riding or wet road riding (60kmph or less): DRUM at rear

Front tyre will be DISC anways.

And do pay attention to the braking application :Rear brake->control-into-a-straight-line (0.2sec-1.5sec)>Both brakes. (Incase object is definitely going to hit)->Release both->Throttle as much required->Turn/tilt/avoid-collision->Move to a safe point after checking rear-view mirrors->Stop and Calm down.

Regarding the bike advice, a test ride is inevitable. Durability and comfort are synonymous with Honda bikes (Unicorn and dazzler). But since you like the Hunk too, I would recommend a test ride and quality inspection of these shortlisted bikes.

Though, do go through the service department of Honda once, they are quite notorious at many places.
 
biggest advantage of disc brake is that it does not fade as often as drum brake.

Also all rear disc brakes are designed to work at rear only. They don't bite as same as the front brakes.
eg rear disk brake has only one piston where as the front disk has two. ( RTR, P220 etc)

So no worries about wheel lock ups, unless the rider is an idiot.

But for a commuter bike, I would suggest normal Unicorn than dazzler (rear disk)
Dazzler has a bit more performance, lots of plastic, bit harsher engine and more vibes than unicorn ( due to performance oriented tuning of the same engine)

For a commuter 150cc
CB unicorn or Suzuki GS150R
 
sato1986 said:
And do pay attention to the braking application :Rear brake->control-into-a-straight-line (0.2sec-1.5sec)>Both brakes. (Incase object is definitely going to hit)->Release both->Throttle as much required->Turn/tilt/avoid-collision->Move to a safe point after checking rear-view mirrors->Stop and Calm down.
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With due respect to your braking sense & without prejudice to your statements..... Do u really expect people to follow the above advice??

I mean, it is pin point precise but Braking is really a subject matter of personal experience & situation based actions..... isn't it??

:D
 
Guys thanks a lot for the comments and suggestions. This thread slipped off my head and couldn't reply to it but I had read all the suggestions and therefore went for the Black HH Hunk with rear drum brakes. It has the same Honda's engine as the Dazzler so the engine refinement is top notch. It's a short geared bike so even at 2700 RPM, the 5th gear is absolutely doable resulting in comfortable handling.

It's currently in the break-in period so I'm going to ride it on lower RPMs for atleast 1000 kms.

Any suggestions about maintaining the bike, run-in procedure, any precautions to take, should teflon coating be done? If yes, then from where? Any riding tips? etc etc etc.. All are welcome.

Thanks for your support
 
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