Honda CB Unicorn 160: Time to say goodbye?

Honda 2-Wheelers India is planning to do a rejig of models in the Indian markets. Soon the Indian market will upgrade to the BS-VI emission norms and even two-wheelers will have to be compliant with the new emission norms. Before the new emission norms sets in the market, Honda is planning to restructure the Indian model line-up.According to BikeWale, Honda may discontinue a few motorcycles due to the upcoming norms and the Honda CB Unicorn 160 may be axed from the line-up. Honda offers quite a few 160cc powered bikes in the Indian market, including the Hornet 160R. The CB Unicorn 160 is the most affordable 160cc powered bike in the segment but it is not getting as many sales in the market as Honda would have liked.

The Honda Unicorn is a well-established name in the Indian market. However, in the present times, the bikes face stiff competition in the market and even from Honda’s own bikes like the CB Hornet and the X-Blade. The CB Unicorn looks quite outdated when compared to the other bikes from the Honda line-up and youngsters keep the looks of any motorcycle in high regard, which is why the CB Unicorn gets ignored by the most in the segment.

The report also says that many walk-in customers for the CB Unicorn have reduced drastically in recent times. The CB Unicorn is targetted at the commuters who want a powerful and fuel efficient bike for day-to-day work. However, the customers now look for more visually-appealing motorcycles in the segment, which brings down the sales of the CB Unicorn in the market.

The Honda CB Unicorn is powered by a 162.71cc, single-cylinder, air-cooled engine that generates a maximum power of 14.5 Bhp at 8,000 rpm and a peak torque of 14.61 Nm at 6,000 rpm. The engine gets Honda Eco Technology that increases the fuel efficiency and optimises the performance of the bike. It gets a 5-speed transmission and can reach a maximum speed of 106 km/h.

Coming to the numbers, the Honda CB Unicorn 160 is not doing very well on the sales chart. In January 2019, Honda sold only four units of the CB Unicorn 160 compared to 2,666 units sold in January 2018. The drastic fall in the sales figures also indicates the downfall of the model. Honda has not officially said anything on the matter. With such low sales, Honda may just take off the bike from the product line-up much before the arrival of the new emission norms.

It should be noted that Honda also offers Unicorn 150 in the Indian market, which is doing pretty well. It gets powered by the 150cc single-cylinder engine and is priced lower than the Honda CB Unicorn 160 in the market, which makes it more attractive to the buyers.

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