Unicorn

Overview

The Unicorn has survived every competitor that was supposed to replace it because it does one job better than the industry will admit: carrying an average Indian rider and an average Indian pillion an average Indian distance without complaint. The 162cc single is down on paper at 12.7 bhp and the styling has the deliberate plainness of a tool, but the seat is wide and flat, the twin rear shocks accept luggage, and the 180 mm of clearance takes the abuse that sport-commuter plastics were never arranged for.

The arithmetic carries the case. A claimed 55 kmpl from a 13-litre tank, the most comfortable seat at this price in this catalogue’s view, an engine whose service interval is measured in patience and whose bottom end is built around highway sixth gear rather than a track day. At 110 km/h the single is working honestly, but between 70 and 95 km/h — where India actually travels — it is effortless.

The costs are character and specification. The Unicorn will never excite a single rider or photograph well for one, the 164 kg weight blunts its acceleration against every liquid-cooled 165 here, and the base trim’s brakes and console are a generation behind. Buyers choosing it are choosing two decades of evidence over a spec sheet, which on a commuter is a defensible trade.

• 55 kmpl claimed from the 13-litre tank
• The widest, flattest commuter seat listed
• 180 mm of clearance and twin rear shocks for real loads