The future of the Honda Unicorn 160 BS6 is uncertain. The Honda Unicorn 160 may not come with the BS6 gearbox. There is no news on the 150cc variant. The purpose of the CB Unicorn 160 was completely unclear as it had a different design from the 150 Unicorn but the engine was from the Hornet. The vehicle was a commuter vehicle but had a high seat height.

The vehicle had a displacement of 162.71 cc. It was an air-cooled single-cylinder engine. This engine featured Honda Eco technology which helped it to be economical in city driving. The vehicle had a very average power output of 14 bhp and a torque of 14.61 Nm. The engine was mated to a 5-speed gearbox. The vehicle had a top speed of 106 km/h. These numbers on paper were not impressive and the vehicle was compared to the Hornet which also had a 160 cc engine and produced more power and torque. The design of this motorcycle was also somewhat commuter-ish and was overshadowed by the muscular design of the Hornet.

Due to all the disadvantages of this vehicle, people who wanted a pure commuter vehicle opted for the 150cc Unicorn with the old design. The young people who wanted performance and style along with economy opted for the Honda Hornet. This is the reason why the sales of this vehicle declined. Despite being a facelift model, the vehicle did not sell well as a more trusted model like the Unicorn 150 was in the market and people who bought the bike in the commuter segment preferred this bike as they were happy with the design and lower seat height.

Honda sold only 13,266 units of the CB Unicorn 160 last year. This number is very low and clearly indicates that the bike is not in demand. It doesn’t make sense for the brand to invest in a BS6 engine gearbox. It might not even make sense if the company goes for a major facelift. What might work is if they introduce the 150cc BS6 engine in the current design of the CB Unicorn and discontinue the old Unicorn. This is very unlikely but possible as Honda might have had foresight while launching the CB Unicorn 160.

As far as Honda’s future plans are concerned, they have launched a BS6 version of the Activa 125 and also a BS6 compliant 125cc motorcycle. Since BS6 emission norms are currently being changed, there is no way around fuel injection and that will cost more. This technology is costly and will lead to an overall increase in the cost of all new BS6 vehicles. Watch our video on the SP 125, a BS6 compliant commuter motorcycle from Honda.

Also read: Is Honda Activa Electric coming to India?