[parrys]

The Honda CB Trigger has been launched in India at a price of Rs. 67,384 - 76,884 (ex-Delhi).

What you'll like:

• A typical refined & revv happy Honda engine.
• Good torque availability at lower RPMs.
• Front & rear disc brakes with CBS (combined braking system) is a boon for the new born bikers.
• Good riding range with 60 kmpl rating & a 12L fuel tank.
• Viscous air filter will last up to 16,000 kilometres.

What you won't:

• Ordinary looking design, the replaced CB Unicorn Dazzler looked better.
• Commuter friendly riding position is an enthusiast repellent.
• Handlebar switches are made of cheap quality plastic.
• Honda not providing basic accessories like leg guard, saree guard etc. as standard.
• Long waiting periods for service scheduling at Honda dealerships.

[parrys]

Founded in 1999, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India, Private Limited (HMSI) is a wholly owned Indian subsidiary of Honda Motor Company, Limited, Japan. With a production facility at Manesar, Gurgaon and an initial investment of 215 crores (back in the day); HMSI was functional since 2001. One of the very first motorcycles that the Indian market received from the stable was the Unicorn way back in 2005. The Unicorn, first introduced with spoked wheels and only a kick starter on Honda's diamond frame, later on incorporated a few changes like alloy wheels, electric starter, powder coated engine etc. to stay in the game alongside the Bajaj Pulsar and TVS Apache. The Unicorn sold well in the market, but all the while, HMSI kept betting big on an ageing design where Bajaj very aggressively kept updating the Pulsar series.

In 2010, in an attempt to bump up the motorcycle sales, HMSI introduced the Unicorn Dazzler. Apart from different styling with floating side cowls and a disc brake at rear & a missing kick starter, the Dazzler carried forward the rest of the features from the Unicorn. But as we all know, the Dazzler never tasted success like the Unicorn did. Reason? Unknown. It was a decent looking bike with a competitive power to the wheels compared to those times.

On March 13, 2013; HMSI launched the CB Trigger to replace the Dazzler. The CB Trigger is basically a revised Unicorn Dazzler, a commuter motorcycle with a rating of 60 kmpl and 14 BHP on tap. What differentiates the Trigger from the Dazzler big time is the introduction of CBS (combined braking system), which automatically engages the right amount of front braking if you press only the rear brake. The bike is not exceptionally good looking but is in sync with the current times compared to other commuter segment motorcycles. But, when you look at the much older Unicorn Dazzler, this current offering does look a little pale. I found the Dazzler to be much better looking than the Trigger. Also, the trigger gets the kick starter back. It was removed from the Dazzler in order to reduce the kerb weight and cost. LED tail lamps and a full digital speedometer have been added to the CB Trigger to make it look much with the times.

The CB Trigger will be available in three colours- Meteor Green Metallic, Pearl Siena Red and Black and three variants:

• Standard: Disc brakes (F), Drum brakes (R)
• Deluxe: Disc brakes (F & R)
• CBS: Disc brakes (F & R) with CBS

When we spoke to a dealership, they clearly mentioned that the Unicorn used to outsell the Dazzler (now discontinued). Time will tell if the new CB Trigger be able to take away the sales from a much older bike with the revised styling.

A very basic looking bike. No striking design elements to garner a second look.


Accommodating seats, long and soft. A comfortable commuter for two.


Ground clearance of 175 mm will help you cross rough terrain with ease. Also, notice the overflow pipes ending below the exhaust.


Rear seat is not too high, pillion does not feel like he is on a floor higher. Rear seat is soft as well. Commuting with a pillion is not a problem at all.


LED tail lamps are not too bright, just the right amount of intensity. Indicators are shared with other Honda 2-wheelers.


Headlamp powered by a 35/35W bulb. Headlamp visor gets air scoops on the lower section on either sides and a small silver wind deflector on top.


Honda emblem placed on the tank might gather a lot of dust around it. Will need detailed cleaning over a period of time.


Full digital instrument cluster with an orange backlight is good to look at. Redline marking is noticeable even when the bike is turned off. Choke revvs the bike till 3000 RPM and the bike idles at a notch above 1000 RPM in regular situations. Two trip meters, odometer and a digital clock finds place in here.


Side cowls seen on the CB Dazzler were much better than the ones on the Trigger.


A close look at the 14 BHP motor. Notice the absence of a leg guard. Kick starter provided across the range.


All black silencer with no chrome.


Air scoop like design in a grey shade on the side panel covering the frame.


Fuel tank on / off / reserve control on the LHS below the tank.


Old school gear shifter, cannot complain as it is in the commuter segment. However, the brake lever looked like a locally cut metal piece.


No clip on handle bar, again, the basic commuter elements. Notice the Honda logo on the handle bar mount.


Control switches on the handle bar are downright cheap. Feel clicky & are evidently of a low quality (Look at that high beam button). Only self-start on the right hand, and a control overload on the left.


ORVMs are shared with other Honda products too. Same unit seen on the Dazzler & Unicorn as well.


It would have been nice if the fuel cap was a flip unit instead of this complete lift one. You tend to misalign the cap while placing it back.


Look at the frame for the rear foot pegs. Small hole below the foot peg indicates that saree guard is an accessory you need to pay for.


Notice the two cables running to the brake caliper. One for the Independent front brake and one for the CBS. 240 mm disc brake at the front.


220 mm disc brake at the rear. Both the front and rear calipers are by Nissin.


Keyhole to pop the seat next to the LHS indicator. A sideways placed reflector on the rear mudguard.


Placeholder to for first aid kit, tools and bike documents.


Notice the metal piece to keep all the wires in place.


Air filter opening behind the tank. Never place a cleaning cloth here.


A common phenomenon. Rust on the etched frame number.


Rear mono suspension can be adjusted to your taste: Soft or hard.


Tyre make & size, required tyre pressure, chain adjustment info stuck on the chain cover.


Other safety stickers on the bike.

[parrys]

The CB Trigger is powered by a 149.1 cc air cooled 4-stroke engine producing 14 BHP of power @ 8500 RPM and 12.5 Nm of torque at 6500 RPM. The engine is mated to a constant mesh 5-speed gearbox. The bike sits on Honda's 'advance design diamond frame' with a telescopic suspension at the front and a mono suspension at the back. Weighing 137 kgs and a fuel tank capacity of 12 litres, the CB Trigger has a fuel efficiency rating of 60 kpl.

Once you sit on the bike and reach for the self-starter, you notice that the switches are made up of horrible quality and you will have to live with it till the time you part ways with the bike. Anyway, once you start that engine, you notice that it is not absolutely vibration free. On idle, you can notice the tank vibrating mildly. The bike sounds like a typical Honda on idle (@ 1000 RPM) and it is almost a noiseless affair. If you engage the choke (placed below the instrument cluster) on a cold morning, the bike idles at 3000 RPM.

Seating position has a typical upright commuter segment characteristic. The slightly enthusiastic customer will definitely walk towards the Yamaha FZ when compared to the Trigger. However, the seat compound is super soft and makes the ride a pleasant experience. Even the pillion has a decent amount of seat space left, which again is soft enough for a long ride.

Accelerate and you notice that like any other Honda engine, this block too is very revv happy. Where the peak power is generated high up at 8500 RPM, the bike has a very flat torque curve helping the rider to cruise even at lower speeds in a high gear, without the need to down-shift time and again. I could ride easily at around 35-40 kph even in 5th gear with the engine showing no signs of knocking. This definitely is a big plus point for those looking at using this bike as a daily commuter in peak traffic hours. The bike has good low & mid-range grunt which will not disappoint the average rider when under hard acceleration. You can achieve a 100 kph figure at around 8000 RPM in 5th gear. However, going beyond the 100 kph mark is quite a task given the high wind resistance on a naked commuter motorcycle.

What we consider as the best feature on the CB Trigger is the introduction of the CBS (combined braking system). What it does is when you hit the just rear brake, making use of a delay valve - even the front disc brake is engaged partially. The CBS does not work when you only use the front disc. This is a boon to the newbie riders who are not very familiar with the front disc brake bite, as it makes the riding experience safer and reduces the amount of dive caused by the over-use of the front brakes. We pushed the bike till 60 kph and hit the rear brake real hard and found that the braking distance was acceptable and the wheels did not lock up one bit. Where ABS would have been the most ideal addition, this CBS is definitely going to be a feature that customers should opt for.

What happens when you ride on a rainy day.


Please note that the ride report is compiled over an experience of 250 kilometres in two days.

[n_aditya]

Note from Support - Thread moved to the public forum. Thank you for sharing.

[100kmph]

Wonderful review!
Hope that the cb Trigger does not fail miserably as the Dazzler. IMO the dazzler failed due to the absence of kick starter and full chain cover. For a carburetted engine cold starts may require more cranking for which a kick starter is necessary to avoid draining the battery. The only downside is that the torque(12.5 N.m) is less than the Unicorn(13.3 N.m) . The switchgear seems to be a straight lift from dream neo which is a couple of segments lower. Even the vintage Unicorn has better switchgear. Further for a commuter bike(which does not have o ring chains), a chain cover is useful in the rains.
Rated the thread a well deserved 5*. Hope to see more 2 wheeler reviews in Team-BHP in the future.

[PatienceWins]

A very good detailed review. I like the simple looks of the bike compared to Dazzler.

How was the ride quality over bad roads? Any idea about the real fuel efficiency?

[parrys]

Originally Posted by PatienceWins

How was the ride quality over bad roads? Any idea about the real fuel efficiency?

I was riding on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway most of the time.
City riding of about 60 odd kilometres out of the total distance covered.
With occasional redlining, the bike returned about 50-55 kmpl.

[ani_meher]

Thanks for the very detailed report. You have covered very fine parts as well. What was the version that was reviewed?

One a humble suggestion. A quick dusting or a wash of the bike would make this presentation infinitely better visually. It is too mucky to click in close- ups!

[MavericK46]

A couple of points to add to what is already a fine ride report:

1. The switches are lifted straight off HMSI's very own 'Dream Yuga'. Now you know they look cheap
I really don't understand why using the Unicorn's switches was a problem here. Cost-cutting being the the only thing that comes to mind.

2. The section of the pillion foot-rest that connects to the chassis on the Unicorn has always been something I've loved; It being machined from a single billet of Aluminium. The Trigger has a nasty looking steel structure that looks dowdy in comparison.

3. The engine is typical HMSI fare. But I wouldn't really call it rev-happy. Infact, its creamy smooth but does pick up revs quite leisurely just as the Unicorn and the subsequent Dazzler.

HMSI have indeed done a good job by bringing in their C-ABS (Combined ABS) tech to the masses. Heck, the front caliper is from Nissin on the C-ABS version !

Sadly though, they've wrecked far too many things for me to confidently suggest the Dazzler to someone over the Unicorn itself...

[parrys]

Originally Posted by ani_meher

Thanks for the very detailed report. You have covered very fine parts as well. What was the version that was reviewed?

One a humble suggestion. A quick dusting or a wash of the bike would make this presentation infinitely better visually. It is too mucky to click in close- ups!

The version reviewed was the top of the line 'CBS' variant.

I had got the bike washed the previous night & started riding the next day at 6 am, but then, what can you do to keep a bike clean on a rainy day? Apart from not riding it.

I did clean the tank and other not so brown parts with a cloth before shooting at the beach.

[vinair]

Why? Why? Why such a muddy looking bike for the review??

I saw this in my office parking lot and yups, looks much better than the Dazzler.

But why this kolaveri of always looking conservative Honda?? Why not bring some kind of hooliganism to your designs?? Other than the Dio, nothing looks like a brat!!!

[parrys]

Originally Posted by MavericK46

The engine is typical HMSI fare. But I wouldn't really call it rev-happy. Infact, its creamy smooth but does pick up revs quite leisurely just as the Unicorn and the subsequent Dazzler.

HMSI have indeed done a good job by bringing in their C-ABS (Combined ABS) tech to the masses.

And I would like to mention that the engine is not boring at all.
I own a R15 2.0, and while riding this (The Trigger) the engine kept me quite happy on the highway. Apart from the high speed inability.

CBS & C-ABS is different. There is no electronic motor involved here to work as a full functional ABS unit. This one just applies an adequate brake-force on the front brakes when just the rear brakes are applied.

I just wish that if the CBR 250R has C-ABS, the CBR 150R gets CBS at least.

[hellmet]

Hi Parrys, this review comes at a time when I'm on the market looking for a new bike. Great timing, and excellent review! Thanks! Looking forward to more bike reviews from you and fellow members.

Looks like the bike doesn't have anything to prevent the rider's shoes and legs from being splattered with mud. Look at your poor shoes and jeans! Never had so much mud on my shoes on my current bike even at high speeds.

The "No Clean" air filter is a cha-ching for Honda because it is now like a car and you have to purchase a not-so-cheap filter at 16K. My TVS Victor's OE foam filter has lasted 63K km with regular cleaning and will still last longer if handled properly.

Honda motorcycles have always come with the crappiest looking plastics and this is no different. I guess this is what it calls "Localisation".

Rust on a new bike is unacceptable. Rust on etching is common after a few months of use, but if you notice the pictures carefully, you can see rust wherever two metal parts were welded. Not cool.

Honda's stinginess with the saree and leg guard is not new. Their aim is to squeeze the customer to the best extent while s/he is wallowing in the pleasure of buying a "Honda".

All digital console. Isn't this a first in segment (or higher) ? I've seen bikes with atleast an analog tachometer. Also, the console on the Trigger looks very narrow and I don't like how it looks at all. The font size, except for speed, is horribly tiny for a quick glance while riding.

Don't you worry about dust around the Honda wing emblem. It'll soon be lifted by someone when in parking thus relieving you off the worries of cleaning it.

On the flip side, the bike looks quite decent and seems to be designed for 30+ers looking for a modern commuter without looking like a teenager.

[carzone]

Great review Parrys. Good to see my favorite forum entering the world of 2-wheels. Hope to see all new launches being reviewed.

Hope I am not asking for more, but can we have the specs comparison with the others in the segment, just like we have it for the 4-wheeler reviews?

I didn't like the way dazzler looks, nor I like the way trigger looks. Unicorn was the one from the Honda stable which suited my tastes, but sadly, it did not satisfy the techhie in me.

The Heros and the Hondas are not known for the technology they have been using. IIRC, Honda was the last one to introduce Digital speedos in their bikes while Bajaj had it in Pulsars quite before. Till now, I haven't seen an engine kill switch in a Hero or a Honda(CBR 250R has it). Reason? It actually comes in quite handy while waiting at those 3-4 minute signals to switch the engine off, rather than moving my hand all the way to the key and turning it.

Engine always has been the highlight of Honda's commuter segment. Had driven the unicorn for a fair bit of time and was in love with it. Had referred it to people who were happy with the old school analogue meters.

• Do we have tubeless tyres in this?
• How easy is it to adjust the Suspension? Do we need to visit a mechanic for this or is it an DIY?
• Are the headlamps directly connected to the battery which would work while the engine is off?
• What would you prefer in the commuter segment, if you were to choose between the Fz-s and the Trigger, or even the GS-150R?

Originally Posted by hellmet

All digital console. Isn't this a first in segment (or higher) ? I've seen bikes with atleast an analog tachometer. Also, the console on the Trigger looks very narrow and I don't like how it looks at all. The font size, except for speed, is horribly tiny for a quick glance while riding.

Even the Fz series has a completely digital console including the tacho.

[ashwin.terminat]

Originally Posted by hellmet

Honda motorcycles have always come with the crappiest looking plastics and this is no different. I guess this is what it calls "Localisation".

I side with you on that one. They always tend to fade and need polishing every fortnight or so. My brother's Pulsar from 2006 still has jet black plastics!

Originally Posted by hellmet

All digital console. Isn't this a first in segment (or higher) ? I've seen bikes with atleast an analog tachometer. Also, the console on the Trigger looks very narrow and I don't like how it looks at all. The font size, except for speed, is horribly tiny for a quick glance while riding.

I believe the FZ series also have Fully Digital console. Including the tachometer.

Originally Posted by carzone

Great review Parrys. Good to see my favorite forum entering the world of 2-wheels. Hope to see all new launches being reviewed.

I would like that too!

Originally Posted by carzone

The Heros and the Hondas are not known for the technology they have been using. IIRC, Honda was the last one to introduce Digital speedos in their bikes while Bajaj had it in Pulsars quite before. Till now, I haven't seen an engine kill switch in a Hero or a Honda(CBR 250R has it). Reason? It actually comes in quite handy while waiting at those 3-4 minute signals to switch the engine off, rather than moving my hand all the way to the key and turning it.

Only the CBR250R has it. I've wondered too, it's a simple, yet handle switch. But afer 2 and a half years with a Hero, you'll learn to ride without one!

Originally Posted by carzone

• Do we have tubeless tyres in this?
• How easy is it to adjust the Suspension? Do we need to visit a mechanic for this or is it an DIY?
• Are the headlamps directly connected to the battery which would work while the engine is off?
• What would you prefer in the commuter segment, if you were to choose between the Fz-s and the Trigger, or even the GS-150R?

These are just my views based on my experience with Honda commuters.

• Yes, tubeless tyres
• I believe you'll be given a tool in your toolkit to adjust the rear suspension.
• No, I don't expect DC lighting from the trigger.
• I haven't ridden the GS-150R, so I would go for the Trigger given I expect it to offer better FE than the FZ. If mileage is not a deal breaker, the FZ. Those Yamaha brakes are just amazing and the tyres are very grippy. Again, this is just my opinion. Depending on usage, you could choose either.

I'm attaching the pictures from the brochure for quick reference.




The On-Road price for the Trigger in Bangalore are as follows:

STD Version: Rs. 81,809
DLX Version: Rs. 85,303
CBS Version: Rs. 92,873