[TusharK]

According to a media report, Honda is likely to launch a new 160cc bike, the SP160, this festive season.



The new model will be called SP160 and is expected to be based on the Unicorn platform. The bike will be powered by a 162.7cc single-cylinder engine that makes 12.7 BHP @ 7,500 rpm and 14 Nm @ 5,500 rpm. It will be paired with a 5-speed gearbox.

The styling of the SP160 could be inspired by the SP125. It could feature a simple design with a sporty headlamp cowl up front and fuel tank extensions on the sides. The bike will ride on 17-inch wheels and could come in disc and disc/drum variants. It is said to have a 12-litre fuel tank and could weigh around 141 kg.

It has also been reported that the Honda SP160 could be launched as early as next month.

Source: Autocar India

Link to Team-BHP News

[windrider]

Honda has achieved success only with the unicorn in the 150-200 cc range. None of the other bikes have survived. It was one sales dud after another. Things got so bad that they had to bring back the discontinued Unicorn model to get back some market share. Unicorn dazzler, the first redesigned Unicorn 160, cb trigger, x blade, hornet couldn't bring in a quarter of monthly sales numbers the original unicorn did.

This move to bring 150cc SP doesn't make sense since if anyone wanted a 150cc commuter they would simply go for the unicorn and if anyone is concerned about mileage they would simply pick the current 110-125 cc options from honda. With all the craze around ADVs HMSI should have made an effort to launch a low cost proper adventure bike like the xpulse.

Once again honda are slow to react to the changing markets. Honda had a long period where it's only competitor in the 300-400 cc market would have been the decades old RE classic/std bullets and would have made a killing of they had launched the hness 350 in the early 2010s instead they delayed and delayed some more to launch in 2020. By then there were a lot of options at similar or lower prices.

[Senotrius]

This is just history repeating itself all over again. Nothing wrong in trying though. As said above, what they should do is atleast introduce a genuine X Pulse alternative (not CB 200x) to bring the enthusiasts back. They already have the commuter class buyers in their pockets with activa, shine/110-125 and unicorn.

[Benoit]

My showroom experience while buying my cbr150r was so poor. I visited two showrooms before making a booking, both seemed disinterested since the waiting was 3 months. It came to a point when i considered duke 200. But i didn't want to go away from Honda.

Recently i went to book an activa for someone in the extended family. I asked them if it was e20. They had no idea what e20 was. There's some gap in the training they receive. I asked them about Dio, which was yet to be launched, they simply said activa is a better bike.

So, from my experience, the sales people are passing on their suggestions based on what is tried and tested and what they feel personally as good.

Perhaps the showroom experience is what is driving people away from the other big bikes.

[Bismaya]

It's getting cute to see Honda trying to get back into 160cc game only to keep failing. It's no doubt that the SP125 is raking in good numbers for HMSI but if history is any indication, then none of their bikes have come close to Unicorn in repeating the success.

1. Dazzer & Trigger even with the same Honda engine never sold as prospective buyers preferred the time tested Unicorn design.

2. Unicorn 160 failed cause the Unicorn moniker never stood for a "sporty commuter". It was a fantastic bike, a wolf in sheep's clothing.

3. CB Hornet and XBlade banked on the 160cc mill and Hornet saw some success for years before it feel short on keeping up with segment features and became dated, not to mention HMSI getting greedy and ridiculously overpricing both the motorcycles.

Now what? They want to take that 160cc mill and plonk it into SP125 just like they did to Unicorn? What would be the point of? For once, why cannot Honda work wholeheartedly on a relevant 160cc motorcycle that can offer strong competition in the segment?

I am strongly on the opinion that the execs are too blinded with the greed of profiting from the Activa sales to concentrate on any of other products in their portfolio. Best case scenario, they will become "one hit wonder", for selling Activa's.

[TusharK]

Honda SP160 launched at Rs 1.18 lakh

Honda has launched a new 160cc bike called the SP160 in the Indian market. It is available in two variants and is priced from Rs 1,17,500 (ex-showroom).



The Honda SP160 is a sporty-looking motorcycle. The bike features an LED headlamp, tank extensions and an aerodynamic under cowl. It comes with a single-piece seat and a digital instrument console. Some of the other features include an engine stop switch, a hazard switch for emergency stops, 177 mm of ground clearance and a wheelbase of 1,347 mm.



The SP160 is powered by a 162.71cc single-cylinder air-cooled engine that makes 13.2 BHP and 14.59 Nm and is mated to a 5-speed gearbox. The engine has a long stroke and a high compression ratio of 10:1. It features a roller rocker arm and a counter-balancer that is said to deliver smooth power.

The suspension setup consists of a telescopic fork at the front and a mono-shock at the rear. The bike is available with a single 276 mm front disc and either a 220 mm disc or 130 mm drum at the rear.

Honda SP160 ex-showroom prices:

• Single Disc - Rs 1,17,500
• Dual Disc - Rs 1,21,900

Link to Team-BHP News

[jetsetgo08]

So, they relaunched the 2015 Unicorn 160 with the SP moniker. Then I guess, there is no need to wait for the reviews, because it's already been reviewed 8 years ago.

[saikishor]

That is one inoffensive, handsome design atleast to me. I hope this sells well unlike the previous duds in this segment by Honda( Dazzler, Unicorn160, Trigger).
And, may I say, did Honda just lift the tail light from the Yamaha R3? I mean, it looks so similar!

[Nikhildrao]

I wonder what will become of the X-Blade 160 ? We know that the unicorn 160 is a brand all on its owns and won't be discontinued, this leaves the X-Blade in an awkward position of not being as comfy as the sp or recognisable as the unicorn. What also makes it worse is that the blade is a sales disaster in the scale of honda. I see the blade and hornet 2.0 being culled as soon as the BS-7 norms kicks in.

[i10_sanjay]

Why do I have a feeling that HMSI is copying Bajaj in it's "Discover" strategy?

• First was Shine 125 (No problem till here)
• Then came the Shine SP 125 (Although not a dud, still didn't sell as well as Honda would have hoped it would)
• Then the poor Unicorn 160 was axed to dress it up as the old Unicorn 150
• Then came the Shine 100
• Now by taking the "SP" moniker from Shine to combine with the Unicorn 160 engine to make it "Unicorn SP 160"?
• Unrelated - Grazia 125 was a dud, so they did this brilliant contraption of pasting the front apron of Dio in the Grazia to call it Dio 125

By confusing the customers, they are just digging their own grave. The sales are anyway nothing to write home about. Apart from Activa, Shine & may be Dio, nothing sells for them. The quality of parts and ASS going down doesn't inspire confidence as well.

[Sebring]

The first two generations of Unicorn were stellar machines. It was launched in 2004/5, if I'm not mistaken. We have one from 2007/8, and if I'd not outgrown it, it would still be the favourite. They should come up with Unicorn 400+ CC (Flavour of the season right now)

Originally Posted by windrider

Honda has achieved success only with the unicorn in the 150-200 cc range.

[amit_purohit20]

The USP of Unicorn as a comfortable commuter has gone! This bike seems to have forward lean position for the rider. The bike has been made to look sporty but is not sporty considering the power figures. Again a confused strategy which might not yield results.

What they did too CB200X was good but considering the punny engine and its limited touring capabilities it did not sell well. Add to it the cost increase because of the adventure set up.

Should honda have made this bike with an adventure bike type seating and handlebar position? It would have made it comfortable like a commuter and then made to look a bare minimum sporty should have worked.

[Yieldway17]

This looks so perfect in eyes of a 35+ person who wants a non-sporty commuter with little more oomph than the 125cc commuters.