The new Honda CB Trigger

The Honda Unicorn has been one of the mainstays of the Honda stable. Setting new benchmarks in engine refinement and with its bullet-proof reliability, the Unicorn except a few cosmetic changes has remained unchanged since inception and continues to have a special niche in the 150cc premium commuter segment.

The 150cc segment has heated up more than ever before. The market today offers a wide spectrum of motorcycles with fuel economy to performance as their USPs. In such a tough scenario, the Streetfire inspired Honda Trigger was launched as a balance of modern styling, performance and economy. We got our hands on Honda’s latest offering and with monsoon lashing Aamchi Mumbai, it proved far from being a decent testing ground for the bike, which made us take the Trigger to Pune, which surprisingly happened to be drier. From crawling traffic to wide open highways, from well paved flat stretches of tarmac to the broken trail, from arrow straight high speed runs to the twisty ghat sections, from dry sunny hours to dark rainy nights- the Trigger was put to the paces in every possible way we could think in both solo and two up riding mode.

The Honda Trigger is a reasonably good looking motorcycle except, probably at the rear where the chubby LED tail light manages to overwhelm the 110 section rear tyre. The Trigger looks best from the front three-quarters with the oversized faux air scoops and the headlight reminiscent of the Honda Streetfire. Endowed with some nice cuts and creases in profile, the Trigger does inspire a second look.

The muscular style statement is expressed convincingly by a newly designed fuel tank and side panels, which appear like a perimeter frame and conclude into a sharply styled rear panel. A new look exhaust befits the chunky look of the motorcycle but is somewhat neutralized by the rear foot-peg assembly.

The grips are of good quality and are reasonably soft to grab onto. Mirrors are adequate in size and give a clear view of the trailing traffic. The switchgear got us confused though- both in quality and operation. We were expecting better finished and more ergonomic switchgear on a premium motorcycle.

Unlike in the case of the now discontinued Dazzler, the Honda Trigger features a kick-start and a chain guard. However, the biggest inclusion on the Trigger has been the Combi Braking System is available only on the top end variant of the Trigger. While the front disc brake works independently, application of the rear brake links the front brake and is claimed to cut speed in a more efficient manner. The six spoke alloy wheels and the tyres have been retained from the Dazzler.

The Honda Streetfire inspired headlight provides ample low beam spread during the night but somewhat loses out on high beam performance. The clear lens turn blinkers are different in design from the Dazzler and do their job reasonably well.

The horn, which is typical Honda and not too loud, could have done with a bit more force. The new LED tail light is a welcome addition and emits ample brightness both during day and night.