Old wine in new bottle
Overview
For the past few years, the 150cc segment has proved to be the most popular and competitive segment of bikes in India. Looking at the rising competition and continuous failure of their 150cc bikes, Honda has launched all-new 150cc bike named CB Trigger which will try to mark its strong presence in this segment which is currently ruled by bikes like Bajaj Pulsar, Yamaha FZ-S and TVS Apache. Will this bike be able to do so?
Let’s find out.
Design and Style
In simple words, you can say CB Trigger is the advanced version of the outgoing CB Dazzler in terms of style and design. The new bike is shorter than the existing Dazzler and comes with more aggressive styling to take on competitors like Yamaha FZ-S. The biggest changes are made at its front as it comes with new headlight and visor.
The air scoops on the grey colored short visor add sporty character to this bike. The sleek design of headlight suits its pointed clear lens indicators and gives it aggressive looks. The black colored six-spoke alloy wheels and front fender looks simple at its front.
The added tank scoops and sharp lines on its fuel tank look aerodynamic. The bike gets new kick lever and fattier black colored silencer which gels well with the all black theme on this bike. The long seat and edgy rear cowl looks great with its up-swept muffler. It comes with all new two layered LED tail light which looks futuristic and sits on the top of its elongated rear fender which carries the number plate and side indicators.
The bike also features new fatty rear tyre and full chain case.
This is the most interesting thing about new CB Trigger. It gets a fully digital instrument console which looks premium and makes it look like other expensive bikes from Honda. The big orange colored LCD displays its digital speedometer, odometer, bar style tachometer, 2-trip meter, clock and fuel gauge.
Other LED indicators are also placed in this instrument console.
Technically, this bike is similar to the existing CB Dazzler. It’s also powered by the same air-cooled, single cylinder 150cc engine with a maximum power output of 13.81 bhp at 8500 rpm . This 4-stroke engine produces peak torque of 12.5 Nm which arrives at 6500 rpm. This engine is mated with a five-speed manual gearbox with one gear down and four gears up-shift pattern.
The bike certainly disappoints you in this department. Despite having best power to weight ratio in its class, the bike feels on the slower side. It takes around 6 seconds to reach 0-60km/hr . There are two reasons behind its slow performance; first its tall gear ratios and secondly, delay in torque arrival.
In order to make this bike fuel efficient, Honda has opted for tall gear ratios which require effort from your side to get the maximum out of this engine. The throttle reaction of this bike is nowhere near its competitors like FZ-S. The delay in torque also spoils the party specially in city driving.
The bike feels better on highways and can reach the speed of 110 km/hr if pushed hard. Gear transitions are quite smooth and you will also enjoy the high level of refinement of this engine. The engine makes less noise when rev hard and feels better than other competitors. This engine feels best between 4000-7000rpm mark.
Honda could have tuned the engine of this bike for superior performance.
Company claims a fuel efficiency of around 60km/ltr but in real life conditions, the bike will return you anything around 50km/ltr .
The bike targets daily commuters and that’s why it comes with a long and wide seat with front set foot pegs. The seat is very comfortable and feels best for commuters. The high positioned handlebar also makes this bike feel similar to any commuter bike. The rider gets firm palm grip and enjoys clear view of road.
The knees also find it extremely comfortable around its edgy fuel tank.
The bike offers under seat storage space and comes with vital safety features like pass button, front leg guard, rear saree guard and powerful headlight.
The bike shares its suspension system with CB Dazzler and features telescopic forks at its front and mono shock absorber at the back. The new CB Trigger comes with optional combined braking system for precise braking. It features disc brakes on its both wheels.
It has a front disc brake of 240mm and rear disc brake of 220mm.
The bike is nowhere near around its competitors in terms of ride handling. Yes, its light handling is quite effective in city traffic and helps you to move frequently but its short wheelbase of 1325 mm fails to add the desired stability to this bike. It feels scary around corners as its soft suspension system and tyres can’t hold this bike properly.
The high ground clearance (175 mm) is an advantage though as it improves the turning abilities of this bike and enables it to cross most of the obstructions easily on our Indian roads. The combined braking system also manages to impress you with its abilities. The bike always remains under control and gives you confidence in city traffic.
Wider tyres and longer wheelbase would have made big difference to the ride and handling of this bike.
It uses 17 inches alloy wheels. The bike is available in three variants and three different shades .
Frankly speaking, we are not much impressed by this new bike from Honda. The bike is certainly not a performer, the ride and handling is also disappointing and despite new changes, the bike doesn’t look as stylish as its competitors. The high pricing of the bike will further reduce its chances of success.
Yes, with modern features like CBS and digital instrumentation . it can attract few buyers but we really doubt if this bike can ‘trigger’ the sales volume for Honda in India.
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