Creating something new from the ground up can go one of three ways. You either revolutionise the way a consumer will look at a product by making it seem like the only logical way to do things. You can either go terribly wrong and stand as an example of what you shouldn’t do with a product, or the third option is that the product doesn’t leave enough of a mark and just fades away to become yet another product that tried to reinvent the wheel but didn’t really succeed. With the Bajaj Freedom 125, the world’s first CNG motorcycle, the company aims to revolutionise the commuter motorcycle segment. Has Bajaj managed to do that? Time to ride!
Bajaj took this as an opportunity to breathe new life, design-wise, into the commuter segment. Instead of making just another drab, plain Jane motorcycle, Bajaj decided to go with a more contemporary and sporty approach with the design. I quite like the way this bike looks with the exposed trellis frame, the metal bars around the headlight, the long motocross-style seat, and all the other bits and bobs that add to the entire visual appeal of the motorcycle. Everything on the Freedom 125 has been built with a purpose, and that is to accommodate the large 12-litre volume CNG tank without giving the motorcycle obnoxious proportions. To that end, Bajaj has done a stellar job with the packaging of the bike. Bits like the trellis frame and the link-type monoshock are usually found on higher-end motorcycles, but here it’s been done to accommodate the CNG tank without compromising on the ride quality or safety of the machine.
The Freedom 125 is essentially a hybrid motorcycle that can run on CNG and petrol. But Bajaj advertises the bike as a CNG motorcycle only, with the petrol tank purely as a limp-home mode should you run out of CNG or not have access to a filling station. Upon asking why not a larger than two-litre petrol tank, Bajaj stated that if you are homologating the petrol tank as a limp-home feature, the regulation states it must be two litres only. Back to the functioning of the bike, you can switch between CNG and petrol on the fly by using the toggle switch on the left switch cube. You can start the bike in CNG mode as well, and switching between the two modes is almost instantaneous. Filling both tanks up is also extremely easy, as both fillers are located under the same flap on the tank.
Propelling the Freedom 125 is a 125cc motor that has been built from the ground up to handle the extra load that combusting CNG has on an engine. The engine is a sloper, which means that the head is slanted all the way forwards; this has been done to, again, make space for the massive CNG tank that sits right below the rider’s seat. In terms of performance figures, the engine is good for 9.3bhp at 8000rpm and 9.7Nm of torque at 5000rpm. When it comes time to crank the motorcycle, you’re greeted by the very familiar ICE motorcycle exhaust note. Get on the bike, pull the clutch in, and slot it in gear, and everything still feels very similar. Let go of the clutch and get going, click through all five gears on the very tactile and well-spaced gearbox, and the riding experience is almost identical to a regular ICE motorcycle. This is where Bajaj has really nailed the brief. You really don’t feel like you are riding a motorcycle that is running on CNG. The refinement levels are great, and the overall riding experience is very relaxing and effortless. Clutch action is light, the engine is tractable, and you can also comfortably cruise at 70kmph without any vibrations ruining the experience. Although 70kmph on this motorcycle is hardly the sweet spot for efficiency, more on that later. 9.3bhp on a 125cc motorcycle might sound like less, and it is. But the energy density of CNG isn’t as much as petrol, and the loss of power is the small price that you pay for the added flexibility of being able to use this cleaner, greener, and more affordable fuel type.
Speaking of efficiency, Bajaj claims 102km/kg on CNG and 65kmpl on petrol. These are ARAI-tested figures, and you can get really close to that if you do the brunt of your riding between 40-50kmph. Which, to be fair, is what most people on commuters are doing. Get a little too comfortable with the knuckles of your right hand pointing to the sky, and the efficiency figures will start to drop. Now, while the claimed figures are good for around 330km, there are a lot of variables that I have problems with. Starting with the fact that CNG is not very freely available, and where it is, you more often than not have long queues to deal with. Secondly, the pressure at the CNG pump will dictate how much you can fill. So if the pressure is lower than optimal, you can’t even fill the full 2kg tank fully. This is exactly why I feel like Bajaj should have given a larger fuel tank (5-litre at least) to mitigate this problem.
The Bajaj Freedom 125 rides on a trellis frame that is suspended off a telescopic fork at the front and a link-type monoshock at the rear. I’ve already covered why these chassis choices were made, but here’s a quick recap. The bike has been built around the CNG tank that runs down the spine of the motorcycle. Packaging and safety constraints meant that engineers had to opt for the trellis frame. The trellis frame also acts as a superstructure for the tank, for which Bajaj has conducted 11 impact and drop tests, including running a 10-tonne truck over the bike.
In terms of the ride, the CNG offers a very plush and relaxed riding experience. It glides over most undulations with ease and sophistication, and that is courtesy of the link-type monoshock as well. The smaller 16-inch wheel doesn’t really get in the way of handling, and the bike feels solid, surefooted, and predictable. Exactly what you want from a commuter. At 149kg, the bike is a lot heavier than a 125cc commuter, but that is the price you pay for having two separate fuel tanks. In terms of rideability, the extra weight is only apparent at single-digit speeds or while manoeuvring it in a parking lot. On the go, the bike masks its weight rather well. In terms of braking, we were testing the top-end variant with a 240mm disc at the front and a 130mm drum at the rear. Braking performance is solid, but the front brake lever feels very hard to pull. But this is hardly a dealbreaker. What I do feel was a missed opportunity is ABS though. At ₹1.1 lakh ex-showroom, I would’ve appreciated it if single-channel ABS was available at least on the top-end variant.
Ex-showroom prices for the Bajaj Freedom 125 start at ₹95,000, which will get you the bike with a halogen light and a drum brake at the front. ₹1.05 lakh bumps the headlight up to an LED unit, while ₹1.1 lakh gets you the top-end variant with an LED headlight, a disc brake at the front, and Bluetooth connectivity as well. At these price points, the Freedom 125 does seem like an expensive proposition, but like electric vehicles, you will make the money back the more you use CNG. The only real problem with that plan is the lack of solid CNG infrastructure. This is something time should fix, but the early adopters might struggle with this. That being said, on the product side of things, what Bajaj has achieved is nothing short of commendable. It has managed to offer a very traditional riding experience on a very sorted bike while offering the flexibility of running a cleaner fuel. After spending some time with the motorcycle, I feel like the price is justified, and the only thing I would like done differently is a larger petrol tank for those occasions where the availability of CNG is questionable. But apart from that, I do feel not going the electric route was good and that Bajaj might have a game-changer on its hands.