When opposed to rivals, Bajaj Freedom excels at offering exceptionally low running costs while matching the price of other sporty 125cc bikes
Rewriting the rule book of 125cc motorcycles, or any motorcycle sold in the world, Bajaj has launched world’s first-ever CNG bike. Called Freedom 125, this CNG motorcycle is very interesting in terms of its product positioning, overall styling and features. Here is how it would fare with rival 125cc motorcycles in a similar price range.
Bajaj Freedom 125 CNG Vs Sporty Rivals
Freedom 125 is specially designed for buyers looking to minimise their running costs on a daily basis. So, buyers are looking at 100cc and 110cc budget commuters. In the car world, a CNG kit like this would cost around Rs 1 lakh extra over regular ICE vehicles. But here is Bajaj Freedom 125, matching its price with other sporty 125cc motorcycles, despite packing complex engineering in the form of a CNG kit.
Bajaj Freedom 125 has design elements like front fork covers, LED headlights, X-motif LED tail light, exposed trellis frame, muscular tank shrouds, longest-ever seat, playful colours, contrasting silver-tone parts, colour-coded components and more. Comparing it to 125cc motorcycles with a basic commuter silhouette feels wrong. Thus narrowing the competition to TVS Raider 125, Hero Xtreme 125R and Bajaj’s own Pulsar NS125.
Where powertrains are concerned, Freedom 125 packs the least punch. At 9.37 bhp and 9.7 Nm, performance isn’t anything to write home about. The most powerful in this bunch is Pulsar NS125. Owing to its 123kg lightweight, TVS Raider 125 packs the highest power-to-weight and torque-to-weight ratios in this comparison. Interestingly, Freedom makes its peak torque at just 5,000 RPM, lower than others.
At 147.8 kg, Freedom 125 is the heaviest of this bunch and the uninspiring performance metrics signify it. At just 2L petrol and 2Kg CNG, Freedom 125 also has the lowest fuel capacity. That said, Freedom 125 was built to offer exceptional fuel efficiency and lowest running costs. Something which it does rather well. At 102 km/kg, Freedom 125 trounces all of its rivals. Even if one has a 50 km daily commute, they only have to refuel Freedom 125 once, at the least cost.
Features and Componentry
We already established that Freedom 125 weighs the most, that’s because of its added components and complex engineering, which is perfectly acceptable. Owing to its complexity, it has the highest seat height at 825mm and lowest ground clearance at 170 mm. Also, some of the component choices for Freedom 125 are very interesting too. For example, Bajaj is offering a 16-inch rear wheel, while rivals offer 17-inchers.
That said, Bajaj is matching tyre width with Hero Xtreme 125R (90-section front and 120-section rear), which used to offer widest-in-segment tyres. These are wider than Pulsar NS125 and Raider 125. All the contenders offer RSU telescopic front forks and a rear mono-shock setup. That said, we liked Bajaj Freedom’s fork covers which look substantial and add a muscular appeal.
Except for Hero Xtreme 125R with a larger 276mm front disc, all other bikes offer 240mm front disc and 130mm rear drum brakes. While LED headlights and tail lights are offered by all these bikes (at least as an option), only Xtreme 125R offers LED turn indicators. Only TVS Raider 125 has a TFT instrument cluster with a plethora of added features including navigation, while others offer Bluetooth with limited functionalities.
Because Bajaj Freedom 125 is their first CNG offering, the company is trying to appeal to multiple genres at once with premium attributes. In the coming future, there may be a CNG offering with the CT line that might hit a much lower price point, without any fancy gizmos and premium appeal.
Source: Bike - rushlane.com
