World’s first CNG-powered Motorcycle: Bajaj Freedom.

Amidst the massive push for the EV adoption process that the government and the manufacturers are undertaking, Bajaj has thrown a spanner in the work – With their World’s first-ever mass-produced CNG Powered Motorcycle – Bajaj Freedom.

A few weeks ago, Bajaj officially launched the world’s first CNG-powered motorcycle for the Indian market in the commuter segment prices starting from INR 99,000 /-going up to INR 1,10,000/ and come in three different trims and seven different shades which are – Caribbean Blue, Pewter Grey-Black, Cyber White, Ebony Black-Grey, Racing Red, Pewter Grey-Yellow, and Ebony Black-Red.

– Base trim as it states, is a bare-bones model with drum brakes and halogen light and the subsequent variants get a combination of Drum brakes and LED and Front Disc brakes + LED for the top variant.

However, all the variants of the Bajaj Freedom get a 125cc engine producing 9.3 hp @8000rpm and 9.7 Nm of torque @6000 rpm, mated to a five-speed gearbox, 17’ at the front and 16’ at the rear Alloy wheels, an inverted information display, a 2-litre petrol tank and a 2 kg CNG cylinder to store the CNG gas. a common filler cap for both CNG and petrol and the rider can switch between the two fuels with the flick of a switch.

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Bajaj Freedom is set to revolutionize the two-wheeler segment, especially in a low-cost and cost-sensitive commuter segment – with its segment-first, nay world-first CNG + petrol engine that combined results in a range of 302 km on full tanks – it’s probably not much compared to its only petrol counterparts that give our almost double the range on a full tank of petrol – But petrol is not getting any cheaper and by the looks of things EVs have a long time to go before they can remotely get close to fast charging times that can match the refuelling times of petrol at a fuel station

I’d say it’s a happy compromise for now – sure the time to fill up the CNG tank is slightly longer than filling up petrol but it’s still considerably shorter than charging to its full potential and the duration taken to fill up a CNG is not that far off from refuelling a petrol tank of the same capacity.

The ability to shift from CNG to Petrol and vice versa on the go will go a long way in making This motorcycle more useable instead – if, bajaj went on a different path of completely CNG-powered or a full-on EV than in some rural parts of the country still doesn’t have a proper charging or CNG infrastructure – Psychologically it’s a win-win situation giving that reassurance of refuelling it with petrol when CNG stations are not available immediately or you ran out of CNG – shift to petrol and continue your journey till you find a nect fuelling station.

The only apparent drawback except for a comparatively shorter range than its rival – The kerb weight of 149 kg does make it a hefty machine. It will surely impact its ability to be an effective urban commuter. 

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Safety

I took my sweet time to cover this Motorcycle mainly because I wanted to be reassured of its safety and long-term prospects – you see CNG is a highly pressurized and compressed gas that is stored in a cylindrical shaped tank and if there’s a mishap to happen any subsequent damage resulting from it will have dire consequences – if the tank or its placement was not taught throughout during its R&D journey – But bajaj has reassured that they have passed the motorcycle through various rigorous crash testing such as passing a truck over the motorcycle, head-on collision with a concrete wall etc and found no cracks leak or ay structural damager to the tank or any leaks resulting from those crashes – deeming The Bajaj Freedom a safe prospect for its owners.

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These levels of safety were achieved by a clever packaging and engineering technique – such as placing the CNG tank beneath the seat – neatly wrapped around by a trellis frame that acts as a cage and collision guard for the tank – apart from acting as a frame for the motorcycle – mono-shock rear shock that’s placed below the rear swingarm to open up more space in the packaging and keeping the height of the motorcycle in check with its rivals in the market.

Now, not everything is well and good – if you’re planning to buy freedom regardless of your reason, there’s a catch, quite similarly to the EV infrastructure CNG infrastructure is fairly limited and isolated in very few select regions – ot all states in India are equipped with proper CNG refuelling stations and if they are –n they are few and far between – making it a very stressful ordeal for the owner to deal with range anxiety and fueling concerns in those states – so, keeping this information in sight Bajaj has made the Freedom available in only a few states such as Gujarat and Maharashtra, to begin with, and later on expanding towards other states such as Haryana, Punjab and Karnataka in the future were CNG infrastructure is growing at a steady pace.

Styling

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A very interesting and refreshing take on a styling that will surely reenergize the commuter segment – Bajaj Freedom unlike its petrol-powered counterparts in terms of style –does not follow the unilateral design language that most of the motorcycles in the segment follow – It differently a head turner with its long stretched out seat an exposed frame a rear mono-shock and a round shapes headlight that gives off a scrambler or dirt bike vibes that were very prominent in India in the early to late 90s – for some, it’ll be a nostalgic hit on the road and for some it’ll be an epitome of Indian engineering and design.

What are your thoughts on the world’s first CNG-powered Motorcycle?

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