Is Bajaj Freedom CNG bike safe? Watch it get crushed under a 10-tonne truck
Bajaj Auto has launched the Freedom bike, the first motorcycle in the world to come with CNG powertrain. Priced from ₹95,000, the Freedom CNG bike promises to offer value for money with high fuel efficiency and low running cost compared to other petrol-powered motorcycles. However, potential customers raised apprehensions about riding a bike which also has a CNG tank under it. To allay fears of Freedom CNG bike's safety, Bajaj Auto has released a series of videos showing it undergo crash tests under different scenarios.
Bajaj Auto has put the Freedom CNG bike through two types of crash test. The first one involves a frontal crash with a 1.5-tonne vehicle which measures about the size of an average SUV in India. The crash video shows the two vehicles crashing head-on at a speed of 60 kmph. On impact, the front-end of the Freedom CNG bike gets damaged as the front wheels got bent at places and the fuel tank lid pop open. However, the damage to the CNG bike is not significant. More importantly, the video shows that the CNG tank under the seat remain unscathed despite the high-speed crash. Bajaj Auto claims that there was no leakage of CNG gas due to the impact.
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The second crash test of the Freedom CNG bike involved a 10-tonne truck. The video shows the bike getting crushed under the wheels of the vehicle. The rear wheels of the truck went over the front section of the Freedom motorcycle damaging the fuel tank meant to store petrol while also scraping the section where the CNG tank is placed. The two-wheeler giant claims that the crash did not impact the CNG cylinder located under the seat and that it did not move despite the impact. It also claimed that despite the fuel tank taking heavy toll, there was no leakage of CNG or impact on the pressure gauge.
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It is to be noted that the crash tests of the Bajaj CNG motorcycle was done in controlled environment and may not fully reflect real-world scenarios or fallouts. However, Bajaj released these videos to address some of the concerns the potential buyers of the Freedom CNG bike have.
Bajaj Freedom CNG bike: Engine, mileage explained
The Freedom CNG bike comes with a 125cc, air-cooled, single-cylinder engine with a 5-speed gearbox. It can generate output of 9.5 bhp at 8,000rpm and 9.7 Nm at 5,000rpm. The bike gets a 2 kg CNG cylinder which weighs about 15 kgs. There is also a 2-litre petrol tank along with the CNG cylinder. Bajaj claims Freedom will offer overall mileage of 330 kms in ideal riding conditions. It can offer up to 204 kms of range while riding on CNG-only mode while the petrol-only mode will offer another 130 kms of range. Bajaj claims the Freedom will offer running cost as low as ₹1 per km.
Also watch: Bajaj Freedom CNG bike first look
Bajaj Freedom CNG bike: Variants and prices explained
Bajaj Auto has launched the Freedom CNG bike in three variants. The entry-level variant of the Freedom is called the Drum variant which is priced at ₹95,000 (ex-showroom). Drum LED is the mid-level variant of the CNG bike priced at ₹1.05 lakh (ex-showroom) while the top-end Disc LED variant comes at a cost of ₹1.10 lakh (ex-showroom).
