Bajaj Reveals First CNG Motorcycle By Ben Purvis
While Japan's big four are working on projects to develop hydrogen-fueled motorcycles, India's Bajaj has turned to another gas and beaten them all to mass production with its CNG-fueled Freedom 125.
CNG, or compressed natural gas, is largely made of methane and doesn't offer the same environmental benefits as hydrogen. It's still a hydrocarbon fuel, so there are CO2 emissions, for example. But it's also a gas that's much easier to use with a relatively standard combustion engine that's been designed to run on petrol. It is also far easier to source and to store than hydrogen, while offering a reduction in emissions and lower running costs compared to conventional liquid fuel. Compared to petrol, CNG offers a 26.7% reduction in CO2 emissions and 43% less NOx.
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Bajaj's Freedom 125 uses a fairly conventional 125 cc four-stroke single, which can run on petrol as well as CNG. Indeed, the bike has its own on-board reserve petrol tank, able to carry 2 liters of fuel, to act as a backup. In most of Europe, it's not easy to find CNG, but India is developing a robust network of stations, and a growing number of vehicles are turning to cheaper CNG instead of petrol as a result.
The Freedom's CNG is stored in a cylinder that carries 2 kg of the gas, compressed to 200 bar of pressure. The cylinder sits lengthwise in a purpose-designed steel trellis frame, running under the rider's seat, and the engine has been developed to fit underneath it with a near-horizontal cylinder. The engine airbox and the auxiliary petrol tank wrap around the front part of the gas cylinder.
The seat is a little higher than rivals, thanks to the cylinder underneath it, but it's also longer than most, because there's no need for a large fuel tank in front. In India, that extra seat length is a selling point as despite laws banning more than two occupants, it's still not unusual to see more than that on a single bike, and it's common for children to sit in front of their parents.
While 2 kg of CNG might not sound like much, it's enough to give the Freedom 125 a 200 km range, and the 2-litre auxiliary petrol tank adds another 130 km of range, for a total of 330 km between them.
Although there's also a growing market for electric bikes in India, the Freedom 125 has the advantage of a long range and rapid refueling. The CNG tank can be filled in around two minutes, using a nozzle at the front next to the petrol filler.