Bajaj Freedom 125 CNG vs Honda SP 125 vs Hero Super Splendor vs others

Other motorcycles in this comparison include the Bajaj CT 125X, Hero Glamour and Honda Shine 125.

BHPian Ripcord09 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Bajaj Freedom 125

What you'll like:

• A concept that can possibly revolutionize the market! Rising popularity of e-commerce and bike taxis makes a big business case for a CNG bike
• Well-engineered product; not a half-baked afterthought. Nicely calibrated CNG system
• Well-kitted for the segment. Features include LED headlamp, alloy wheels with tubeless tyres, digital instrument cluster, connected features, etc.
• Simple yet modern design language that will blend well with a variety of demographics
• Very easy to ride in the city
• Comfortable ride; tackles average broken roads effortlessly

What you won't:

• Highway performance is mediocre
• Missing safety features such as ABS
• Many Indian cities & towns don’t have CNG pumps. Queue for CNG can be long in metro cities
• Cost cutting in a few areas such as the buttons for the instrument cluster, indicators, etc.
• As a global first-of-a-kind product, long-term performance and reliability are unknown
• Priced at a premium of ~Rs. 15,000 to 30,000 compared to competitors in a very price-sensitive segment

Review Link

Honda SP 125

Ownership Review Link

Hero Super Splendor

Launch Discussion

Bajaj CT 125X

Launch Discussion

Hero Glamour

Launch Discussion

Honda Shine 125

Launch Discussion

Here's what BHPian Joe367 had to say about the matter:

Shouldn't it be compared to the 110CC bikes based on the power figures? Also, it is directly aimed at people looking for fuel efficiency above everything else.

Here's what BHPian BullettuPaandi had to say about the matter:

Voted for Bajaj Freedom, but I'd want to wait for at least a year. If I'm in urgent need of a bike, I'd pick a Shine or Splendour from the used market, or anything with enough resale value, and wait and see how reliable the bike turns out to be, how CNG adoption is around my area, etc.

As Joe367 has pointed out, I too think this bike should be compared to the 100cc segment, despite the asking price. Assuming a 10% lower mileage than the claims on both CNG and petrol, this bike would average about Rs.1.27 per km; for reference, it'd be about Rs.1.7 for a bike that runs 65kmpl. I haven't factored the service costs in, but I think it's safe to say that it'd offset the premium price with lower running costs, in the long run. ABS is the only sore miss, in my opinion.

Here's what BHPian amit_purohit20 had to say about the matter:

I have a Platina 110cc, 5-gear disc brake model. Its super smooth engine is very good to drive till 55kmph. It's also a good vehicle if you drive on highways and do not drive at speeds above 60 kmph max. But the engine lacks low-end torque miserably. My 20-year-old Victor has better drivability with a 4-speed gearbox than Platina. I need to change very few gears in Victor whereas in Platina it's a common practice to drop two gears in traffic situations and still it would take a long amount of time to pick speed as compared to Victor. In short, Platina lacks punch and is not fun to drive at all. It struggles on inclines, speed breakers and while climbing flyovers if on higher gears whereas Victor will do it easily.

If I were you, I would not opt for any 125-cc model other than Shine because in the list it's the only vehicle which is selling in good numbers, read parts availability.

In reliability, Honda and Hero are nearly the same. In fact, Hero has better plastics than Honda. On 3rd number, I would opt for TVS Raider.

Please take a test drive of the vehicles to assess their drivability. In 100 cc I would opt for Splendour.

Bajaj CNG bike should only be opted for when kms/litre matter a lot.

Always opt for disc brake models. By the way, Platina has an excellent disc brake better than my Apache RTR 200 model!

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.