Bajaj Auto invited us to review the Bajaj CT 125X commuter which also happens to be one of the most affordable motorcycles available in the market
Story: Azaman Chothia
Photography: Apurva Ambep
The first-ever CT 100 was a model launched by Bajaj in 2004 to replace the Boxer. It has been one of those models that have stayed in their line-up for the longest period of time and they have now decided to expand the CT range with the introduction of this new CT 125X.
The design of this motorcycle is identical to that of the CT 110X which appears to be a mix between a moped and a commuter bike and it will be appreciated by the common man who requires a rugged daily commuter. The bike sports a round halogen headlight at the front with a LED strip right on top of it. Sitting behind it is a 11-litre fuel-tank and a single-piece flat seat. The bike rides on 17-inch wheels and the rugged elements come in the form of large crash guards and a metal belly pan. Keeping the cost in check, the mud guards at the front and the rear are plastic units. Overall, the quality is decent and much like something you would expect on a product that has been built to a cost. The bike uses an analogue speedometer with very basic information and also gets a USB charger.
As I swung a leg over, the first thing I liked was the padding of the seat which makes the bike quite comfortable. With the wide and raised handlebar and the forward-set foot-pegs, the rider is placed upright in a position that feels natural for city cruising. With a ground clearance of 170 millimetres, there is adequate clearance for anything thrown at it and the seat height of 810 mm will accommodate short riders as well.
This bike is powered by a 124.4-cc, air-cooled, single-cylinder, SOHC, DTSi motor that puts out 10.9 hp at 8,000 rpm and a peak torque of 11 Nm at 5,500 rpm. Bajaj also claims that 90 per cent of this peak torque is available from as low as 3,500 rpm. This engine is mated to a five-speed gearbox where the shift pattern is all-down. The motor feels a little gruff as you fire up the bike. The clutch action was light but the gear shifts were a bit of a problem on the unit that I was handed as the lever kept getting stuck which didn’t allow slick shifts until it returned to its proper position. In the low-range rpm, the bike is happy to cruise around town and this motor is also extremely tractable where the bike is able to do around 35 km/h in fifth gear.
With the little stretch of the highway that I encountered, I was able to get to an indicated speed of 100 km/h and the bike felt very stable even at that speed. There are a few vibrations at the ‘pegs and the handlebar when you try to push the limits of the engine by revving it to the high-rpm range. However, since this is not a motorcycle from which the target audience will expect performance, one can say that it gets the job done in a simple way.
Telescopic forks handle suspension duties at the front with 125 millimeters of travel and the rear makes use of twin SNS shocks with 100 mm of travel. Braking duties on this top variant are taken care of by a 240-mm disc at the front and a 130-mm drum brake set-up at the rear with CBS. The suspension is able to take on most of our road conditions with ease and the brakes are adequate to get this 11-hp motorcycle to a halt. The wheels are wrapped in TVS Eurogrip rubber which provided me good grip even under hard braking.
The price of the CT 125X starts at Rs 71,354 for the drum brake variant and goes up to Rs 74,554 for the disc brake variant that we had for this review. The base variant sports a 130-mm drum brake at the front and the only thing that slightly changes with this is the weight of the motorcycle. At this price, this motorcycle becomes one of the cheapest 125-cc offerings in the country. In the city, it proves to be a rugged bike for all-day commuting on account of the comfort and usability that it offers.
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