AJS Regal Raptor 250

If you’re looking for a user-friendly cruiser, which can commute, work well in town and costs under two grand, then your choices are limited. Even some 125cc cruisers can cost over three grand.

But the Regal Raptor 250 does 75mph, 70mpg and costs £1995 on the road. Suddenly, hanging around for the bus doesn’t seem so appealing. Alastair Walker tested the Raptor 250.

What is a Regal Raptor 250?

In a nutshell, this is a surprisingly well engineered, Chinese manufactured commuter/cruiser or first timers bike. It looks and feels remarkably similar to a 1990s Honda 250 Rebel, except that it costs just two grand on the road. Yes, that’s right; £1995, OTR.

You might expect that at that money, it isn’t made too well, with corners cut in overall build quality and cheap parts being used. Well, it’s no Valkyrie Rune, but the overall finish and ride quality of the Regal 250 does stack up well against bikes like the Virago 250, the CBF250 Honda or other budget cruisers like the Kymco Venox 250.

The paint and chrome looks durable, the suspension works well and the front disc is decent enough for the 75mph performance. Very comfy seat too, with just enough room for occasional pillion passenger duties. On the downside, the rear drum brake felt spongy and the wheels look a bit odd, whilst I could happily live without the audible warning indicators.

But apart from those few minor irritations, the Regal does have fairly handsome looks and is very good when it comes to the business of threading your way through town traffic with the minimum of fuss. In fact, everything feels lightweight, well balanced and set low, making it a perfect novice bike.

The bike steers positively and apart from a slight mushiness at the rear end, you cannot tell you are riding a budget priced cruiser, as opposed to a Japanese 250cc machine, costing over £1000 more. It is also an extremely quiet motorcycle and you wouldn’t upset your neighbours heading to work at 6 am on the Raptor 250.

The gearbox impressed me greatly, feeling vastly superior to the transmission on the Raptor 100 I tested a few months back. Overall, the bike performed well, but it did feel a tad over-geared, which made 65mph cruising feel relaxed, but it didn’t have loads of urge to outdrag cars from the lights in town. But what would most 250 cruiser buyers want; rapid acceleration, or vibe-free, relaxed cruising with good fuel consumption? I reckon it’s probably the latter.

This isn’t as fast, or as nimble a bike as say the Kymco Venox, which I reckon is the best all round 250cc sized cruiser bike on the market at the moment. But the Regal Raptor 250 shows how far the Chinese have come in a few years in terms of build quality, performance and attention to detail. It’s a genuinely capable small motorcycle which looks good and rides well.

For the money, there’s very little around which can offer the same level of performance and comfort. So if you really like the cruiser styling, or you’re especially short in the leg and need a bike with a low seat height, you’ll find it hard to beat the Raptor 250.

Test bike supplied by ; AJS motorcycles, UK. www.ajsmotorcycles.co.uk

Get AJS motorbike insurance for the ajs regal raptor 250.

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