When it comes to obscure motorcycle brands, few are rarer than Portuguese off-road manufacturer AJP Motos.
The company was set up in 1987 by multiple Portuguese enduro champion Antonio Pinto (whose initials give the company its name) and his brother Jorge. The manufacturer has been in business ever since, making small capacity trials and enduro machines, but now, in 2019, is lining up with a new 600cc rally-style adventure bike, called the PR7.
While the £8500 PR7 is unlikely to be commonplace on British roads, it does provide an interesting proposition for riders on the lookout for a proper pumped up desert rally style bike that can be ridden every day. Reminiscent of older ‘dual sport’ bikes like the Honda XL600R and Yamaha’s XT600 Tenere, the PR7 is tall and pretty basic, but has some neat touches to keep the weight down for riders who want to do some serious off-roading, for example the exhaust header pipes are made from titanium, while the battery is a race style Lithium Ion unit.
The 54bhp liquid-cooled motor is based on an old Husqvarna design and is shared with Italian manufacturer SWM for its new Superdual T model. It’s light too, tipping the scales at just 145kg before fuel. The tall (300mm stroke) fully-adjustable suspension (with 48mm Sachs front forks) leads to a high, 920mm, seating position, as you’d expect from a rally machine.
AJP has only recently returned to the UK and has just five dealers at present (the northernmost being in Powys) and at £8500 there are plenty of other options out there. Yamaha’s hotly anticipated new Tenere can be had for similar money, and will likely bring with it more civilised road manners, while a pukka 450 enduro bike from the more established players comes in at a little less.
But for an authentic rally style bike, there’s very little like the AJP PR7 out there, especially for the money. Hardcore adventure bike riders are already starting to show interest in the Portuguese bike, so it will be interesting to see how it fares in the marketplace.
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