AJP PR7 2018 Review
Updated: Nov 3, 2018
It was three years ago, all the way back in season 2 that I tested the AJP pr4 and PR5 Rally. Even then there were rumours of a 600 plus cc adventure bike so it's taken a while. But AJP took a leaf out of the PR5 Rally's manual and built us a an adventure bike that oozes rally juices.
But first things first. The engine size. This is a little confusing. You might be inclined to think from the PR '7' it’s a 700 cc bike. Or from the little yellow 650 sticker above the exhaust that it's a 650 cc bike. Ah no. It's a 600 based on the SWM 600 engine. Not that it matters even a little a bit. But it's still confusing.
SO… AJP says the PR7 ' IS IN A CLASS OF ITS OWN AND REDEFINES THE ADVENTURE BIKE CONCEPT'. I'm sure we've heard those words before from many places but the PR& is certainly in a little niche all of its own. Firstly, it looks like a rally bike. Out of the box. You've got the tall rally screen, high handle bars, fully adjustable suspension and decent ground clearance.. And it's skinny, but in the right way. The moment you took a look from the front or back and admire it's slimline waist, you know this is more fell runner than strongman. It has almost got a stripped back look to it - not in a bad way - you just know that it's only got exactly what it needs to do the job well with absolutely no need for any fuss and bother. The frame has been designed to minimise weight and maximise strength - it’s a hybrid, steel and aluminum, twin-spar assembly lighter and tighter!. The oil reservoir is integrated with the steering head which means there's no need for the weight of anything external. The swingarm is aluminum and yoke-style which helps keep unsprung weight low at the rear axle. This particular fell runner is also very tech because it comes with
a samsung tablet as standard - ready to accept your turn by turn rally book instructions or guide you using google maps. Or whatever navigation app takes your fancy. On the other hand, they've kept it light in terms of techy rider aids - no traction control or rider modes. And you know what - I didn't miss them and I was able to ride this bike every bit as well as the latest wizardy models. All this means that when AJP say the PR& adventure is in a class of it's own, they're not far wrong.
I like that the fuel tank is not a great big stereotypical adventure lump between your legs. It's under the seat keeping the centre of gravity as low as possible. There's another hotly anticipated adventure bike that doing something similar- moving that heavy fluid as low as possible. It just makes sense.
As we were only testing the bike off road, I couldn't comment with any great authority about it's ability on tarmac. But if it's at ease doing 70 on the trails, it's going to be fine on the roads. As long as your arse is made of memory foam. That seat is definitely built for off road where you';ll spend plenty of time not sitting on it. It's skinny, like the bike and you'd be hurting after a few hours I'm sure. But I don't think that anyone that wants a PR7 adventure will give a flying monkey - they'll be buying it because it's an out of the box, rally oriented adventure dual sport machine that is amazingly capable off road.