This is the European motorcycle brand you probably never heard of

Portugal. To many Malaysians, the country is probably best known for several things like a certain famous footballer, not to mention its reign over Malacca in the good old days of colonialism.

That aside, it’s clear that a motorcycle brand, specifically one that specialises itself in making off-road ones, isn’t what comes to mind for many here. Well, that’s exactly what AJP Motorcycles (or AJP Motos) is

AJP stands for Antonio J. Pinto, who founded the brand in 1987. Pinto himself is a renowned off-road motorcycle racer who set out to create his very own machines, thus the brand’s specialisation in building motocross, supermoto and enduro bikes.

Today, AJP Motos produces four main model lines, those being the PR3, PR4, PR5 and PR7. All are manufactured and built by AJP at its headquarters located in Penafiel, Portugal, thus making this a proper European brand indeed.

Despite being active in the motorcycling scene for more than three decades with great success, the AJP Motos brand isn’t as commercially well known as some of its bigger rivals. This is unsurprising given its medium-scale production and specialised nature.

Well, we reckon it won’t be long before the brand becomes renowned amongst local off-road riding enthusiasts following its recent debut over the weekend where local brand custodians AJP SEA Sdn Bhd introduced two if its core models, those being the PR5 series and the PR7.

Starting with the PR5, it can be had in either Enduro, Extreme or Supermoto forms. At the heart of things is a thumpy liquid-cooled 250cc SOHC single-cylinder mill encased in a lightweight composite aluminium steel chassis frame structure.

Notable features for the PR5 series include an electric starter, ZF Sachs fully adjustable front forks and rear shock, as well as single-disc brakes front and aft. Depending on which trim you opt for, the PR5 weighs anywhere between 118kg and 123kg (with fuel) whilst seat height varies between 890mm and 940mm.

AJP Motos - PR5 (Enduro, Extreme & Supermoto)

AJP SEA Sdn Bhd is pitching the AJP PR5 as the perfect starter machine for those who are new to motocross and enduro riding. Prices aren’t confirmed yet, but AJP SEA Sdn Bhd have announced tentative price tag ranging between RM23,000 and RM35,000 – depending on variant of course.

For the serious off-road rider, fret not as AJP SEA Sdn Bhd also debuted the AJP PR7 purpose-built trail machine alongside the PR5.

This one harnesses a much larger and more powerful liquid-cooled 600cc DOHC single cylinder heart, and underpins the brand’s distinctive composite aluminium steel chassis frame design too. Notably, the PR7 rides on fully adjustable ZF Sachs suspension front and aft, which are matched with off-road-biased 21-inch front and 18-inch spoked wheels setup.

Besides that, it also has disc brakes front and aft, an electric starter, a 17-litre fuel tank, not forgetting a neat and rich digital instrument display panel too.

Again, prices aren’t confirmed yet, but AJP SEA Sdn Bhd have set a tentative price tag between RM55,000 to RM60,000 for the much larger and purpose-built AJP PR7 offering.

You can find out more by visiting AJP SEA Sdn Bhd at its dedicated sales and service centre located in the Hicom-Glenmarie Industrial Park, Shah Alam.

Alternatively, you can also visit the official AJP Malaysia Facebook page, the @ajpmotosmsia Instagram page, as well as it’s official website, ajpmotos.com.my.