AJP PR3 240 MX Pro - ongoing review

[Deanzo]

Hi Guys,

New here, but not new to forums.
I'm starting this thread as I feel like a bit of a ginny pig with the above bike, as there is so little to nothing in the way of reviews.


I had been shopping around for a dirt bike for my 17 year old daughter to lean on, and come out riding with me.
As she's tall and slim, all the 125 4T's seat heights are just too low, and anything that had a higher seat height,would weigh a tonne, which she would never be able to lift on her own if dropped.

It really needed to have.... 840 ~ 870 seat height, under 95 ~ 100Kg's max wet, kick and electric start, 4 stroke, wont fall to bits after the first ride, look the part, not be a total wet blanket to ride and all at the same time trying to keep the cost down, as it's her first bike thats going to get dropped......alot.


To that end, I purchased the new 2014 AJP PR3 240 MX Pro from Tracktion Motorcycles in Christchurch.

# 840 seat height - Check!
# kick and electric start - Check!
# 4 stroke - Check!
# Looks the part - Check!
# Wont fall to bits - (I'll keep you posted)
# Cost - $5995 Retail New - Ok!
# 89Kg's Dry - EDIT: Not true, see post 15, really 101kgs


(EDIT: 24 Sept 2014 weeks & hours) Had the bike for just over 4 weeks now, total 9 hours.



So Far,


The Good (in no order)

# Starts easy
# Good tyres.
# Looks good.
# Rides nice.
# Air fliter is easy to mount, made by Twin Air (note you have to take the seat off,) EDIT: See Post 4
# Easy power delivery.
# Good torque, the things a little tractor how it can pull almost any gear at any rpm.
# Seems well made, using good parts.
# Manual comes on a disc/PDF, great if you're like me and like to have a copy saved on my phone.


The Bad (in no order)

# Rear brake pedal is so far under the motor it's positively dangerous (picture to follow). EDIT 3 Sept 2014 - FIXED - SEE POST 6
# Kick stand, keeps the bike to up right and springs back, doesn't feel safe at all.
# Manual will only help with the most basic repairs/work.
# Gears take alot to change, neutral is hard to find, not learner friendly. EDIT: Takes a very light touch to find Neutral, my daughter seems to find it easy.
# Fuel cap in the rear of the seat, area fills with dirt and water, PITA when you want to refuel. EDIT SEE POST 11
# No heat shield on the header pipe EDIT 3 Sept 2014 - ONE INSTALLED - COST $40NZ
# Case Saver/Front Sprocket Cover, Traps the dirt/mud in, so much so it can stop it from moving (when pushing the bike by hand).
# Not as lite as they say, in fact it's 12.8kgs more!, see post 15.



Over all I'm happy with it so far, and my daughter likes riding it.



The two main issue I have are,

The brake pedal, the guys at Tracktion Motorcycles will be able to sort that, cutting off the tip and extending it would be the best way, but they could just take it off and bend it out. EDIT 3 Sept 2014 - FIXED - SEE POST 6

And the gears, which may get better as time goes on....may. EDIT: SEE POST 13



I'll update this first post as time goes by with the good and the bad.

[pete376403]

Hard shifting - not the clutch dragging is it?

[Deanzo]

Hard shifting - not the clutch dragging is it?


Hard to say for sure at this point.

Need to look into what clutch is in it, and see what known issues they have had on other bikes.
Was thinking it's just that clutch, or if I was lucky mybe too much oil, or the wrong / bad oil, or maybe just wear in if I was crazy lucky.
Going to run with it for two months (around 18 hours) and see whats up at that point, and talk to the guys at Tracktion if I want something done.


Below is a picture of the Brake Pedal.
The side of your riding boot hits the side of the case, and as the boot rounds off ever such a small amout at the toe, you miss that little bit of the tip you can see 99% off the time.
At the end of the day, I did one lap on the track with my daughters bike, and missed it every time lol

Oh, and I don't have the kicker mounted, keep it in my tool kit to use only if needed.

[Deanzo]

Below is a picture of the bike, the air filter and a mod Tracktions did to add a fuel breather hose under the seat.
As stock, there is a little hole will a ball in it, in the fuel cap, but there has been reports in other models of water getting in, so they blocked that off and added the hose, smart easy fix imo.

[imp999]

Hi, guys
New boy, here.
Just bought a 2009 pr3 200.
So will be very interested in what you find & may pester you about improvements they have made over the 4 years.
(First up is the longer lever on the clutch activator - top of RH engine casing)
I'll also chip in with stuff I find too.

[Deanzo]

Hi, guys
New boy, here.
Just bought a 2009 pr3 200.
So will be very interested in what you find & may pester you about improvements they have made over the 4 years.
(First up is the longer lever on the clutch activator - top of RH engine casing)
I'll also chip in with stuff I find too.

Nice, I was out at a local ride (Dalethorpe) a few weeks back, and was talking to another father daughter combo, the daughter was riding the 200 like yours, she has had it for just on a year. The father told me they have had zero issue with it to date, and she said she liked riding it, which was good to hear.


Took the bike into Tracktion Motorcycles last week to get the brake pedal sorted (picture below) as well as have them add a heat shield to the header pipe. After a drop, my daughter burnt a hole in the top layer of her riding pants picking the bike back up.
The bike doesn't come with one fitted.

I've added two pictures, one after a good day of riding that also show no heat shield, the other "shows" the brake pedal and also the now fitted heat shield.

[imp999]

My first outing on mine, yesterday. Came back slightly less dirty than yours in your pics. Really enjoyed it.
Mine has a very similar re-worked breather but mine comes out under the rear fender. Could really do with a one-way valve in it. Peedout petrol when I tried to fill to the brim.
Had a charging problem that turned out to be a poor earth - battery to frame.
I like the exhaust guard - was it AJP specific or generic?
I also need a bash plate - Current models get a nice moulded wrap-arround job.
Can't comment on the back brake pedal as I couldn't reach it! One of today's jobs.
My kick stand is very poor. Kept coming down when I hit the bumps. I had to use the previous owners bit of bungi to loop over it to keep it up.
If you have the camera out again at some point, could you take a picture of the top of the stand,pivot & springs? Thanks.

[nzspokes]

My kick stand is very poor. Kept coming down when I hit the bumps. I had to use the previous owners bit of bungi to loop over it to keep it up.
If you have the camera out again at some point, could you take a picture of the top of the stand,pivot & springs? Thanks.

Common problem on a lot of side stands on trail bikes. I fixed mine by taking it off and going to the shed with it. And left it there. No more noise.

[Deanzo]

My first outing on mine, yesterday. Came back slightly less dirty than yours in your pics. Really enjoyed it.
Mine has a very similar re-worked breather but mine comes out under the rear fender. Could really do with a one-way valve in it. Peedout petrol when I tried to fill to the brim.
Had a charging problem that turned out to be a poor earth - battery to frame.
I like the exhaust guard - was it AJP specific or generic?
I also need a bash plate - Current models get a nice moulded wrap-arround job.
Can't comment on the back brake pedal as I couldn't reach it! One of today's jobs.
My kick stand is very poor. Kept coming down when I hit the bumps. I had to use the previous owners bit of bungi to loop over it to keep it up.
If you have the camera out again at some point, could you take a picture of the top of the stand,pivot & springs? Thanks.


Yea, if I fill mine to high (fuel) it comes out the mod :(

Think it's off a Honda 250R,

My kickstand always stays up, my issue is keeping it down.
At some point, I'll cut 10~20mm out of it, so the bike doesn't stand so upright. Or change the way it mounts so it leans over more.

Sure, if one of these 3 pictures doesn't show what you're looking for, let me know.

[imp999]

Not sure whose is right or wrong but that little plate that the spings attach to does not fit nicely onto the peg sticking out of the head of the stand bolt on mine.
I notice that the plate IS shaped to interact with the peg but it might be worth trying it in a few different orientations.
That is what I will do with mine too, but I have the added problem of one spring being stretched.
Of course, it might be a"Safety feature" that you can't ride off with the stand down. Perhaps a bit of adjustment with a file on the "Stop" that dictates how far forward the stand can come is in order. A small discrepancy at the factory, over the length of the stand, would make quite a difference.

Good luck

Mark.

[Deanzo]

27 years of making dirt bikes, and in that time, no one has had the balls to tell the boss that putting the fuel cap at the bottom of a hole in the rear of the seat is a REALLY bad idea!

If Mr AJP ever see's this, it's a dirt bike, what do you think is going to happen!


I really despise how they have done this, the track yeasterday was very wet, but as everyone else was having lunch and spent say two mins putting more gas in their bikes, I pissed around the whole time cleaning this mess out/up so when I took the fuel cap out from the bottom of the hole (which you can't really see as it's soo full of mud/dirt) I wouldn't get dirt in the tank!

Also, not sure if the rear fender does anything lol

[imp999]

Did my first long distance trial on Sunday.
Bike performed really well.
Had to fit trials tyres & really liked them. Very dry conditions though so not suffering the petrol filler grief you had.
Looks like a plug for the seat hole(Eh?) is in order.
Does look like someone has shortened the peg, on mine, on the side stand bolt so the spring plate misses it. The spring goes over-centre and so the stand stays down or stays up.

[Deanzo]

Did my first long distance trial on Sunday.
Bike performed really well.
Had to fit trials tyres & really liked them. Very dry conditions though so not suffering the petrol filler grief you had.
Looks like a plug for the seat hole(Eh?) is in order.
Does look like someone has shortened the peg, on mine, on the side stand bolt so the spring plate misses it. The spring goes over-centre and so the stand stays down or stays up.

Nice, which trials tyres did you put on ?

Yea, going to make something up over the next two weeks, to cut down the clean up time before being able to refuel.

Mmm, do you think new pegs/mounting would fix your issue ?



Added a few "Edits" in the first post, for updates, and pointing to the number of the post where the info and or pictures could/would be.


On the gear change, I posted...
"Gears take alot to change, neutral is hard to find, not learner friendly."
As it turns out, it needs a VERY light touch to find Neutral, my daughter seems to find it easy, I seem to only look at it and I'm into 2nd lol
But shes happy, so really thats all that matters to me.

[Deanzo]

Oil Change


No where in the manual does it show (picture) or tell you where the drain bolt is.
And there are zero drain bolt looking things on the bottom of the motor.

Its the big ass looking bolt on the left side infront of the gear shifter, in line with the tip of the gear shifter.

Behind that bolt, other than 1.1 litres of oil, you'll find a spring, non-changeable oil filter and O ring.
Manual says to clean parts with compressed air if needed.

When done, tighten that bolt back up to 15Nm, and fill it up with 1.1 litres.
This is the same for both the 200 and 240



Case Saver/Front Sprocket Cover

This really traps the mud/dirt in there.
It can get so full, you can't push the bike around by hand.
It's also very hard to clean out in a rush, It's soo big and where it is, you can't really get anything in the opening to clear it with out a bit of pissing around.
To take the cover off is also a pain, the bottom bolt is behind the gear shifter and in past the bottom frame.
You need to take the shifter off, or take your time with a spanner and turn it little by little with out doing damage to the head of the bolt.

[Deanzo]

Dry Weight

They say it's 89Kgs


I haven't had time to drain the oil and fuel, but I did just pop it on two digital scales (one under each wheel at the same time)

The bike has in it
1.1 litres of oil (1.1 X .87kgs = 0.957kgs)
3 litres of fuel (3 X .7kgs = 2.1kgs)
Or a little over 3Kgs to be taken off the total

Front was 50.3kgs
Rear was 52.8kgs
taking into account oil and fuel

The bike is really around the 100Kg mark dry, give or take.

Even if I'm out a little with how much gas is in it (no more than a litre at best, looks a little under half and it's a 7 litre tank) or if the fuel was a little more than .7kgs a litre, there is no way that's going to make up more than 1kg.

It's the best part of 10Kgs over what they are selling it as, think there are laws here about such things.....


EDIT 23/9/2014

Drained both oil and fuel

Front = 49.8kgs
Rear = 51.0kgs

Total = 101.8 Dry!


That's 12.8Kgs more than the listed weight

[Deanzo]

Had time to drain both the oil and fuel, and have updated the post above.
Ended up being 12.8kgs over what they list.
I've also added their flyer below,
On that note, and what I've found, I wouldn't trust the spec's listed on the PR3 240 MX Pro, PR4 240 Enduro Pro, PR4 240 Extreme, PR5 250 Extreme and PR5 250 Enduro.

Also added pictures in post 14 of the oil screen, spring and o-ring.
Will also find out if they (Tracktion's) put oil in it, or did it come with it pre instailled.
As there were bits of what looked like old slimy oil that was almost rubber, you can see a bit of it stuck to the end of the oil screen.
For a brand new 2014 bike, this is a bit off imo

[wilbur12]

Just wondering are you happy with the bike and the service from the bike shop you brought it off, or do you think a crf 230 would of been a better buy

[Deanzo]

Just wondering are you happy with the bike and the service from the bike shop you brought it off, or do you think a crf 230 would of been a better buy


Hey,


Yes to both,


The bike runs great, over all seems well made, as my daughter is just learning, it's been dropped .......... Mmmm alot......
But your'd never know to look at it, she picks it up, hit the start button and away she goes.
Over all very easy to maintain, though the air filter is very open under the plastics/seat, so it gets drity fast, this is of no issue to me, as I'm clening filters and skins every week anyhow, so one more whenever my daughter rides is nothing.

This is the 2nd bike I've purchased off Rob at Tracktions, he's a nice guy, anything I haven't been 100% happy with, he's done everything he can to sort it, so you can't ask for much more than that.


Well thats hard to say, the 230F is a great tractor, super easy to maintain with all kinds of aftermarket parts.
But she not lite, it's another 10Kgs ontop of what the AJP "really" is.
If I was buying for me and I wanted something to putt putt around on, to follow the kids, or the farm, then I'd buy the 230F, the things part tank part tractor lol
If you are learning, or you are buying for someone that is, and you want as lite as you can, with still being a 4T, electric start etc etc(see first post), then the AJP fits the bill.
I'd also take the 10Kgs savings if I wanted to use it for trail rides, I was out at the Waipara ride yesterday, saw a few AJP's out there, even stayed behind and followed a guy on one for a bit to see how it went, he seemed to make lite work of the trail.

[wilbur12]

Cheers for that I have just purchased one off Rob he was very helpful with his information on the AJP and will do all the mods to it that need to be done. All the sites i have visited on here no one has any really bad thing to say about them which speaks volumes I think. I have just sold my ttr230 to buy this so I will be very interested to compare them so will let you know my thoughts, thanks for your blog I found it very informative

[Deanzo]

Nice!

Look forward to hearing about it.


As you are buying from up here, do you come up here often, if so, are you going to do any of the trail rides coming up ?


Oh, I posted about the oil.
Rod told me it came shipped with it in it.
Yours may be ok, I wouldn't risk it, change it out, or get Rob to do it, mine had "oil slime bits" in it.
I also posted a picture of a bit of oil slime stuck to the filter, change/clean and put something good in it.

[Deanzo]

The bike is just about to turn over 30 hours,

Other than the shifter has a small bend in it (easy to fix, just haven't done it) nothing as broken off or given me any issues.

This is even with the wife in the mix and starting to learn on it as well, lost count how many times the bike has been dropped, but looking at it you'd never know, they just pick the bike back up and it always just fires back up!
So far, turning out to be a very good buy.

[imp999]

Someone was asking about my Trials Tyres.
Ive got a 17" on the back so was a bit restricted in choice(PR3). I went for a Vee-Rubber radial 35 - 17.
On the front I have a 21" & went for a Pirelli MT34 2.75/ -21 45P.
They coped well in the winter filth I was out in Yesterday, I thought, but I have little to compare them against.

I have a mod or three for you.
Front brake lever. It has an adjuster with lock nut on but if you adjust the lever so it is nice & close to the bar then there is nothing to hold it there so it can move away from the bar allowing the rubber boot & push rod to be able to fall out.
I fitted a brake switch off an MZ ETZ (M6) with a long thread & lock nut so I can adjust this to be the "Stop".

A lot more "bodge" is my rubber band round the slack set clutch lever. same nice close lever, though.

I have the clear plastic top off a cotton bud container pushed into the seat hole to stop shit getting near the filler.

Mine's a 2009 bike so may or may not be relevant to the new stuff.

Mark

[EnduroRider]

G'day, I'm 13 (nearly 14), and I'm looking at the AJP PR3 200 or 240 as a next bike. I'm keen on racing enduro and cross country. Would these be good bikes?

[Krispii2734]

Hi how do i view the photos?? It wont let me? New to this just made an account

[SpankMe]

Hi how do i view the photos?? It wont let me? New to this just made an account

Try again.

[FlangMasterJ]

Hi how do i view the photos?? It wont let me? New to this just made an account

Left click. Middle click. Right click, open new tab. How long have you been computing?

[markseb]

[QUOTE=Deanzo;1130763873]





The Bad (in no order)

# Gears take alot to change, neutral is hard to find, not learner friendly. EDIT: Takes a very light touch to find Neutral, my daughter seems to find it easy.


Hi mate, not sure if your still around, but did the gear changes ever get better?? I have just purchased the same bike/year for my son, and I struggled to change the gears up (granted I was in jandals for quick test ride). I would be interested to hear how that went. There seems something wrong if its so hard to change when running, but not hard when its off.

Thanks, Mark

[aiki_mark]

Hi guys,

I have been looking at this forum, since I saw one of these bikes on offer. I have a lot of questions. I am a landscape photographer and spend time walking the tracks of NZ, though I am in recovery from double surgery right now and spend too much time online considering my options. Anyway ...

I saw the 2015 AJP PR3 240 MX PRO and wondered if it could be adapted to lightweight adventure touring ... you know, the old myth.
Questions:
1) does this bike require a non standard 5000-10000km service regime?
2) is the gearing ok for slow back road riding?
3) I am short and therefore even the 840mm seat height is likely a challenge - note my anticipated use is for get to out of the way places and full on off road riding. I might have to consider lowering, does anyone have any advice on that?
4) normal bike stuff: what sought of kms can this bike do before work is required?; how does it ride (ergonomics, gear changes, ... quirks)? Any known issues? How available are parts?

Thanks guys. Other than the above please let me know if you think of anything relevant, that may help.