Sherco's 2008 trials range
By TMX Archives on 2nd Nov 07
SHERCO has an interesting and wide-ranging streamlined line-up of models for 2008. The two-strokes comprise 125, 250 and 290 versions, complemented by the uprated 320 4T - which can actually and interestingly be compared to the 290 stroker.
As an interesting comparison, Spanish rivals Gas Gas offer an almost bewildering array of two-strokes. Take out the baby in the Gasser in the range and it is a genuinely difficult choice between the 200/ 250/ 290/ 300 models. Test ride them all and you will find positives for each one but will you be any nearer making a choice?
With Sherco, the choice is virtually made for you. The 125 is, of course, aimed right at the heart of the Youth market and has a large, strong and loyal following. The 250, seriously uprated for the British market last year, is now the obvious mass-market choice as it is now such a lovely all-round performer, while the 290 is a much more powerful option that will choose itself for those with a power fetish and for those who live in an area where big hills or mega mud-plugs predominate. It has more than enough go for anyone.
Sherco has had no need to make major changes for 2008 , just tweaks here and there to keep them at the forefront of both fashion and technology.
The trendy black frame, pioneered by Sherco, remains and is now complimented by all-new colours and graphics: blue for the two-strokes and red to pick-out the four-stroke. Make-up your own mind but, in ours, the 2008 Sherco looks great in the showroom.
Front forks now sport the Ceriani name, a famous make defunct for many years, but rest assured, this is just Paioli making use of the historic brand name, which they own, on their latest trials version. Good to see Ceriani back though.
Still at the front, a new FIM-approved disc guard does its protective stuff while at the back, a beautiful new aluminium prop-stand really does look like it was designed for the job, not just stuck on as an afterthought.
Bang slap in the middle, especially for those of you who just love to fiddle, is a new two-stage electronic ignition system that offers two different ignition maps (again like the Gas Gas - it is obviously this season's plaything!) with a handlebar switch for you to switch at will. This is aimed at offering a 'soft' and a 'performance' setting - and more of that later in Woody's report.
Basically that is it for the strokers, most people are aware that the Sherco sports a perimeter-stile chrome-moly steel chassis that houses Sherco's own reed-valve, water-cooled, five speed motor with hydraulically controlled clutch. A supremely stylish aluminium swinging arm controls the rear wheel, via a linkage and Olle fully adjustable shock absorber. AJP do their excellent thing in the braking department.
Over to WOODY HOLE for his impressions following his test rides at a misty Back Cowm Quarry, Rochdale...
FIRST impressions count and my first thoughts were that the new colours and graphics look really good, they grab your attention and make you look forward to riding them. And, taking first things first, I decided to employ my usual tactic of starting with the smallest and working up - even though I wanted to get that four-stroke cracked-up!
125
WHILST being a perfectly capable 125, and there are a lot about with totally happy customers, I have always thought that, at the end of each season's testing, that the Gas Gas has always just shaded its rivals in terms of outright performance.
This year it is a whole lot closer. Malcolm (Rathmell) told me before I set out that the factory had done a bit of work on the motor and the difference was instantly noticeable. Straight off, it is definitely more lively, like it is running less flywheel, although it isn't, there is just more performance from the motor. And it is definitely better at the top end. Where the Gasser has always revved-on forever, the Sherco has always gone a bit flat at the top. Not this year though!
However, there is a slight trade-off. The overall jump in performance is paid for by the loss of some bottom-end. And I mean right at the very bottom, once you get off the lower eighth of throttle you are away. To be fair, younger riders tend not to ride much on the throttle anyway. Go to a Youth British Champion-ship round and nine out of ten riders just rev 'em up and slip the clutch. Most would happily sacrifice bottom-end for revs and power any day.
I have to be honest now and confess to starting my day with a big crash! I tried to dab in a hole amongst rocks and the 125 ended-up upside down. It suffered no damage luckily, apart from minor scratches, and I scratched a brand new helmet I was given for the test. Sorry Rhoda!
Once I got over the pain and embarrassment and got riding, I found it a big improvement. The engine ran really crisp and clean. Last year I said that the carburation felt like it was loading-up, this year it is bang on.
Overall balance and steering feels good and like all 125s it feels really light. First, second and third gears felt very close together and offered genuine options.
The clutch was really light in operation and the suspension, brakes etc is all tried and trusted gear that does its stuff.
All in all, it is fun to ride and the most improved model of the bunch.
250
AFTER years of complaining about the 250 to Malcolm, who in turn annually passed on our gripes (the motor was 'too quick' at the bottom) back to the factory, they finally responded last year and came up with a spec of tune that totally transformed the performance. Gone was the aggressive bottom-end that made it so hard to find grip and in its place was a super-smooth power output that made the bike a delight to ride.
We had clearly been right all along as last year the 250 Sherco was easily the top-selling model for Malcolm and Rhoda. The 250 was brand-new out of the box and we were running it in during the test!
So, with the exceptions of the standard spec changes for '08 (printed on these pages) the 250 continues with last season's tuning spec, with the addition of the two-map ignition system.
After quite some time experimenting with this I can say that it does make a noticeable difference, de-pending on what sections you are riding. Personally, I preferred the ignition on the '1' setting which is the 'fast' one. The motor ran beautifully on this with controllable power right through the range and a really impressive top-end.
On the '2' setting the top end flattens off. This can be an advantage in certain situations and to be honest, unless you are using all the engine's performance you probably wouldn't notice a difference, but when I was tackling some pretty fierce third-gear steep climbs, on the slow setting, the power dropped-off at the top of the hill. On setting '1' it just flew out. Individual riders will soon find a preference, depending on what sort of sections you ride.
As last year, it is THE bike of the range, easy and forgiving to ride with plenty of performance. Like all the Shercos the riding position is good from the crate, front/ rear balance bang-on and it turns without thinking. Suspension handled everything we tried with ease and if you do find it hard or soft, depending on your weight or riding style, it is fully adjustable front and rear.
FOR a change I want to try and cover these two models together. This is because I reckon that the 290 rider is the potential four-stroke convert.
In a nutshell, the 290 two-stroke continues just as before. It does exactly the same as the 250 but with seriously more urge. On full poke it takes some hanging on to but is excellent at what it does!
Sherco's four-stroke, meanwhile, is not a sewing-machine type buzzy four-stroke trying hard to be a two-stroke. It is a full-on traditional-style stonking 'proper' four-stroke - and I have to say I loved it!
We know that when Sherco first introduced the four-stroke, too soon as it turned out, it had its problems. These I am pretty sure have now been ironed out. They weren't anything major, just a host of small, technical points that had to be sorted.
For instance, during the test, it fired-up first time every time for me, hot or cold. And I stopped and started it loads of times as I switched between it and the 290. Malcolm told us that Sherco's ace tuner, Josep Paxau, has simply spent many, many hours working on details. Carburation, ignition timing, valve-timing are all now pin-point accurate. And the engines are now built individually, with just two people entrusted with this work. This is to ensure the total accuracy which is essential for the bike to run perfectly.
I have to say that personally, I simply found the four-stroke easier to ride than the big stroker. It ran perfectly and I could trust the motor, let it drop right down the rev range until it was chuffing yet still feed the power in smoothly. Overall, the bike does feel heavier than the two-stroke, not because of the extra weight, which is around three kilos over the two-strokes, but because that weight is in the cylinder head and high-up in the bike. It is not a problem and the basic balance and feel of the four-stroke is just the same as the two-strokes.
It is exciting to ride, I got a real buzz out of the four-stroke. It just destroyed the big hills that we played with - third gear, gone! And despite being a real thumping four-stroke it really revs at the top-end, with a relatively quiet exhaust note as well.
Having raved about the 4T, not everyone will feel the same and I have to say that there is nothing at all wrong with the big two-stroke, it is as competitive as ever, I guess I have just turned into four-stroke man!
Sherco trials overall? Great range, easy choices!
TWO-STROKE UPDATES 2008
New Ceriani front suspension.
*Shock absorber with new bump-stop.
*New settings in the rear shock absorber.
*New electronic ignition with two settings - rider selectable.
*New design aluminum side-stand.
*New front brake disc guard.
*New graphics design in white, blue, red, grey and black.
Specification: