Australasian Dirt Bike — January 2018

104 | JANUARY 2018 http://www.adbmag.com.au

livelier.It’snotrip-off-your-hands

lively,butthethrottleresponseis

much better and the engine braking

isn’tasnoticeable.

Outofthesetwobikes,the300isthe

winner.It’sfunandeasytorideand

thepowerisstrong,andthat’swhat

youwantoutofasmaller-bore4T.I

wouldlovetoridethebikeswiththe

Xplorfork,asthatwouldelevatethe

overallfeel,butyou’llhavetospend

somemoredollarsonaFactoryor

Six-Daysifyouwantthepremiumfork.

SO,WHATWILLICHOOSE?

Pickingalong-termerwasnoeasytask.

Allthebikesaregoodandtheyall

havetheirstrengths.Thenew125isa

greatplatformforyoungguyscoming

outofthejuniorranksandwantingto

stepup.The2502Tissosmoothand

easy to ride. The 300SEF-R is crazy

fun, maybe even a little more than the

2502T.ButIthinkforwhatIwantto

do,the300SEF-Rmaybetheone...

Actually,no,Iwantthe450SEF-Ras

my next long-termer. Yep, done deal.

WhileIhavestruggledinthepastwith

afewminorthingsonthisbike,I’ve

neverreallyhadmorethanhalfaday to

getintunewithit.

Iwanttoworkwiththeguysat

Shercotobuilda450thatIam

comfortable with. The 2018 bike is

easily the best version of the 450SEF-R

todate,andIwanttospendmoretime

onit,gettoknowit.Whoknowswhere

this new partnership will go.

Got something to say about this yarn?

[email protected]

More images and info at adbmag.com.au

Actually,no,Iwantthe

450SEF-R as my next long-

termer. Yep, done deal

ENDUROTESTI2018 SHERCO RANGE

Market

Manager

Stephen Tuff

“It is shaping up to be a huge 2018 for

Sherco Australia. There was consistent

retail growth again in 2017 and, with

new dealer appointments in key

locations, we expect the same rate of

growth for the MY18 model.

“The 300 smoker is still the

strongest seller, followed by the 300

four-stroke. However, the two models on

the move in a big way are the 250

banger and the 450. The 250 banger is

surprising a lot of people and selling in

solid numbers because it’s so much

damn fun to ride. If outright horses are

your thing, and you are wanting to go

fast (think Hattah and Finke), then the

300 smoker is the bike for you.

“The 450 is the smiling assassin. It’s

a 450cc machine but takes on the big

open-class bikes with no fuss and holds

its own. I challenge anyone to put the

Sherco 450 up against an open-class

thumper, not just in the bush but in a

straight line (think desert races). I also

challenge anyone to put it head-to-head

with any other 450cc enduro bike.

“The 125 has stolen the show in the

short-term. With the emergence of the

125 Cup (MX) and the possibility of a 125

class in AORC, not to mention the

rejoicing of small-bore smoker fans

everywhere, the Sherco 125 is flavour of

the month. It has literally brought in

double the orders we expected. And it’s

just a lot of fun to howl around on.”

New, lighter exhaust gives the 4T some bark

Braico decided to take the 450 home after dinner

Braico felt faster on the new four-stroke

The smooth power gives good traction