Dirt bikes have definitely been on the back burner over the last month with the arrival of my little boy Harley. I mentioned that my wife Ash, and I have welcomed him into the world in the last long termer blurb and man, it’s been a wild ride. I thought I was strapped for time to ride the Sherco 300 SEF Factory long term test bike before and was always tired from working too much but now, I’ve discovered the true meaning of tired and who do think is suffering the most? The poor Sherco 300 SEF Factory has been left to collect dust for a few weeks and I am not a fan of it at all.
I think it was around seven or eight weeks all up that the Sherco has been parked up. So with that in mind, I renewed my MA licence, made sure I got a full night’s sleep and set my sights on racing an OBMCC club sprint scheduled for mid-July. I had grand plans of getting some fresh tyres on the bike as well as attempting to get some kind of fitness work in before the event but of course, my little man Harley had other plans for my time. Yay for new parenting huh! So, with that in mind, I loaded the beast into the van and set off to go racing again.
I was pumped to be on the road to the races again. The event was at the super sweet Goulburn MX complex, and man, were we lucky with the weather. Recent rain had left the property in prime condition, and we were greeted with a brand new, 100% virgin nine minute sprint loop.
I was pleasantly surprised with how good I felt on the bike during the parade lap and thought to myself that I hadn’t missed much being off the bike for so long. Boy was I wrong about that. It’s wild to see how much your fitness drops and how dull your reflexes are when you don’t ride.
I know I’m getting old but damn, I was all over the shop. So much so, that on the first race lap, I started off really well but about a minute in, I had one of the strangest crashes I’ve had in years. I tucked the front going up a hill and then seemingly front flipped down the hill and went over the bars and sailed my way all the way to the bottom. As a result, I tweaked my right hand and arm and lost a bunch of time.
As bad as my first lap of the day went, I still had a ball for the rest of the day. The Sherco 300 was right at home on the technical track, and it made easy work of the many off cambered ruts and mud bogs that littered the paddocks. I was really happy with the KYB suspension as the day went on and as the track deteriorated. I never really got any arm pump, and I just had a lot of fun on my dirt bike.
I posted a few decent times but the damage from the crash in the first lap was enough for me to not factor into the win for the day. But that’s alright, I think I did OK for a new dad who was running on four hours sleep! Shoutout to my wife Ash for letting me get away for the day, you’re the best babe!
Geoff Braico
PRICE & CONTACTS
RRP $15,249
BROWSER Sherco.com.au
BLOWER (03) 8363 1600
Warranty 6 months
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