I don’t think my 300 SE Factory long term test bike has seen fourth gear for at least three months. All the riding I’ve been doing is hard, snotty shit and if I’m not in first gear, I’m in second. There’s a stretch of single track to get into my regular snotty track that goes for about one kilometre that allows me to get into third gear but apart from that, fourth, fifth and sixth gears would look almost new.
Everyone I ride with is blown away by how strong the Sherco motor is off the bottom at such slow speeds. I always used to think the Beta RR300 was better at groveling but having ridden with Beta riders for the last few months I reckon the 300 SE Factory long term test bike is even stronger. It’s incredible. In fact, I’m actually surprised Manuel Lettenbichler is leading the World Hard Enduro Championship and not riding a Sherco it’s that good at this stuff. But I reckon when you get to their level, it doesn’t matter what machine you’re on, for the top 10, it all comes down to that last per cent of ability.
The groveling is helped by the Dunlop AT81EX rear and the Nitro Plushie Mousse I run. The Nitro mousse has the feeling of 6-8 PSI and lets the trye flatten out to get more traction. They’re not as cheap as heavy duty tubes but the traction it allows the tyre to get is insane. I know other riders in our group are using different kinds of tubes that also allow you to run incredibly low pressures but I know the Nitro feel and it works so well for me so I’m sticking with it.
They tyres are also partly responsible for the low-end crawling. The Dunlop AT81EX gummy tyres are so good at getting traction and even though they’re starting to wear out pretty bad now, they’re still better than any motocross tyre. They’re incredible at finding traction on sandstone or any rocky surface but they do have one downfall.
I also recently setup another hard enduro loop on my farm. It had been pissing rain for a few days and the top soil had turned to mud. I dropped into one creek and when I tried to get out my rear wheel just started spinning, the gummy had filled up with mud and I was going nowhere. Unfortunately, ADB’s Digital Editor Bernie den Hertog was right behind me and got his camera out for some entertainment. It is honestly cheating with the AT81EX on the rear and while pretty expensive, the traction is hard to top, just not in the slop!
Mitch Lees
