Long Term Test Bike | SHERCO 300 SEF FACTORY
I’m getting back onto the SHERCO 300 with a little extra knowledge this time. I was a tester in the 300cc-400cc four-stroke comparo that featured in the previous issue and that gave me a great opportunity to see where the Sherco sits in the mid-cap pecking order. The most obvious thing to me was the Sherco’s racey feel, especially compared with the competition.
While it was the lowest-capacity bike there, it felt the fastest, or at least the most racey. I think Sherco know they are down on horsepower compared with other bikes with more cubes in the mid-cap class so they deliberately made the 300SEF Factory a little more throttle sensitive to give it that aggressive feel.
This will benefit those who like to ride their dirtbikes like they stole them, all the time. It doesn’t exactly reward slow, patient trailriding unless you have great throttle and clutch control and a strong core. But it’s not just the engine that feels racey on the 300SEF Factory, it’s the suspension too.
The KYB fork is particular firm when compared with anything else in the class, even the KYB equipped Beta RR350 Racing. If you aren’t forcing the fork to work harder and further down the stroke the SEF Factory can feel too stiff. But it isn’t, it’s excellent, you’ve just got to be charging. But this is where my problems start.
Firm fork
I’m approaching 30 hours on the Sherco 300 SEF Factory in nearly six months and my fitness is still average. When I first wheel the Sherco off the ute and rip it down its first piece of singletrack I feel (and look I’m sure) like Matt Phillips from 2016. I’m in sync with the skinny-feeling Sherco as I literally point it where I want to go and it just slices through it like butter. Then by about lunch the pain begins.
It’s not the Sherco that starts falling apart, it’s me. My hands start to get sore, my back aches and my pace drops by at least 30 per cent, maybe more. As soon as I back off the pace or second guess my decision making and begin to take the safe line or relaxed approach, the bike jumps up and bites me.
It starts to feel a little harsh and sometimes hard to hold onto. If I stop, regroup and put on a charge for 15 minutes I feel like I’m back but then my body gives up and I’m back being a passenger. Such is the nature of the racey SEF Factory. It wants to be raced and nothing else.
The compromise is a more trail-friendly setup with soft suspension and docile power but you can guarantee if the Sherco performed like that I’d be whinging too only it would sound like this: “The fork keeps blowing through when charging into bumps” or “The power is slow and linear and doesn’t offer any get up and boogy”.
Moral of the story, after a decent stint on this bike, make sure you are fit and ready to race every time you pull your helmet on!
SHERCO 300SEF FACTORY
RRP: $15,799
WARRANTY: Six months parts and labour
DISTRIBUTOR: Sherco Australia
SO FAR
TOTAL HOURS: 26
MODS THIS MONTH: None
