2014 Sherco 2T & 4T 300's... quick test ride

Well, unfortunately things ran over time as they sometimes do at these things and I was due to be last to ride the Sherco.
I passed on the opportunity to help the Northstar team pack up for the day and have at least a little time off before work tomorrow.

I did, however, get a ride on a stock & GYTR
piped WR250F.
The bikes have plenty of go with the low stock gearing.
I was able to skim the front tyre up the short steep hills at the test venue and a few of them I was able to slot into 4th at the top!
I was a little less impressed with the stabilityof the front of both test bikes. They are certainly nimble, but I had trouble getting them to stay put in ruts and found them both quite nervous over rough ground.
The rear also seemed to lack grip when braking for corners.

I dropped tyre pressures on the second bike and wanted to play with clickers but time didn't allow

The terrain was quite dry & loose, both bikes were fresh units with only a few hours on them and I'm not sure the 6days tyres fitted to them are the last word in grip, so I wouldn't write them off, but one guy has a steering damper on his brand new bike already...

Overall, for a 250, I loved the power, the rest I'll reserve my judgement for another ride.

Bummer you didn't get to ride them all.

It's good that you liked the power of the yammy 250 (especially coming from a guy that likes his horsepower)

I always have to keep an open mind on handling/ergo's when testing bikes because they're usually well undersprung for me and I like lower pegs and bars forward a bit. Most quirks can be tuned out later...

I guess your next test will be when the Sherco 450 is available hey?

Yeah, setup might fix the bike, but I wouldn't like to spent money straight out of the box to cure it.
Some good tyres might be the cure as it is with lots of bikes.

There has to be a problem with the 450 Sherco.
It's been uncomfortably long since the media release (Aug last year).
The dealers are as much in the dark as us punters.
If it were a simple supply issue, I'm sure the factory would make that plain.
No news isn't good news in this case....
They'll be 2016 bikes by the time they're released.

Does the WR line sport the same motor as the YZ, if so the delay on the 450 may be due to the recent recall??

that new competition from GYTR for the FX is kinda cool hope the US gits it

The new WR250 does use the YZF engine, but the 450 I was referring to is the new Sherco 450.
As far as I know, there's no change coming for the WR450 as yet.

You guys have it already

Possibly, but nobody had any tools
I think it was the combination of hard tyre pressures (16 for 'puncture prevention ', wtf), brand new suspension, and unadjusted forks.
The tyres probably didn't help, not soft enough for the dry dirt.

The dry conditions surprised me, we had the tail end of a cyclone pass through only 4 weeks ago and dumped heaps of rain!

If I was a betting man, I'd put 6 beers on the Sherco 450 being available for sale in Australia before the end of July.

JULY
The magazines tested it in Aug last year!!!

2016 450 anyone?
I'm not sure if can wait that long...

It should be cooler by then so an amber ale would be nice thanks

I might just refresh my 449 & screw the new bike.
The magic & hype are wearing off after all this time. I'm a bit concerned about parts availability of they can't supply complete bikes eh.

Happy to share an ale anytime mate, for sure.

This probably should go in it's own thread, but the mention of refreshing the 449 made me wonder. Think there's any room for weight savings on the 449/511 platform? I've already got an aftermarket exhaust and lithium battery. Of course I'm talking about pounds, not ounces.

Nice discussion here on the Sherco. I'm looking get get a new bike this spring and have my eye on the 2015 Sherco 300 2T. It's either going to be that or a Husky TE300, which I can get a good deal on. However, everything I'm reading about the Shercos has me really interested in them. Problem is there is no dealer anywhere near me, but there is a bike about 1.5 hours away that I hope to get a look at and maybe a spin on it.

I don't even know the price of the Sherco yet. Anyone know what the 300 SE-R lists for in US$?

I've seen pricing on 2014's on cycle trader, but not 2015s. AOMC has a 2014 listed there now for $7899, which is $1 less then what I can get a 2015 TE300 for.

Having briefly ridden both the Ktm 300 & Boogies Sherco 300, I'd buy the Sherco if I was a 2t kind of guy.

It's going to be a tough decision. KTM/Husky dealer is local and I get a good discount on parts from them. There are no Sherco dealers anywhere around me, but that was the same issue I had with GasGas and I bought one of those anyway back in 2011. Based on everything I'm hearing about it I'm holding off until I see and ride the Sherco.