SHERCO – PUNCHING HARD FOR 2016
Comparatively speaking Sherco are a small manufacture with big plans. They’ve been making a lot of noise about their launch of 2016 enduro machinery and rightly so.
With a new model in the 450 SEF-R and new engine in their 250 SEF-R plus a host of improvements and refinements across the board, they’re punching hard for 2016. Bastien Bauthéac – Sherco’s chief mechanic explains more…
Firstly, what has been the biggest development of the 2016 enduro range?
Bastien Bauthéac: “Reliability – that’s been the most important thing for us to achieve. For 2016 we’ve worked a lot on several details. Our philosophy has always been to provide our customers with complete enduro bikes that are tested and proven on any kind of ground. One of the major focus points with our new range of enduro machinery was to improve our already high standards of reliability, while making our bikes even more competitive. A clear example of that is our 250 SEF-R four-stroke. It’s got a new cylinder with improved rigidity and temperature resistance.”
Why has it taken until now to properly launch the 450 SEF-R?
“We’ve spent a lot of time working on our 450 SEF-R to make sure that our customers get a bike that is 100% ready. A great amount of feedback came from the Dakar and from events like “Le Enduropale du Touquet” in France. We may have officially launched that bike last year but it’s only now that we’re absolutely sure it’s a complete package.”
Are they any new developments with this bike over the previous model?
“We’re using a different con rod and a new balance shaft in our 450 that provides less inertia. The goal was to produce a bike with smoother power delivery and better traction throughout the power curve. We believe we’ve achieved that.”
Can you explain a little more about the keyless system and what it is?
“A major update in our four strokes is the new keyless system that works in a similar way to that of our competitors. There’s now only one button to start the engine and that’s the electric starter button. When you turn off the engine, there’s approximately 15 seconds until the lights go off and power no longer runs on the electrical system. We’ve tested it a lot and it’s proved faultless.”
What else is different for 2016?
“Additionally for all 2016 models we’ve tried to make most parts of our bikes common. Although the frames are not all the same we now have the same subframes, plastics, wheels and several other parts that fit both our four-stroke and two-stroke ranges. So if a customer wants to change a model, they can now keep and reuse most of the spare parts they might already have.”
Finally, will Sherco be one of the first manufactures to introduce fuel injection on their two strokes?
“As you’ve probably seen we’ve started working on the fuel-injection for our two-stroke models too. But we don’t actually have a deadline of when we shall bring it into production. It’s an idea that has important advantages but is something we must keep on working on so that we can be absolutely sure it’s OK to reach production.”