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2020 SHERCO OFF-ROADERS
RIDE REVI EW
I
t was a big week for the French/
Spanish motorcycle manufacturer
Sherco. It recently invited journalists—
and its dealers—from around the globe
to get a sneak peek and a taste of its
entire fleet of 2020 off-road and trials
motorcycles. Cycle News was one of a
few U.S. media outlets that were invited
to the hills near Lake Maggiore, where
the company chose to reveal its latest
two-wheel, knobby-shod creations.
And there are lots of them.
History 101
But first, a brief history lesson. You
might have heard the name Sherco
but most likely don't know much about
the brand. Don't feel bad; many don't,
mainly in this country. Sherco is well
known in Europe and in Australia and
has been around for only 20 years
(since 1999) and was founded by
world-class trials rider Marc Teissier.
Sherco started out as a trials-bike
manufacturer in Spain and success
immediately followed. Riding a 250cc
Sherco Bultaco in 1999, Graham Jar-
vis won the Scottish Six Days Trials,
his first of three SSDT wins aboard the
brand. Sherco suddenly became the
trials bike to own.
In 2002, Sherco opened a second
production plant in Nimes, France,
where it started building off-road
bikes. In 2004, Sherco produced the
first electronically controlled fuel-
injected enduro motorcycle (450 and
510cc four-stroke). In 2008, Jarvis
won the Romaniacs extreme off-road
race on a Sherco. A year later, Sherco
started getting serious about rally rac-
ing and started winning rally champi-
onships and eventually its first stage in
the Dakar Rally (2010). In 2011, Fabien
Planet gave Sherco a French Enduro
Championship in the E1 (250cc) class.
SHERCO
SAMPLER
BY KIT PALMER
