Sherco

Sherco was created in 1998 by Marc Teissier and Andreu Codina. Both were former trials riders. The first Sherco sold was an ST 2.5 trials bike, frame number 0001, on 15 February 1999 at the Swiss Trial. The same year Graham Jarvis won the Scottish Six Days Trial. Sherco's timeline says he did it with "the first 250 Sherco Bultaco". The SSDT's official results list his winning bike as a 290 Bultaco.

Trials came first. Enduro followed within five years. In 2002 Sherco bought the HRD brand and entered the 50 cc and 125 cc enduro and supermoto market. In 2004 it built what it describes as the first enduro motorcycle with electronically controlled fuel injection, in 450 cc and 510 cc four-stroke form. The two-stroke enduro engines came later: Sherco dates the birth of its 250 and 300 two-strokes to 2013.

Timeline

Ownership and leadership

Sherco describes itself as a French company. Its company page lists Marc Teissier as founder and chief executive, Jean-Michel Paquient as general manager and Didier Tirard as factory director and vice president. When Paquient arrived in November 2023, Sherco's announcement was signed by Marc Teissier as president. Thomas Teissier, general manager for the previous eight years, moved to real estate and investment work "within the group".

Sherco's head office and motorcycle production unit are in Nîmes, in the Gard department of southern France. The current plant dates from 2017. Sherco says it covers more than 12,000 m², against 3,500 m² for the building it replaced.

The Nîmes plant opened in 2002 as Sherco's second production unit. In March 2020 Sherco named its two production sites as Caldes de Montbui in Spain and Nîmes in France. Its company page now gives Nîmes as the production unit for trials and enduro bikes.

Sherco's own figures:

• Output: 15,000 motorcycles a year, per Sherco.
• Staff: more than 150 people in France and abroad.
• Distribution: more than 1,100 sales outlets in more than 74 countries on five continents.

Check parts supply and dealer service where you ride before you buy a Sherco. Sherco's own figures are the reason: about 1,100 outlets spread over 74 countries leaves many regions with few Sherco shops.

Sherco lists nine full-size enduro models today. Every two-stroke uses a carburetor. Every four-stroke uses fuel injection.

"SE" is the two-stroke line and "SEF" the four-stroke line. Every model on the list is a Factory version or the Xtrem pack built on it.

What changed for 2027

Across the range, Sherco lists new graphics, a new seat with a less aggressive grip, and a new battery. The 250 and 300 SE add shift fork shafts mounted on springs for smoother gear changes. The 125 SE also gets a lightened gearbox. The SEF four-strokes keep a full Akrapovič exhaust.

The Xtrem: Sherco's hard enduro model

The 250 and 300 SE XTREM 2026 are the Factory two-strokes with the parts the factory hard enduro team runs. Sherco lists an Akrapovic silencer, a reinforced clutch, a carbon front disc guard, AXP radiator guards, front and rear pull straps, a Scar handlebar and the factory team's graphics. When the 300 Xtrem launched in March 2025, Sherco built it as a limited edition of 200 units, with more than €3,500 of special parts.

Our bike pages cover the Sherco 300 SE Factory, the Sherco 300 SEF Factory and the Sherco 450 SEF Factory. To weigh the 300 two-stroke against its rivals, use our bike comparison tool and our hard enduro 300 two-stroke buyer's guide.

Sherco's hard enduro record rests on three riders: Wade Young, Mario Román and Teodor Kabakchiev. Before them, Graham Jarvis won Red Bull Romaniacs for Sherco in 2008.

Major results on Sherco

Wade Young

Young rode for Sherco for eight years, until the end of 2023. In 2018, aged 22, he became the youngest winner in Romaniacs history. The same year he also won Red Bull Megawatt and Sea to Sky. In the first FIM Hard Enduro World Championship, in 2021, he won the Hero Challenge in Poland by more than three minutes and finished third overall. His Sherco years ended with Roof of Africa wins in 2022 and 2023. The 2022 win was his fifth in a row and seventh in total. In 2023 Sherco also took the Roof's manufacturers award. Sherco's timeline also credits him with 2023 wins at Alestrem, La Peyratoise and Sea to Sky. He left the team before the 2024 season.

Mario Román

Román spent nine years with Sherco Factory Racing and confirmed his departure in December 2025. He was second to Graham Jarvis at the 24MX Alestrem in 2017, then won it in 2018, a year he also won Hell's Gate. He was third at the Erzbergrodeo in 2019 and 2024. He was world championship runner-up in 2022 and third in 2024. He stood on the Romaniacs podium five times: second in 2017, then third in 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2025.

Teodor Kabakchiev

Sherco signed Kabakchiev for 2024 to race the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship, replacing Young. He was second at Romaniacs and fourth in the championship that year. In January 2025 he won Alestrem, where the only two finishers out of more than 500 starters were both Shercos, with Román second. His first Erzberg podium followed in 2025.

In 2026 he rides a 300 SE XTREM 2026. He finished fourth at the Erzbergrodeo, which did not count toward the 2026 championship, and second at Romaniacs. On 26 September 2026 he won the Roof of Africa, round six of the championship. His total time of 9:59:46.2 made him the only Gold Class rider under ten hours. Italian Lorenzo Gandola, European Trial 125 champion in 2017, is his team-mate on the same bike and finished eleventh at Erzberg.

For what sets hard enduro racing apart, see our hard enduro explainer.

Carbureted two-strokes, injected four-strokes

Sherco's 125, 250 and 300 SE two-strokes all run a Keihin PWK 36 carburetor. They add an electronically controlled exhaust valve and a DC-CDI ignition with digital advance. That sets Sherco apart from makers such as Rieju, whose MR 300i runs fuel injection.

The four-strokes are the opposite. Sherco says it built the first enduro bike with electronically controlled fuel injection in 2004, and every SEF today runs Vitesco injection. Sherco lists the DOHC four-valve engines as "SHERCO technology".

Our view: the carburetor is the most important thing to understand before buying a Sherco two-stroke for hard enduro. The reason is how a carburetor works. Fixed jets meter the fuel, so big changes in altitude or temperature shift the mixture until you re-jet. Injection measures conditions and corrects the mixture itself. Against that, a carburetor is simple to clean and repair beside the trail. Our TBI vs carb guide sets out the full trade-off.

One chassis spec across the range

Every Sherco enduro model shares the same chassis on paper:

• Frame: semi-perimeter high-strength chrome-molybdenum steel
• Fork: KYB 48 mm closed-cartridge, 300 mm travel
• Shock: KYB 50 with an 18 mm shaft, 330 mm rear wheel travel
• Brakes and clutch: Brembo hydraulic brakes (260 mm front, 220 mm rear discs) and a Brembo hydraulic clutch
• Heights: 950 mm seat, 355 mm ground clearance
• Fuel: 10 L tank on the two-strokes, 9.8 L on the four-strokes
• Starting: electric start and a 12 V lithium battery

On the current list, Factory is the base trim. That means KYB closed-cartridge suspension and Brembo hydraulics come as standard on every model.

Trials heritage

Sherco began as a trials maker founded by two trials riders, and it still builds a full trials range in Nîmes. The link carries into hard enduro. Graham Jarvis won the Scottish Six Days Trial on a 290 Sherco in 2004 and 2006, then Sherco's first Romaniacs in 2008. In 2026, one of Sherco's two factory hard enduro riders, Lorenzo Gandola, came from trials. For the trials skills hard enduro asks of a rider, see our guides to logs and rocks and clutch feathering.

Seat height

Shorter riders should check the 950 mm seat on Sherco's spec sheet first. In hard enduro you put a foot down on steep, uneven rock many times a day. Sit on the bike before you buy, and ask the dealer about suspension lowering if you are short.