Enduro21 takes a hop down under for a closer Pro Bike look at the Sherco Australia 300 SE Factory ridden by Anthony Solar in the 2024 Australian Hard Enduro Championship.

Now in its second year running a dedicated hard enduro squad, Sherco Australia have an impressive two-rider team contending the 2024 national series with Anthony Solar (2022 champion) and Chris Perry (2022 runner-up).

When the team was announced, and since Solar started the season with a win at the Kosciuszko Killer, we’ve been eyeing up their bikes for a closer look.

The Sherco Aus bikes are built on the well-developed Sherco 300 SE Factory package coming out the box from France and already proven in the Hard Enduro World Championship with Mario Roman and EnduroGP with Hamish Macdonald.

“Our bikes for hard-enduro racing is more skewed towards protection and prevention rather than chasing performance.” Explains Matt Reilly from Sherco Australia as we catch-up for some details on Solar’s race bike.

Looking to minimise the possibility of damaged-induced DNFs by adding protection in key areas is something we can all associate with, especially in extreme enduro.

Many of the parts fitted to Anthony’s 300 SE come from the P-Tech catalogue and that includes the P-Tech front disc guard which is a hybrid design that features a billet alloy centre and a polycarbonate outer.

Plus the radiator braces which are also a full-wrap design that accommodates the standard radiator fan and louvers.

Billet, four-bolt left-side engine case saver also doubles to protect the clutch slave cylinder and is a pretty neat design. At the other end of the clutch hydraulic hose is an Enduro Hog, 4mm polyethylene clutch cover that sits over the stock one for an extra layer of protection

The Sherco Australia Hard Enduro team bikes also use some of the genuine Sherco catalogue parts including the AXP Racing Xtreme 8mm bash plate, which also protects the bike’s linkage.

Engine changes? Nah, not really

“The only changes we make to the engine are adding a flywheel weight from JWT Imports, a very trick Akrapovic titanium muffler, a genuine Sherco accessory available to the public.” Says Matt.

Australian-based Two-Stroke Performance (TSP) supply the cylinder head with Solar using a medium insert and their remapped ECU specially tuned for hard enduro.

“We are currently working with TSP on finalising their ECU Reflash Module (ERM) for Sherco,” adds Reilly, “which will allow users to change between the standard TSP and hard enduro maps and also allow them to fine-tune further if needed.”

Apart from that the piston, porting, crankshaft, etc, are all standard. Anthony opts for a slightly leaner N8RH needle on the second clip with a 40 pilot jet and 170 main jet for all you carburettor fans looking for sweet-running 2T tips for technical riding.

Motul oils and lubricants are used throughout the bike with their 800 two-stroke pre-mix oil running at 50:1, Transoil Expert is in the transmission and RBF 700 takes care of the hydraulic lines, used in both the brakes and the clutch.

The power is transferred through a genuine Sherco diaphragm clutch kit developed through Sherco’s technical partnership with STM – also a product available to customers.

Anthony runs a 13/51 gearing combo for hard enduro, which is three more teeth than the standard. The sprockets are matched with a 520EXW heaty-duty RK chain for strength.

One thing you might not easily spot is a lowered subframe and a standard height seat with a ‘team spec’ Strike Seats cover, Anthony “being shorter in stature” – their words, not ours!

Chad’s Offroad Setups has developed a phenomenal hard enduro setting for the standard KYB suspension, which includes Merge rising-rate pressure springs.

Anthony’s bike runs Sherco Racing X-Trig clamps (std offset) with PHDS bar mounts, Renthal 821 ‘McGrath’ bend FatBars, half-waffle grips, Sherco lift straps front and rear, S3 footpegs and SKDA take care of the team’s graphics.

 As for tyres, the team runs Metzeler’s newest ‘Extra Soft’ 6 Days Extreme compound paired with a NitroMousse ‘Plushie’ mousse tubes for maximum grip in their extreme conditions fitted to standard wheels. The brakes are also completely standard.

Thanks to Matt Reilly of Mojo Motorcycles | Sherco Australia 

Photo Credit: Sherco Australia