When the French brand It seemed to have dug its deathbed, Sherco took the reins and gave it a new character, without altering the main hallmarks of the brand. Sherco’s goal was not to create an ultra-competitive or best-selling bike, butto make it a popular, reliable, affordable and aesthetically exclusive bike.
Scorpa was always linked to Yamaha and equipped a truly outdated mechanic that reminded us of the old Yamaha TY. The block was very wide , with many components that were not picked up by the skid plate, so it was relatively easy to hit it and break down. The agony continued with a cable-operated clutch system, but with AJP hydraulic control. Despite this, the great hardness and little progressivity of the Japanese clutch meant an extra physical demand on the controls of the Scorpa SY, to which we also had to add lower performance than those of its rivals.
Text and action: David Quer / Photos: Trialworld
The icing on the cake of the Yamaha engine was its accessibility. To remove the OKO carburetor (it had the controls reversed, i.e. the idle on the right) everything behind it had to be disassembled, which made its set-up a tortuous task.
Curiously, during the years that we were able to measure its performance (from 2003 onwards), this engine was the most powerful of all those that existed in the trial scene. It was well over 18 hp of absolute power and, although this data is not significant in Trial, it does give us an idea of the great character that this mechanic had.
Despite all this, Yamaha’s Scorpa SY 250 was a great bike, especially since its setup at the chassis level was sensational. The tubular frame was unique among its contemporaries; This, together with a rear damping system without linkages and oblique position, caused very agile reactions.
Sherco Powered
Knowing the background, when the Scorpa came into Sherco’s hands they were clear about how they were going to approach the work: Maintain the chassis and adapt the frame geometries to your own engines. However, Sherco has not assembled the latest version of its mechanics (two editions ago it completely renewed the design and many components), but the previous one.
This detail, which a priori may seem negative due to the gap with respect to its rivals in the market, we can affirm that it is positive. The new Scorpa is shaping up to be one of the easiest and noblest motorcycles on the market; It’s a bike that always exceeds your expectations when you get behind the wheel.
With the advent of the Sherco engine, the clutch has improved, the overall weight is lower and performance has been significantly optimised. That same popularity and familiarity that all Shercos boast from the first contact, is something that is also noticeable in the Scorpa. Although not much attention has been paid to the finishes, as we can see in its bulky silencer, the bodywork or small components.
At the controls
As soon as we get behind the controls, we can see how all the mechanical components have good accessibility. Now that the manifold runs discreetly along the right side of the bike, there is more free space and we find a Dell’Orto carburetor with adjustment knobs on the usual left side. Commissioning, therefore, is easier as the control of the choke can be accessed more freely. This whole operation does not represent the slightest complication and the effectiveness is total.
The riding position does not vary from what we already knew: the position of the footpegs is very rearward and the feeling of being in front of an agile bike. Many may be uncomfortable with the fact that the exhaust is in permanent contact with the right boot, but it’s just a matter of getting used to it.
Dynamically it is a simple bike at the same time complete, very balanced in all areas and ideal for any amateur of basic – medium level. Its strength is not weight or power, but effectiveness. Both in the areas and on excursions, its good torque takes you out from low revs with sweetness, which together with a very progressive rev escalation, make it This frame is as intuitive as it is effective.
The point to improve of this mechanic is the behavior at high revs, where it errs on the side of laziness and clarseness. However, in compensation for this counterpoint, it admits very well to be driven in high gears, taking advantage of the good torque we mentioned.
Going into the cycle part, as we said, Scorpa maintains the same canons of the last decade, but with small nuances. The 2011 model, which is virtually identical to the 2012, is differentiated by the front fork. Possibly due to cost reasons, the French bike stops mounting the extraordinary Marzocchi fork with aluminum bars, to incorporate a Paioli. Possibly in 2011 they took advantage of the excess stock of the previous owners and have now opted for a cheaper option. In Trialworld we haven’t tested the new Paioli, but we find it difficult to beat the performance of the Marzocchi.
Behind, the classic Sachs that we mentioned earlier is maintained. Its particular geometry makes the bike very fast and bouncing, being also very permissive with mistakes or lack of riding. However, the higher the level of the rider, the more complicated it is to understand the reactions of the bike, which is sometimes difficult to keep within the line.
In In short, the Scorpa is a bike that a priori it is out of step with its market rivals, and perhaps it is so, since in the end it is a rehash of pre-2009 components on a frame with almost a decade behind it, but with some Very surprising dynamic sensations.
The SY is a perfect bike for any enthusiast, offering a fantastic compromise between ease of use, power and reliability. We miss more range and better finishes, but if we take into account the pretensions of this bike in the market, we consider that the result is remarkable. Undoubtedly, a bike that from Trialworld we recommend you try and that you take into account when changing bikes.
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Scorpa Trial Team Video 2011 from ZeriCaptiviPictures on Vimeo.
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