In September 2022 I received an invitation from SHERCO to go to Monza, where the trial of nations would be held that year. In addition to watching the race and its official riders, there was something more important that was going to be announced: the presentation of the new SHERCO and SCORPA 2023.
It might seem that it was just another model in the brand’s chronology, but no; It was the beginning of a new era. The happy faces on all the SHERCO staff gave a good account of the piece of project they had created: completely disruptive, daring, futuristic, technological and with many possibilities.
As with any new project that starts from scratch, that 2023 edition was going to have a lot of work ahead of it, perhaps much more than everyone expected. When a project of such dimensions is launched where everything is new, the model itself is put to the test, but also the reliability of the products supplied by the suppliers. In this first edition, two things were clear: first, that there were a dozen aspects that needed to be rethought and improved; the second, that the project was perfectly planned from the ground up and only had to be polished.
As an official SHERCO and SCORPA dealer, we have to say that the brand’s work in that year was to take its hat off. When the 2024 model came out, which corrected the fuel pump, battery, injector, CDI and improved the reliability of the starting system, the brand told us to call all customers to upgrade the motorcycles under warranty, at no cost to the customer or the dealer. In this way, practically all motorcycles were exempt from these conflicting parts and that project was really beginning to be seen in a higher state of maturity.
2025: A DECISIVE YEAR
If you want to know more about this first 2023 series, here is our in-depth test, although I am going to leave you with a few brushstrokes of what this new model differed from the carbureted 2022: new chassis with a lower center of gravity, 25% lighter engine and 7 transfers, electronic injection system, radiator with 20% more cooling surface, a swingarm with a lower shaft and a 10% larger filter box.
At TRIALWORLD we know this bike perfectly, since as an official dealer we have had DEMO motorcycles, in addition to providing spare parts service and knowing the feedback of all our customers. In addition, we have a direct link with one of their engineers and Adam Raga mechanic, Sam Xiberta, who has always helped us to get to know the model more in depth or solve any doubts.
FIRST IMPACT OF 2025
To understand the new 2025 well, it must be remembered that Adam Raga joins SHERCO at the end of 2023, being its official driver for the 2024 season. A signing that was not only looking for results, but there was carte blanche to evolve the bike. Talking to Raga he told us: “I asked for changes and I expected them in a month and a half or two, but fifteen days later I already had the SHERCO vans to test with me”.
Adam knew that he had to make changes to his official bike and that this also had to be transferred to the series. There was work on the response of the rear end, on the start, on the exhaust system, on the injection and on the way the bike delivered power.
In November the TRIALWORLD team travelled to EICMA and at the SHERCO booth was Adam Raga. We ate together and he explained to us what points he had worked on the bike, which is summarized in the previous points. Everything seemed to point to the fact that the point of maturity and reliability expected by all had already been reached.
THE SECOND MEETING
If our first encounter with the SHERCO 2025 was at EICMA, the second was with the first unit that the brand sent us to TRIALWORLD as a dealer. This first unit was taken by a good friend of ours, Rodrigo, who was also a promoter of the X-Trial in Madrid and they needed a unit to take to the Palacio de Vistalegre so that Adam Raga could do a “grip” test on the ground that they were going to use for the X-Trial.
We prepared the bike and from the first moment we saw that everything was different: the start, much more efficient, the response of the engine more linear and smooth; as more balanced overall. Adam Raga himself, who hadn’t tested the 2025 as standard yet, told us he was surprised at how well the unit was doing. Days later he climbed the podium in this inaugural race.
THE THIRD MEETING
The third meeting with the SHERCO 2025 took place in Valdemanco, when SHERCO ESPAÑA organized a test meeting with the specialized press, taking all the 2025 models (125cc, 250cc and 300cc), in addition to the SCORPA, which we will talk about later.
There we met Arnau Villardel, head of SHERCO SPAIN, Sam Xiberta, who we have already presented, with the support of Adolfo Barreiro, a trial institution and Sherco dealer for more than 20 years. The meeting point was Valdemanco, which thanks to its mayor and authorities we were able to carry out the test in the best conditions.
What changes in the Sherco 2025?
The first thing was to understand what the new SHERCO FACTORY 2025 entails, of which we have advanced some headlines, which are expanded with these more specific points.
At first glance they may not seem like too many changes, but when you have such a level of bike, getting the settings right and the answer changes everything. Being critical, we always gave SHERCO very sincere feedback from the first edition: “the bike can be as light and powerful as you want, but it is essential to guarantee a good starting system, reliability and a noble response so that the end user is encouraged to buy it”. And it is true that they also agreed on this, so the direction of the work management has been unanimous in the SHERCO team.
Sherco News - Scorpa 2025
- New exhaust elbow on the 250 and 300 cc that reduces engine braking.
- Plastic insert in the piston, volume reduction to decompress the crankcase, softens the character of the bike and provides more inertia.
- New box of prints.
- New overflow hose to optimize water evacuation in the air filter box.
- New ignition cover seal, improves tightness.
- New cartography for the 250 and 300, which smooths the behavior of the engine, reinforces the inertia of the bike and accentuates the difference between the Hard and Soft maps, providing even more smoothness in Soft mode.
- Factory 2025 Decoration
PILOT EQUIPMENT
- Helmet: Hebo Zone Carbontech
- Boots: Gaerne Classic Trial Yellow
- Gloves: Hebo Nano PRO IV
- Protections: Hebo Defender H
- T-shirt: TW Brand DISCOVERY T-shirt
- Pants: HEBO TECH TRIALWORLD Pants
- Socks: Gaerne COOLMAX socks
At the time of writing this report, S HERCO presented a limited edition of this 2025, called “RAGA REPLICA”, which complements the previous improvements with the following:
- New crankshaft
- New piston pin
- New injection system (butterfly body and injector)
- New maps
- New linkages and suspension wishbone for better shock absorption at the end of the travel
- New drivetrain (FIM TR 400 D rear sprocket and 101-link chain)
- Adam Raga’s Exclusive Matte Graphics Kit
- Limited edition: 200 numbered units
- Black front chassis plates
- Adam Raga handlebar pad
- S3 rubber grips and red S3 handlebar ends
- Red brake and clutch reservoir covers
- S3 red chain guide
- Black front and rear rims with red hubs.
- Oxia black chain tensioner
- Red stock cover
The new SHERCO STF FACTORY RAGA REPLICA 2025 is limited to 200 units and will be at Trialworld at a price of €9,600
The most important thing about this new model, in our opinion, are two things: the changes in the entire rear suspension assembly and the improvement of the starting system, which now via a button allows the fuel pump to be activated, making the start excellent.
Dynamic Test
We had all three displacements at our disposal, although our intention was to solve two big unknowns: to identify the real differences between the 250cc and the 300cc knowing that we could do the zones with one and the other practically consecutively, and then to understand how the new changes had affected the response of the engine. We knew the chassis was going to be familiar to us and there are other things that you can only know in the medium or long term, such as everything related to the changes that had focused on improving reliability.
THE START
The start of 2025 is very precise. And he qualified. The previous ones are not that they start badly, it is that people generally do not know how to start them, something that we say with good knowledge of the facts. The first kick is not used to start, so you don’t have to go down, but to activate the battery so that this, in turn, allows you to charge the fuel pump. Therefore, you have to wait about 6 seconds from this first kick to the second, the real one. And this second kick has to be from above, without resting the foot on the lever, so that the inner crescent axis acts with its full range. If you rest your foot on the lever and throw away the first quarter, you’re not going to rip it off.
This also happens in the GASGAS. And honestly, we don’t understand why a different starter gear system wasn’t designed at the time.
ELECTRONIC INJECTION
Once it is started, the first thing we notice is that the response is more linear and more similar to the classic carburetor; In the 2023 and some 2024 bikes you noticed that when it was idling for a while the bike would “get drunk” and go up revs fatter than usual, having to clean the engine (accelerating at idle) more often so as not to run out of a guaranteed rev kick. In 2025 all this has been corrected and, as we say, it is a delight how it revs up and how it goes down with precision.
One of the great advantages of injection is its ability to adapt and adjust to the environment without the need for external regulation, such as the air screw or the chewing gums in the case of the carburetor. With the injection it is able to know what wealth it must manage and can vary its parameters depending on the gas opening or the revolutions, something that is impossible with a carburetor with fixed presets. This magic is also obtained with the mapping of the injection, which logically evolves continuously with the feedback of the engineers.
Another thing we liked is its greater nobility of response compared to its predecessor. As a curiosity, in 2024 a “slow” gas cane was incorporated, even for official riders, to better manage its brutal power delivery. In this edition, with the internal changes of the crankcases and exhaust, more smoothness and inertia have been achieved, which are two absolutely decisive points in a trial bike.
ENGINE INJECTION: 250CC VS 300CC
The “three hundred” has an engine that allows you to do everything in second gear, with a lot of bass and a very long stretch, which also tells you that its third gear is an absolute pass in dirt areas or a lot of inertia, where you will always have power available. In the first gear the bike is more supported, but it is also more reactive, so if we want good torque and smoothness it is enough to choose a higher gear.
Its shift is of medium smoothness and precise. The clutch, according to taste, since it has an upper press that can be modified in position, without the need for a replacement, to obtain a softer, harder or medium response. This parameter is of great help to finish configuring the bike to the desired level of riding, being able to have a smoother bike or if we prefer, more direct response.
On the subject of suspensions, we have a TECH-REIGER set that we know well in the market and adapts excellently to the rear end of the SHERCO, whose particularity is to have one central link, instead of two as usual. All this framed in a leading weight in the sector, with only 67 kilos of empty weight.
THE SURPRISE: SHERCO “TWO AND A HALF”
Last year we delivered a 2024 SHERCO 250 to a good customer, Juan, whom we convinced with his classic style and riding. However, we did not have the opportunity to try it and now, that we have had the opportunity, he owes us a good tortilla skewer for helping him in that decision.
The SHERCO 250 is, in addition to being a lot of fun, perfect for 95% of riders, as you don’t lack power at any time, but you ride using much more revs and, therefore, you are more efficient and effective in traction areas or those that require precision in low.
In addition, it is a bike with which you use the first gear much more, since you do appreciate that extra bass, although the second has more than enough torque to make any type of area. In short, a success that, due to lack of culture in the market, ends up being relegated to the background in favor of a “three hundred” because “a big horse is better”.
SHERCO VS SCORPA 2025
Everything we have explained for the SHERCO is exactly the same for the SCORPA. They are absolutely identical. Or well, almost identical. People think that the SCORPA is Marc Tessier’s ugly duckling, but it’s just the opposite, I argue: in 2015 the SCORPA already introduced the changes that the SHERCO would have in 2016 and the chassis was always better in terms of geometries in the SCORPA until 2022: more stable and better front mechanical accessibility. In 2023 they were already completely identical, except for the headlight and aesthetics; and in 2024 few people know it, but the SCORPA had a BOS shock absorber, a French brand with exquisite quality.
In 2025 the SCORPA fork is also BOS and is half a kilo lighter than the TECH, while the shock absorber is 20% lighter than a REIGER and the RRP of both components in the catalog is much higher than the TECH-REIGER.
Dynamically, the BOS suspensions are brutal, SHOWA-style, which trace everything, but providing a plus of lightness at the front. Without a doubt, the one mounted by the SCORPA is a better suspension set than the one by the SHERCO.
Why do they do this? Well, surely, to evolve this brand of suspension in trials and in the future incorporate it into SHERCO, where its customer is much more “brand-oriented” although they are not able to draw real conclusions from its performance.
CONCLUSIONS SHERCO VS SCORPA TEST
The 2T trial market can be differentiated between two major worlds: motorcycles that have changed, such as SHERCO – SCORPA and VERTIGO, injection and renewed; and those that will have to change soon, either due to seniority, technology or homologations, where we have GASGAS, TRRS and BETA.
Of these “new generation” models, SHERCO has managed to recover ground based on work and a lot of investment, something that VERTIGO has been gaining more “step by step”. Therefore, SHERCO is already a benchmark in the sector for having a motorcycle with sufficient maturity, more technology, performance and performance. It has been a difficult two years, but the brand already has everything in its favor to become a bestseller in the market, pending receiving the electric start, which will arrive in the series before the end of the year.
And if we had to choose a bike in this whole test, the chosen one would be the SCORPA SCT FACTORY 250: BOS suspensions and “quarter liter” engine.
The price of the new SHERCO range is €9,120 and is available at all SHERCO trial dealerships, such as TRIALWORLD STORE, where we can explain in more detail and tailor-made these conclusions that we have wanted to convey to you with all our love.
Thanks again to the entire SHERCO SPAIN and VALDEMANCO team for making this initiative possible.
Texts and action: DAVID QUER
Photos: César Cabrera
Video: Pablo Pérez
