SHERCO SM 50 SUPERMOTARD (2003 - on) Review

A tiny, Minarelli-engined, screamer that’s collected a hatful of 50cc supermoto titles, including multiple French National crowns.

• Read: top 50cc scooters and mopeds

It handles superbly, tuning parts are relatively easy to come by and, most importantly, it’s easy to de-restrict. Providing you’ve got the appropriate licence, of course. Ahem.

The Supermoto 50 turns like a hungry gull over a boat. The forks are beefy 41mm items from suspension experts Paioli and the Ollé shock comes with preload adjustment. If you want to practice your stoppies then this is the bike for you – the 260mm front disc is mated to a hydraulic clutch and twin-piston AJP caliper.

Although it’s a buzzy little beastie UK law restricts 50cc moped users to a measly 30mph. However, it’s possible to get over 50mph from the two-stroke Sherco just by swapping the exhaust for a race-spec item. Further tuning requires a bigger carb and, of course, the trade off is greatly reduced reliability. The bore is Nikasil plated for better efficiency, but that makes it more expensive to replace as you can’t re-bore it.

Although Sherco are a Spanish company their entire supermoto (and enduro) output is made in France and the quality of the manufacture is high. Good quality stroker oil will keep it healthier for longer – but it will need more regular maintenance if you de-restrict it. Sherco recommend pricy 98-RON fuel.

It’s a great bike, but used, un-restricted, unthrashed examples are rare.

Top quality names are splashed on what’s a very cheap bike. Better still though is the detachable sub-frame, which means that rear end accidents (like a flipped wheelie) won’t necessarily write the bike off.