Sherco ST125R 2012 — Specifications

Certain brands build motorcycles for showrooms, others for podiums. Sherco clearly belongs to the latter category, and the 2012 ST125R is the most concrete proof of that. Born from a simple desire — no, I must avoid that dash. Let's rephrase.

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Certain brands build motorcycles for showrooms, others for podiums. Sherco clearly belongs to the latter category, and the 2012 ST125R is the most concrete demonstration of that. Taking the standard ST125, already solid, and pushing it towards pure competition without betraying its trial DNA: that is exactly what the Spanish firm accomplished with this Racing version.

The starting point is a cycle part shared with the larger displacement models in the range. Chrome-molybdenum tubular frame, 39 mm telehydraulic fork with 165 mm of travel, R16V mono-shock with 175 mm of stroke, Formula disc brakes developed specifically for this machine. On paper, a 125 that borrows the shoulders of its bigger sisters. In practice, a 67 kg dry weight motorcycle that responds with the precision required by competition trial. Facing a Beta Rev 80 or a Gas Gas TXT Racing 125, this chassis doesn’t blush, it holds its own with a poise that young riders appreciate precisely because it forgives approximations little.

It is in the engine that the essential is played. The 124.70 cc two-stroke single-cylinder engine, with its 56 mm bore for 50.7 mm stroke, receives here a Keihin carburetor instead of the standard unit. The cylinder, the intake tube, the clutch and the gear selector have all been reworked. These interventions seem minor when listed like this, but their cumulative effect transforms a healthy engine into a competition tool that responds differently, more directly, more sharply in the pickups. On a trial course, where each hesitation of the engine can compromise balance on a rock, this controlled reactivity becomes a primary quality. The five-speed gearbox, transmitting power by chain, completes the picture with a progressivity adapted to technical riding.

Who is this €5,500 machine aimed at? Clearly at young riders engaged in regional or national competition, those who cross the threshold between leisure practice and serious racing. It is not a motorcycle for initiation in the strict sense: the ST125R assumes a rider who already knows the basics of trial, who knows how to read an obstacle before attacking it. On the other hand, it constitutes a coherent tool for progressing in a competitive environment without spending the budget of a 250 or a 300, categories where mistakes cost more physically and mechanically.

The only drawback is the absence of precise information on power and torque, which complicates direct comparisons with Japanese machines like the Honda Montesa Cota 4RT125. Sherco trusts its heritage and the reputation of its preparers rather than technical specifications, which is either a mark of confidence in its product, or a way of avoiding number debates. On a trial, chronometers speak more clearly than dynamometers anyway. And the brand's results in young competition speak for themselves.