24 |AUTUMN 2019
Rotax’sdisc valvemotorisastrongunit andthere
arequite alot of sparesavailablefor it. Strippingthe
engine tosee whatitwas lik einside showeditwas
worn butnot worn out,that saidMartinchanged all
bearing, bushesandsealsasamatter ofcourse .Also
changedwasthe big end, con-rod and little end, the
barrelwasboredandanew pistonfitted.The 1983
TL320 hadafew modificationsover the previousyears,
thealloy swingingarmfor instancecame in thatyear
as did Corte Cosso suspension units, they replac ed the
GirlingGas units so long an industrystaple.
As the whole bikewould be comingapart, Martin
felt theaddit ion of oneortwo modern touchessuch as
wider footrests andarevised position for themwould
be worthwhileforthe ‘new’bike.MotoSWM also have a
two-stage ignit ion systemwhichMartin hasdeveloped
withRex’sSpeedshopandthis went on tothe engine.
Perfectionor better
Some of the parts deemed acceptablefor reuse were
theframe,swinging arm, airbox, forklegs–whichare
Betors in Marzocchiyokes –but thesebits were trea ted
to theMotoSWMphilosophyofperfection or better.
Powder coatingtheframe givesanexcellentfinish
and thenew headstockand swinging arm bearings
keep everythinggoing intheright direction.Italian
Grimeca hubswere always part of theSWM package
and thereare newrims laced on with stainless spokes
which all addsto the looksofthe machine.Tyres areof
course Michelin and in theday Berniewas sponsored
by thetyrecompanysoreallynothi ng else could
be considered.
With the bike coming togetherand needingrear
suspension units,Martinfitted alloybodie dBetors
as theymanage to combine thecorrec tperio dlook
with theadvantagesofthe modern suspension
developments–and they’reavailable. With newfork
stanchionsavaila blefor theBetor front suspension it
wasasimple matter to sliptheseinand the sliders –
specially made for SWM withtheir logo castin the
alloy –wereunwornsowith freshseals and oil,springs
to suit Schreiber,the fron tend wasreadytogo.
Anew Dellortocarburettorwent onto the inlet stub,
Martin addednewDominocontrols, againtheyoffer
periodacc eptability and aremodernand available.
Cables toofinish off the package and there we are,
readytogo... er not quite.One of the majorcosmetic
things on bikes of this erawas the plastics.Mudguards,
side panels and tank areall from the samecolo ur
plasticandmadebyAcerbis forSWM.Theseoriginals
were lookingalittletired so Martin has such things in
stockand theywent on the bike, as did the newseat.
Anyone whohas ever builtabikewill know the
building isonly half the jobandoncethe bike is
together thereisasettling inperiodto contend with.
“I waslucky in onerespect,” says Martin,“in that I
had quitealongleadtime for this buildand thedate
requiredwasknownwell in advance.” It wasjust
as well there wasalot of timeas there were oneor
twohiccups along theway, they amounted to little
morethanone enginerequiringaslightlydifferent
carburation settingthan another similar one,but still it
had to bedoneand thankfully Martinwasabletocheck
thebikeout inatrialand on his practiceground well
beforehand.
“OddlyenoughthoughIbuilt boththeBurgatand
Schreiber bikes to the same standardand same levelof
work theone done for Gilleswastext-book settings all
the way.”
TrialsridingasasportwaschangingrapidlyastheSeventiesrushedtoaclose,the
Spanishfactoriescaughtinasituationwherethestaffinglevelsoftheglorydays
couldn’tbealteredwhentheeconomicclimatedid.Tryingtoreducetheworkforce
resultedinstrikesandunrest,Bultacoinparticularweretosufferastheycouldn’t
makebikestocapitaliseonthesuccessofwinningworldchampionshipsand
wouldeventuallyclose.TheItalianindustrywastakinganinterestinthisfeet-up
larkandSWM–SpeedyWorkingMotors–venturedinto 1977 .Theyhadbeen
producingsmallcapacityenduroandMXmachinesbuttheintroductionofRotax’s
trialsdiscvalveenginesawthemtakeabiggerinterestinthissideofthesport.
WiththeSpanishindustryinturmoil,riderslookedelsewhereandItalyprovided
themachines.WiththelikesofCharlesCoutardandSammyMillerinvolvedin
theearlydays,thenaLampkinortwoandFrenchmanGillesBurgatwinninga
worldtitleandtheSSDTforSWM,thestagewasset.Burgatmovedon,Schreiber
wasofferedtherideandwontheSSDTforthemagain.TheItalianGovernment
thentookahandinthings,couldSWMmakeasmallcapacityroadbikeforthe
youthmarket?Theycould,investmentwasoffered,afactorybuiltwhichupset
theoriginalfactoryworkforcewhowentonstrike,thenewfactoryworkforce
apparentlycameoutinsympathyandby 1985 SWMwerenomore.Therehasbeen
aresurgenceinthemarqueandonceagainenthusiastscanbuyanSWMdirtbike.
ABRIEFHISTORYOFSWMTIME
Only achange
to monoshock
couldmakethe
rear slimmer,sadly
SWMwould be
historybefore
this couldhappen,
thereare some
development
modelsthough.
