Australasian Dirt Bike – September 2019

I HONESTLYDON’T
remembera timewhen
Europeandirtbikeswere
pricedunder$9k.It waswell
beforemytimeandsofar
backthattheyweren’tworth
buyinganyway.
Thesedaysa KTMorHusky
cansetyouback$15,000.
Theyaregreatpiecesof
elite-levelgearbutyouneed
toberidingoftenandreally
welltoneedthatmuchfruit
ona motorcycle.If youaren’t,
thenanSWMRS500Rmight
bewortha look.
SWMisn’ta newbrand.It
originatedinItalyintheearly
1970sproducingcompetition
trialsandendurobikes.After
many successfulyearsof
racinginEuropethecompany
closeditsdoorsin1984.It
re-emergedin 2014 thanksto
a partnershipbetweenthe
ex-technicalmanagerof
Husqvarna,ApelioMacchi,and
theChineseShineray
motoringgroup.
AfterBMW’ssaleof
HusqvarnatoKTMthe
recentlyrefurbishedHusky

factoryinLombardiawasleft

vacantanditsworkers,

includingMacchi,withoutjobs.

WiththepurchaseoftheSWM

brandname,Macchimovedin

andpickedupwhere

Husqvarnahadleftoff,so

essentiallythisbikeis very

similartoa rebranded

HusqvarnaTE510.

Sincethemodelwas

releasedasa SWMin 2016 the

bikehasreceivedstyling-

basedupdatestotryand

makeit lookdifferentfromthe

original.Thisyearit alsogota

betterseatandrevised

subframe(seeourteston

page46).Also,a revisedEFI

systemhasbeenfittedto

meetEuro4 emission

regulationsandensurethe

SWMretainscompliancefor

fullregistration.

TheSWMhasfully

adjustableKYBsuspension,

althoughit’snotthelatest

spec,andcomeswitha 7.2

litrefueltank.

It hasdualmufflersbutthey

areheavilyrestrictedthanks

toEuropeanemissionlaws.

There’sa singleArrowmuffler

availablethatfreessome

poniesandlosessomeweight.

Second-handRS500Rscan

bea littletrickytofind.If you

seeonepopupthendon’t

waittoolongbecausethey

disappearquickly.Whenyou

takea look,makesureyou

ridethebikeandcheckthatit

selectsallsixgearssmoothly.

Makesuretheenginestarts

easilyonthebuttonandidles

wellwithnorattlesand

doesn’tblowsmoke.Askfora

servicehistoryandcheckthe

subframeforsignsofcracks

ordamage.Lastly,checkall

thewheel,suspensionand

framebearingsforwearas

thesecanbecostlytoreplace.

Theonlyothermajor

trailbikesthatfit intothis

pricebracketaretheYamaha

WR250RandSuzuki

DR-Z400E,buttheSWMhas

bettercomponentryinthe

wayofbrakesandsuspension.

It’scertainlyanoptionworth

lookingatif yourused-bike

budgetis under$8K.

TechnicalEditorMatBoyd

GOOD BUT DIFFERENT

HOW TO RIDE / ADB GARAGE / WE RECOMMEND / TECH / KIDZ KORNER / USED RIDE

REAR GUARD

NEW

2016 $8990

2017 $8990

2018 $8990

SECOND HAND

2016 $5300 - $6250

2017 $5900 - $7050

2018 $6300 - $7500

market

EQUIVALENT

Prices according to redbook.com.au

BRAKES

BothBrembocalipersarefloating,

witha 260mmdisconthefront

anda 240mmontherear.

ENGINE

Theengineis liquid-cooledwitha

six-speedtransmission.

FRAME

The SWM steel single-downtube chassis

hasa removablealuminiumsubframe.

SUSPENSION

ThefullyadjustableKYBsuspension

performsmuchbetterthantheold

SachsshocksandMarzocchiforks

weusedtoseeontheHusqvarnas.

WEIGHT 2016 – 2018 SWM RS500R

The SWM’s claimed

weight is 112kg dry.

16-18

Husqvarna FE501

$9900 - $13,550

2018

Sherco 500SEF-R

$9850 - $11,700

16 – 18

Beta RR480

$8400 - $11,450

16 -18

KTM 500EXC-F

$9100 - $12,300

150 |SEPTEMBER 2019 http://www.adbmag.com.au