Australasian Dirt Bike — September 2017

132 | SEPTEMBER 2017 http://www.adbmag.com.au

CAUGHT MAPPING

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

THREE WEEKS ROMPING

about the outback with stops at

Longreach (gidday Rocket Rod),

Birdsville and the Flinders

Ranges should be enough to

put a smile on anyone’s dial ...

and it was, but there was just

one problem: I was at the wheel

of a 4WD and not behind the

handlebar of a mighty

two-wheeled mile-muncher.

I’d never done a big 4WD run

before and, as good as it was, I

did spend a lot of time wishing I

was on a bike. Alas, these are

the things we do sometimes for

domestic bliss.

So time with the SWM

RS500R has been limited, but

that’s not to say things were

quiet back on the home front.

No, the boys at north-western

Sydney SWM dealership MRD

Motorcycles gave the RS500R

a little TLC while I was out bush.

First up was a check of the

bike’s valve clearances, and all

was good on that front after

1000km, as expected.

Next they dealt with a tiny

fl uid weep at the lever on the

hydraulic clutch, by fi tting an

upgraded clutch lever, too easy.

Then they swapped out the

stock 13/47 gearing for taller

14/45 sprockets, which I’d

asked for. The stock gearing is

way, way low and, with the

bike’s strong and torquey

power delivery, I’ve been keen

to drop the revs at cruising

speeds and reduce the vibes on

transport sections. The new

gearing worked fi ne with the

stock chain length, bonus.

Finally, MRD hooked up the

bike to a lap-top and worked a

little magic on the mapping

specs, with some Aussie-

developed settings that are

aimed to clean up the motor’s

tendency to stall when you

yank the throttle hard in tight

and snotty singletrack sections,

as well as fatten up the power

delivery across the range. Plus,

now there are two maps,

thanks to a coupler behind the

headlight shroud.

After all that, the SWM

scored a clean bill of health.

Needless to say I was keen-as

to get the Italian stallion out in

the sticks, and was rapt to

immediately find both the

gearing and mapping were

steps in the right direction.

The taller gearing means

you’re clicking sixth at about

90km/h on wide-open fi re-trails

and transports, rather than at

80km/h, bringing down the

revs and the vibes

correspondingly. The gearing

still feels low enough on

singletrack, but I want to do a

little more of that before calling

it job done.

With the plug in place the

changes have certainly livened

up the power, pretty much right

across the range, but at

5500rpm and above the motor

barks harder and stronger.

On fi rst impressions the

mapping specs certainly put

more sting in the tail, and I

can’t wait to try it out more

extensively and do some

back-to-back testing.

With a fresh set of rubber on

the agenda, not to mention

getting a start on the DSMRA’s

Denman trailride, next month is

shaping up to be a beauty.

Clubby

REAR GUARD

TALLER GEARING FREES CLUBBY FOR TRANSPORT SECTIONS

2

1

SWM RS500R

RRP:

$8990

WARRANTY:

Six months’ parts and labour

DISTRIBUTOR:

SWM Motorcycles Australia

INTERNET:

http://www.swmmotorcycles.com.au

SO FAR ...

HOURS:

19

MODS THIS MONTH:

Mapping, 14/45 gearing

MODS NEXT MONTH:

Tyres

MAIN. MRD talks to the RS500R

1. With no cush-drive hub, lowering
   the revs is a very good thing
   2. Mapping plug versatility

SWM

RS500R