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SWM is back
The Italian motorcycle brand has been resurrected, with the technology of the previous Husqvarna motorcycles and a Chinese investor.
SWM is back
Actually, no one really believed it when motorcycles with the abbreviation SWM suddenly appeared at the EICMA in Milan. But this time the doubters were not right. Speedy Working Motors, as SWM is advertised, exists again. And there is also a dealer in Austria.
But one thing at a time. SWM was founded in 1971 by Piero Sironi and Fausto Vergani. Initially, quite successful competition enduros were produced with engines from Sachs, later with Rotax engines from Gunskirchen in Upper Austria.
At the beginning of the 1980s, the range was expanded to include street models and even choppers. But the competitive pressure from the big brands became ever greater, and so the factory doors in Vimercate near Milan were closed in 1984. But now there are motorcycles again with the abbreviation SWM on the tank. And KTM, among others, is not innocent of this. In 2013, the Upper Austrians bought the venerable Husqvarna brand from BMW and moved production from Lake Vares in Northern Italy to Mattighofen.
The factory complex and spare parts warehouse in northern Italy that had been renovated by the Bavarians was deserted. But not for long - the former head of technology at Husqvarna, Ampelio Macci, with the help of Daxing Gong, the president of the Chinese manufacturer Shineray, bought both the company building and all rights to the design of the motorcycles that KTM did not need. This construction is also the basis of the motorcycles that have been produced since last year and are now being delivered.
So far, seven models are available, two sports enduros with 300 and 500 cm³ and a more sporty travel enduro with 650 cm³. There are also two supermotos, based on the 500 and 650. The two retro bikes also available called Gran Milano and Silver Vase are interesting. The Gran Milano is built in the style of the cafe racer of the seventies, the Silver Vase is the matching scrambler, both models that are currently enjoying great popularity. While the engines of the enduros and supermotos are based on former Husqvarna models, the 440 cm³ engines of the retro bikes come from China and are based on Honda designs. However, the engines are completed in Italy and the bikes are also built here.
The prices are pleasingly low: the retro models cost just under 5,600 euros, the 650 Enduro and Supermoto just under 7,000, the two 500s 6,600 and 6,800 and the small Enduro just under 6,400 euros. The import for Austria is carried out by the Zupin company in Bavaria, which was also responsible for Husqvarna imports, and the dealer network also largely consists of former Husky dealers, which also include the currently only Austrian SWM dealer Mayerhofer in Wiener Neustadt.