Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1514917
2024 SWM RS 300R 2024 SWM RS 300R By Kurt Flachbart By Kurt Flachbart 8 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com In the December issue, we touched on the SWM RS 300R briefly in an Ini al Impressions feature. For those who missed that issue, here's a li le background on SWM and what the company is doing today. SWM was once a force in European trials, moto and enduro compe on. In fact, SWM won the World Trials Championship in 1981. Although SWMs were rather rare here in the US, the bikes were high-quality, serious off-road weapons. The original SWMs were Italian-made, Rotax powered with striking looks. The le ers SWM stood for Sironi Vergani Vimmercate Milano, founders of the original company and the town of manufac- ture. Founded in 1971, SWM ceased produc on in 1984. Today's SWM motorcycle shares nothing in common with the SWM of years past, other than they are both manufactured in Italy. No ques on Husqvarna fans and riders are fa- miliar with the Cagiva brand. Cagiva, an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded in 1950, pur- chased Husky from the Swedish owners in 1988. Cagiva owned and built Husky's from '88-2008. In 2009, Husqvarna was sold to BMW Motorrad. BMW invested millions into the aging Cagiva plant with the inten on of building the next Mini Coo- per of motorcycles. As good as BMW automobiles and street bikes are, few will argue that the BMW woods bike was a flop. With much pressure from angry stockholders, the BMW (Cagiva) factory was sold off at pennies on the dollar. In 2013, Husqvar- na was sold to KTM. As for Cagiva-built Husqvarna's, they were very well-liked. The design was solid, they handled well, and were reliable. What makes the new SWM so cool is the bikes are basically the same as the four- stroke Husky's from the mid-2000s. The bonus is they are now manufactured in a modern facility thanks to BMW. Yes, it's an older design, but it's a proven design. What the folks at SWM have done is modernize the Italian Husky. We feel the biggest improvement is in the suspension and brakes. KYB has been chosen for the forks and shock and the brakes are Brembo components. Carbure on has gone the way of the white buffalo in favor of Mi- kuni fuel injec on. The clutch is now a hydraulically actuated Magura component.