Steve Martin•18 Oct 2016

REVIEW

2016 SWM RS 300 R review

Name: 2016 SWM RS 300 R review
Brand: SWM

The name might be unfamiliar but the pedigree is beyond repute – will SWM's RS 300 R traillie coax buyers away from traditional offerings?

Ampelio Macchi is a name not many Australians will know but his dedication to building race-winning dirt bikes cannot be questioned.

Formerly working as technical manager with Cagiva and then Aprilia, he finally found a home in Husqvarna where he went on to build bikes that won no fewer than 46 world championships.

Husky was located on the shores of Italy's picturesque Lake Maggiore back then, overlooking the MV Agusta factory. Originally Swedish, the brand has been through a tumultuous time in recent years, being bought by BMW and then later sold to KTM some six years later.

KTM then moved Husqvarna to its own Austrian headquarters in Mattighofen, which meant Macchi was left with a state-of-the-art production line and a load of bike parts and designs, but no money or name.

He sought an investor and finally found one in China's Shineray group, the tie-up allowing him to continue building bikes the way he wanted.

However, Macchi needed an iconic brand name to make an impact, and although SWM originally stopped production way back in 1984 it was a company that embodied Macchi's own ideals, having won many European and several world championships. SWM was also an Italian company, formerly based – like the reborn concern – in the country's north, and so a new motorcycle manufacturer was born.

For 2016 SWM Motorcycles is offering three enduro models: the RS 650 R, the RS 500 R, and the RS 300 R.

In essence these bikes are close copies of Italian-made Huskies but they've been built to a higher standard. That doesn't, however, mean these models come with a sky-high price. On the contrary, the SWM RS 300 R reviewed here delivers plenty of bike for the money.

The RS 300 R is perhaps the ultimate LAMS machine. It's entirely capable of pootling down to the shops, commuting to work or getting down and dirty on the trails come the weekend.

While all LAMS models must comply with a power-to-weight ratio restriction, this RS 300 R is so much fun you'd swear it falls outside LAMS classification.

With a retail price of $8290, it's aimed more at the trail market than the hardcore, win-at-all-costs race set, but in saying that I'd still be happy to give it a run in the heat of competition. Its pedigree stems back to the Husqvarna 310 of 2010, and that was a ripper bike.

It's not just a sticker swap, however, with the RS 300 R boasting myriad updates and improvements to make the SWM a bike all its own.

On the aesthetics front the SWM has all-new plastics and a snazzy LCD instrument cluster with inbuilt digital tacho. The ignition system has been uprated to an Italian-made GET unit as used by many of the world's top racers, and this works in conjunction with the Mikuni 42mm throttle body to meter fuel intake.

There's a new twin-pipe rear end which produces a nice bark while still adhering to local dB limits and a new cush-drive clutch improves the engagement action, making it much more user friendly.

The last major change concerns the bike's suspension. Kayaba units front and rear have replaced the old Marzocchi and Sachs combo found in the old Husky.

SWM Australia has also designed a new sticker kit to offer an alternative look, which means you can personalise your SWM if desired. All these changes really give a lift to what really was an excellent bike back in the day.

The mandatory electric start readily gets the 300 burbling into action. I liked the seating position and the ergonomic layout just as it came from the factory – I didn't even need to adjust the levers.

Although primarily a trail bike I was able to test the machine on the same competition course as used in the Victorian Off-road Championships, which certainly allowed me to push its abilities.

It didn't let me down either, with very neutral steering and nice, smooth power delivery. The top end punch is nothing like the $14,000, full-blown enduro equipment but the RS 300 R definitely has enough performance to satisfy.

A good rider on the SWM will shine, as the suspension does a great job of absorbing ruts and bumps. It's not quite as plush as the top-of-the-range equipment but, once again, in its class I think it's close to being the best.

The brakes really surprised me. The front brake must have pads with just the right compound, as it gives great feel and excellent stopping power, in turn making it easy to find grip on a wide variety of braking surfaces.

There's also a light feel to the RS 300 R that boosted my confidence as I threw it around the circuit; I found myself getting faster and faster as time went by.

If forced to find a bugbear it's only that there was a slight hesitation in the fuelling at idle; I wound up the minimum revs and the issue disappeared.

With this level of finish and at this price, it's hard to go past the SWM. If you like to stand out in the crowd, a test ride is a must.

SPECS: 2016 SWM RS 300R

ENGINE

Type: Liquid-cooled, OHC single-cylinder

Capacity: 297.6cc

Starter: Electric

Fuel system: EFI

TRANSMISSION

Type: Six-speed

Clutch: Hydraulic, wet multi-plate

Final drive: Chain

CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR

Frame: Steel perimeter

Front suspension: Inverted Kayaba telescopic fork

Rear suspension: Kayaba monoshock

Front brake: Single 260mm disc

Rear brake: Single 240mm disc

Tyres: 80/100-21 front; 120/80-18 rear

DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES

Claimed weight: 107kg

Wheelbase: 1495mm

Fuel capacity: 7.2lt

Seat height: 963mm

OTHER STUFF

Price: $8290

Bike supplied by: SWM Australia, www.swmmotorcycles.com.au

Warranty: Six months parts and labour

2016 SWM RS 300 R review

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