SWM RS125 R - first road test and review

SWM – a couple of years ago, only dirt bike historians were familiar with this Italian brand, which built a variety of two-stroke off-road bikes in the 1970s and early '80s before going bust. But now it's been reborn.

In 2015, backed by investment from Chinese manufacturing giant Shineray, production restarted in the old Husqvarna factory in Varese, northern Italy. The deal was that the reborn SWM would carry on making old-model Huskies wearing the SWM badge, and it's worked well, with a whole range of 300, 500 and 650cc bikes back on sale.

All of these are hard-edged enduros and supermotos, reflecting their Husqvarna origins, and on their own these wouldn't have made the reborn SWM viable. So last year the company jumped into the retro single-cylinder market with a range of 440cc bikes – a cafe racer, roadster and scrambler. But what it really needed to fill the factory production lines was a 125, and here it is.

On the Road

If SWM's Husqvarna heritage is clear in its big bikes, it's just as obvious in this 125. This is no soft trail bike, but something with far more focused, which is most obvious in the hard, thin seat that's step-ladder high, at 919mm off the ground – the importer is considering a lowering kit. As it happens, the RS is a featherweight 103kg (according to the specs) so once you're underway it is quite easy to ride – just keep an eye out for handy kerbs and treacherous camber when coming to a halt, if you don't have long legs.

The star turn of this bike though, is the engine, which is a real gem. Fifteen bhp might not sound very much, but with so little weight to push along it makes the RS quite lively, especially as the gearing is very low (the SM supermoto is geared about 10% higher) with 5000rpm showing at 30mph in sixth gear. That makes the engine sound busy, but it's also very smooth and sounds completely unflustered at high revs, running happily up to an ignition cut out at 11,500rpm. The other upside of the short gearing is that there's useful acceleration available in sixth, enough to accelerate away from 30-limits up to an indicated 60mph, a cruise it'll hold on moderate hills, which not all 125s can do. Crouch down over the bars, and you'll see 65-66mph, so it's not quite motorway material, but fast enough for A and B roads. 

SWM's 125 isn't cheap at £3399, but that's about what you'd expect for a European/Japanese 125 to Euro 4 spec. The bike certainly looks well put together and feels solid – it's a welcome newcomer to the 125 class, and if the badge is a tad unfamiliar, don't let that put you off.

SPECS