The middleweight segment is thriving across all categories with new models entering the market left and right. At EICMA 2023, we saw a lot of new models from various manufacturers hit the scene, particularly in the 400cc to 500cc segment. This time around, it’s another historic Italian brand that was acquired by a Chinese company.
SWM was founded in the 70s in Italy. Known as Speedy Working Motors, the company focused particularly on enduro and motocross, with a series of lightweight and performance-oriented dual-sports. These days, SWM is still in existence, but is no longer Italian-owned. While its headquarters remain in Italy, most of its funding, as well as the development and production of its models, takes place in China, under the leadership of Shineray, an automotive manufacturer operating across the car, motorcycle, and heavy vehicle industries.
The brand has recently unveiled its premium beginner-friendly offering for the European market called the Gran Milano 500, and it’s obviously a very stark departure from the brand’s off-road focused machines. It’s a modern-styled streetfighter that fits snugly into the A2 licensing category, and as is the case with many 500cc motorcycles originating from China, makes use of a very familiar technical blueprint.
Powering the SWM Gran Milano 500 is a 494cc liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, parallel-twin engine with a 180-degree crankshaft configuration. The same engine can be found in other Chinese bikes from Loncin (Voge in the European market). Ultimately, the engine finds its roots from none other than Honda, more particularly, in its CB500 range of street bikes, all of which continue to be very popular in the global market today. In the case of the Gran Milano, it pumps out 48 horsepower, and is Euro 5 compliant. As is the case with nearly all bikes of this caliber, power is sent to the rear wheel via a six-speed manual gearbox.
SWM claims a wet weight of 188 kilograms, which is pretty approachable for beginner riders. It makes use of a steel backbone frame that uses the engine as a stressed member, contributing to the bike’s lightweight package. On top of that, it features KYB-sourced suspension hardware in the form of an inverted front fork and a preload-adjustable rear monoshock. The result is an incredibly friendly 790-millimeter (31-inch) seat height. The bike rolls on cast-aluminum wheels measuring 17 inches front and back, and interestingly, gets Pirelli Angel GT rubber. Dual front discs measuring 296 millimeters and a single rear rotor measuring 240 millimeters are sourced from J.Juan, and come equipped with dual-channel ABS.
In terms of pricing and availability, SWM has priced the new Gran Milano at 5,990 euros (about $6,531 USD), which is cheaper than the Honda CB500F, but not by much. For reference, the CB500F, which has pretty much set the standard for all 500cc naked bikes on the market, carries a retail price of around 6,300 euros, or about $6,869 USD at the time of writing.
