Speedway covers a wide range — from an $870 flatbed lockstitch to a CNC template machine and 15-needle embroidery heads. That breadth is useful once you know how the line is organised, and confusing until then.
This guide compares the models we actually stock, grouped the way you would actually shop: first by the kind of work you do, then by how much automation you want inside that category. Every model below is a current, available machine, and every one ships assembled and tested from our Miami floor with table, stand and servo motor included.
Start here: what are you sewing?
| Your work | Category you need | Speedway starting points |
|---|---|---|
| Shirts, trousers, general apparel, alterations | Single needle lockstitch | SW 8700 family, SW 8000 A, AI4 |
| Knitwear, t-shirts — seaming | Overlock | SW6-3D / SW6-4D / SW6-5D / SW6-6D, SW7 series |
| Knitwear — hems and necklines | Coverstitch | SW 562/01CB flatbed, SW 662-01/CB cylinder arm |
| Leather, vinyl, canvas, upholstery | Walking foot / unison feed | 303 PRO, SW-4400N, SW-335L, SW 2810D-7 |
| Shoes, bags, hats, 3-D assemblies | Post bed | SW-810 (single), SW-820 (double) |
| Jeans and denim production | Feed-off-the-arm chainstitch | SW35800DNU |
| Zig-zag, awnings, sails | Zig-zag | SW 1530 |
The SW 8700 family: the flatbed lockstitch ladder
This is where most shops start, and where the model numbers cause the most confusion. All four machines below sew the same stitch — single needle lockstitch, class 301, DBx1 needle system in #9–#18 — on light to medium fabrics. What separates them is the drive and the automation.
Two things worth clearing up before the table, because they get repeated wrongly everywhere:
- Every one of these ships with a 550 W servo motor. None of them uses a clutch motor. So the choice between them is not “old technology vs new” and it is not about electricity consumption — a servo stops when you stop, whether it drives through a belt or sits on the head.
- Automatic needle positioning is a servo function, not a model feature. All of these can stop needle-up or needle-down, because all of them have a servo controller.
| Model | Drive | Thread trimmer | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| SW 8700 | Belt driven + 550 W servo | None | Lowest entry point; sample rooms, low-volume shops |
| SW 8700 D | Direct drive 550 W, 5,500 SPM | Mechanical | Same job, less vibration and noise, higher speed |
| SW 8700 C | Direct drive 550 W | Automatic | Production: cuts thread at the end of every seam |
| SW 8000 A | Direct drive, integrated | Automatic | 4 stepper-controlled auto functions, 0.1 mm stitch precision |
How to choose within the family. Check the current prices on the product pages before you decide — the gap between the SW 8700 and the SW 8700 D is small enough that for most shops the direct-drive version is the obvious pick on noise and vibration alone. The real step change is the SW 8700 C: an automatic thread trimmer removes a manual action from every single seam, and in a production setting that pays for itself quickly. The SW 8000 A is the step into computerised sewing — stepper-motor presser foot, programmable functions, stitch length repeatable to 0.1 mm.
Above the family sit two specialists: the SPEEDWAY AI4, which adds material recognition and automatic tension, and the SW9000-56 long-arm computerised lockstitch for oversized panels.
Heavy materials: the walking foot range
When a standard drop feed cannot move layered leather, vinyl, canvas or upholstery without slipping and marking, you need a machine where the top feeds as well as the bottom. Speedway offers this in four bed types, and the bed type is the decision — not the price.
| Model | Feed / bed | Key specs | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 303 PRO | Top & bottom feed, flatbed | 8 mm stitch, Tex 30–92, 1,800 SPM, DPx17 #18–#23 | Entry into heavy work; bags, belts, covers |
| SW-4400N | Triple / unison feed, flatbed | Large vertical-axis hook, DPx17 #16–#23 | The workhorse: upholstery, marine, leather goods |
| SW-335L | Unison feed, cylinder bed | 15 mm clearance, 6 mm stitch, 2,800 SPM, 45 mm arm | Tubular work a flatbed cannot reach: bags, boots, gussets |
| SW 2810D-7 | Walking foot, long arm | 750 W direct drive, 16 mm foot lift, auto trimmer, double-capacity hook | Large pieces: sofas, car seats, mattresses |
| SW-4420N | Unison feed, double needle | Two parallel rows in one pass | Decorative and structural twin-row seams |
| SW-4400-L18 | Unison feed, long arm | 18" arm (also available at 25" and 30") | Oversized covers, tarps, industrial textiles |
Flatbed or cylinder bed? Ask whether your work is flat or tubular. A flatbed cannot get inside a finished bag or boot shaft; a cylinder bed can. That question matters more than horsepower.
See the full walking foot range and heavy duty machines.
Post bed: shoes, bags, hats and 3-D work
A post bed raises the sewing point on a column so you can rotate an already-assembled, three-dimensional piece around it. This is footwear and leather-goods equipment, not general garment equipment.
- SW-810 — single needle post bed, lockstitch 301, needle system 134/134LR/134D #12–#19. Shoe uppers, boot shafts, hat patches, bag panels.
- SW-820 — the double needle version, two parallel rows at 2.4 mm in one pass on the same 3-D assemblies.
To be clear about what these are not: a double needle post bed is a specialist machine for finished assemblies. It is not a general-purpose machine for “detailed work,” and it is a poor first machine for a garment shop.
Knitwear: overlock and coverstitch
Speedway's overlock line is organised by needles and threads. Pick the configuration by the stitch you need, then choose the drive:
- SW6-3D — 1 needle, 3 threads (ISO 504). Classic overlock finishing.
- SW6-4D — 2 needles, 4 threads (ISO 514, mock safety), 6,500 SPM, differential feed 0.7–2. The knitwear workhorse.
- SW6-5D — 2 needles, 5 threads, true safety stitch (ISO 516). Seams and overedges wovens in one pass.
- SW6-6D — 3 needles, 6 threads, universal.
- SW 747 e — 4-thread direct drive, the value option.
For coverstitch, the decision is bed type, not thread count: SW 562/01CB flatbed for open hems and neckline binding, SW 662-01/CB cylinder arm for sleeve and leg hems sewn in the round.
Denim production
If you are building jeans rather than repairing them, the machine that defines the line is the SW35800DNU — a 3-needle feed-off-the-arm chainstitch with differential feed, built for inseams, outseams and seat seams on tubular legs. Pair it with a double needle for topstitching, a 516 overlock for closing, and a bartacker for pocket corners and belt loops.
Specialty machines worth knowing about
- SW-XYP-4 — leather skiver, for thinning edges before folding or stitching.
- SW 500 e — portable blindstitch, for invisible hems on trousers and skirts.
- SW 373 D — chainstitch button sewer.
- SW 781 D — digital buttonhole machine.
- SW-1906GH — direct drive electronic bartacker.
- SW 1530 — mechanical heavy-duty zig-zag up to 8 mm, for canvas, awnings and sails.
How to actually decide
- Category before model. The bed type and feed system decide whether the machine can do your job at all. No amount of automation fixes a wrong feed system.
- Bed type before price. Flat, cylinder, post or long arm — this is the question people get wrong and it is the hardest one to correct after delivery.
- Then buy automation for the operation you repeat most. If you cut thread five hundred times a day, an automatic trimmer is the upgrade. If you sew one long seam, it is not.
The most expensive machine is rarely the right one. The right one is the machine whose feed system matches your material and whose automation matches your bottleneck.
If you are not sure which category you are in, describe the material and the seam and we will tell you — we assemble, test and service every machine we ship, from Miami. Call +1 (954) 681-3894, English or Spanish.