Bought a Fantic 500 Rally. Madness?

[Lungauer]

As an oldish person with the upper body strength of a seven year old I have to face the fact that off road riding on a big adventure bike is beyond me, especially as a novice. I’ve owned GSs and 1290 Adventures, but for a TET trip to northern Spain and Portugal next year wanted something that wouldn’t intimidate me and that I could pick up when, inevitably, I drop it.

On paper the MY 2025 Fantic 500 Rally ticks a lot of boxes; light (150kg dry), 200mm suspension travel, 280mm ground clearance, adjustable suspension, switchable ABS, six speed (unlike new DRZ 4S), slipper clutch, 44bhp, Italian made and built (including the engine now). OK Fantic are going bust and it might be made of cheese, but what can go wrong?

[airsafari87]

Caballero?

Fantastic choice.

Now that I ve had a clear out of some of the bikes I had in the garage I ve been looking very seriously at adding one of these in to an empty spot.

[Lungauer]

Sorry - yes Caballero. Glad I’m not the only one who thinks this will be a good little bike.

[Airtrixx]

I went trail riding with some one on a Fantic 500 earlier this year around the Cotswolds. Nothing extreme but it coped really well. They look great too.

[carinaman]

The red and yellow ones look good. They appeal to me.

[M138]

As an ex Fantic Chopper owner in the 70s it’s great to see the name producing motorcycles in demand again. All made in Italy too.

[Familymad]

Lovely bike. Great choice

[robinh73]

I desperately want one of these, specifically a Rally. They are such great looking bikes, some wonderful details on them too. I see on the owners groups on Facebook that they tend to run lean from standard but there is a box of gubbins (can't remember the name sorry) that cures this and re improves things, not just the lean running. The only other bike that would tempt me in this size is the new Triumph Scrambler 400 XC as this has very similar looks to the Caballero Rally.

[PT1984]

These review well. Good suspension travel and ground clearance. Some trick CNC bits and Arrow exhaust. Dare I say like an Italian CCM….

[GM182]

Congrats. Do report back on how you get on with it. I think they have plenty of good points, not least the looks!

[PT1984]

Also didn’t realise they are still a product of Italy. Part of the reason I went for the Ducati Scrambler over the Triumph offering. And the 30kg weight saving.

[TiminYorkshire]

I like the look of these. Do they have a 21inch front wheel?

And any pictures of yours?

[PT1984]

And where are the pics!

[Lungauer]

As OP I must apologise for the radio silence. I’ve been away becoming a grandfather (for the third time but no less joyous for that).

I will certainly report back, but I’m afraid I can’t supply any information, or even pictures, as I haven’t picked it up yet! In fact I probably won’t collect it this side of Christmas and the dealer is happy to hold onto it until then.

In answer to the question yes it does have a 21” front wheel, another reason I chose it over some other bikes out there. It really does seem to tick all the right boxes for me, especially in terms of weight/power, I suppose, however, buying into a small and relatively unknown brand like Fantic is a bit of a leap in the dark. We’ll see, but I will certainly report back on here as I get to know the bike.

[Lungauer]

Some delay since my original post but I took delivery of the bike this morning (great service from both Motorcycle Delivery UK and the supplying dealer, Power Start Bikes). This was the first time I’ve seen one in the flesh, let alone sat on one. A risky strategy for buying a motorcycle but one that I’ve used before, so far very successfully (notably a KTM 1290 Super Adventure R and a KTM 950SM, the latter I think probably the best bike I’ve ever owned).

I am pleased to say that so far there is nothing indicating that I’ve made a mistake. The weather is atrocious today so I haven’t taken it out (and won’t until I’ve given it a liberal dose of ACF50), but what I have done is pore over it in the garage. I am pleasantly surprised by the build quality, given that it’s relatively inexpensive. It seems well screwed together, there are excellent machined billet aluminium parts, sweet looking Arrow exhaust, the wiring is well sheathed and secured, the switchgear looks as good as most makes I’ve seen. It is light, the seating position is good, it’s tall enough but not too tall and a good ratio for standing relative to the bars. So far, so good.

Might fall apart, physically or metaphorically, a few miles up the road…

[Bob_Defly]

Congrats! It's definitely a looker.

[carinaman]

Quoting myself:

carinaman said:

I'd not seen that green before. It reminds me of Aston Martin's Californian Sage Green. I scrolled through the photos on their website.

It looks cooler to me than the Triumph Scrambler even with the Bond links and the Guy Martin Great Escape programme.

It looks good, but I just end up considering what else I could get for the money or a grand more.

From that thread:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...


The Guzzi looks good too.

[Arrivalist]

Really like the look of that. Congrats OP.

[robinh73]

Absolutely stunning, makes me want one even more now. Hopefully you get some dry days to get out and enjoy it.

[Biker9090]

They do look great.

Last time I got a new bike (relatively at 2k) I spent the next day going over various nuts and bolts that I knew from past experience - on other bikes - would benefit from being given a dose of anti seize or loctite as required. Mudguard bolts, belly pan, brake lines etc etc etc.