Those of you of a certain age may well remember Fantic motorcycles. In the late 70s, early 80s, Fantic were well known in the off-road scene, particularly trials and even had TV exposure on BBC's Kickstart.
In the UK, road bikes from Fantic were mostly mopeds, and not just dirt-bike styled ones, Fantic went the whole hog and produced the 50cc Chopper. This wasn't just a factory custom, it was a full blown raked out chopper complete with huge sissy bar. Like most bikes these days, the asking prices have shot up. At the time of writing, there are a couple for sale on Ebay, with buy it now prices of £4k and nearly 12k! respectively.
Well now Fantic are back in the UK with a range of bikes designed to appeal to the current fashion for Scramblers and Trackers. The Scrambler and Tracker share a lot of common components, it's only really colour scheme and styling details that differentiate the two. Both models are available as 125cc, 250cc and 500cc versions, all four-stroke singles.
Whilst still assembled in Italy, using products from many European suppliers, there are components, notably the engine, which are sourced from the Far East. Nothing ostensibly wrong with that, many manufacturers nowadays either source from or have their own companies in these areas. Providing Fantic have good QC policies and are committed to keeping a ready supply of spare parts for the years to come, then all should be good. But, it's still a little bit of a gamble to spend your money with a 'new' manufacturer, rather than with a more established brand.
Anyway, since Krazy Horse are both local to me and Fantic dealers, I thought I'd go and have a little look at them.
In the UK, road bikes from Fantic were mostly mopeds, and not just dirt-bike styled ones, Fantic went the whole hog and produced the 50cc Chopper. This wasn't just a factory custom, it was a full blown raked out chopper complete with huge sissy bar. Like most bikes these days, the asking prices have shot up. At the time of writing, there are a couple for sale on Ebay, with buy it now prices of £4k and nearly 12k! respectively.
Well now Fantic are back in the UK with a range of bikes designed to appeal to the current fashion for Scramblers and Trackers. The Scrambler and Tracker share a lot of common components, it's only really colour scheme and styling details that differentiate the two. Both models are available as 125cc, 250cc and 500cc versions, all four-stroke singles.
Whilst still assembled in Italy, using products from many European suppliers, there are components, notably the engine, which are sourced from the Far East. Nothing ostensibly wrong with that, many manufacturers nowadays either source from or have their own companies in these areas. Providing Fantic have good QC policies and are committed to keeping a ready supply of spare parts for the years to come, then all should be good. But, it's still a little bit of a gamble to spend your money with a 'new' manufacturer, rather than with a more established brand.
Anyway, since Krazy Horse are both local to me and Fantic dealers, I thought I'd go and have a little look at them.
The bikes look solidly built, with the machined parts looking particularly nice. I personally don't like the twin silencer design. Can't tell you why, I just don't like it. This, as you can clearly read from the side panel, is the Flat Track version. Krazy Horse also had the Scrambler in stock, but for some reason I didn't take a picture of one, so you'll have to make do with a stock photo. I like the Scrambler best, but mostly for no other reason than that it's red and Fantics always were (and so always should be) red.
In the background you can also see that Fantic haven't completely abandoned their off-heritage, they also produce an Enduro range, which are in reality more trail bikes rather than full-blown enduro racers, and a Motard range. These are mostly small capacity ranges, with the Uk Motard range only going up to 125cc and the Enduro range maxing out with a 250cc version.
In the background you can also see that Fantic haven't completely abandoned their off-heritage, they also produce an Enduro range, which are in reality more trail bikes rather than full-blown enduro racers, and a Motard range. These are mostly small capacity ranges, with the Uk Motard range only going up to 125cc and the Enduro range maxing out with a 250cc version.
Stock photo of the Scrambler version. Essentially the same bike, but with different clothes on!
Both of the 500cc versions. Scrambler above, Flat Track below.
If you're in the market for a Scrambler or Tracker, but don't want to build your own, then the Fantics may be worth a look. Check out
Fantic's Uk website for more details and to find your nearest dealer.