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Fantic Motor. Who remebers them ? Who owned one ?


Ian L

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Back in 1975 before I was 16 I bought my 1st road bike which was a Fantic Motor Ti 4 speed (cherry Ti) for £175 but it was so unreliable the day I started work in 76 I bought a brand new Honda SS50 5 speed in green with disc brake & I still own it today (photos to follow)

Anyway about 15 years ago I started collecting & restoring Fantic's again & ended up with 26, today I only own 4.

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I remember the Fantics, I always wanted one of those choppers but I couldn't get my Dad to feel the same way so I bought a second-hand Garelli Tiger Cross from Jim Lomas Motorcycles (Wymondham) instead. The thing was gutless so I took it back to their mechanic Charlie Fry and he cut the exhaust in half, modified it and welded it back together again, it was a Fizzie beater from that day, nothing could touch it.

 

One of my mates at the time had a SS50 and I remember he was always lagging behind, what's your take on the Hondas performance?

 

The Garelli lasted me till I was 17, I think I have a Polaroid of it somewhere.

 

Nice looking Fantics Ian.

 

Steve

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I remember the Fantics, I always wanted one of those choppers but I couldn't get my Dad to feel the same way so I bought a second-hand Garelli Tiger Cross from Jim Lomas Motorcycles (Wymondham) instead. The thing was gutless so I took it back to their mechanic Charlie Fry and he cut the exhaust in half, modified it and welded it back together again, it was a Fizzie beater from that day, nothing could touch it.

 

One of my mates at the time had a SS50 and I remember he was always lagging behind, what's your take on the Hondas performance?

 

The Garelli lasted me till I was 17, I think I have a Polaroid of it somewhere.

 

Nice looking Fantics Ian.

 

Steve

 

Hi Steve yes the SS50 5 speed was slow but nowhere near as bad as the 4 speed, I bought mine on the 1st July 1976 (that long hot summer) and ran it in that week so that I could return it for the 500 mile service at the weekend.

The following week I rode it 2 up from Oxford to Torquay (177 miles) in 7 hours for our 2 week holiday, I will find out a photo of me sitting on it looking across Shaldon beach.

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Did Fantic make a military motorcycle or did this thread escape from 'off topic' ? I suppose that my disinclination to let any machine get the better of me might well date back to that particular type of unreliable Italian two-stroke. I wouldn't care if I never saw another Dykes piston ring, ever.

 

I had a 'GT' which I then replaced with an even more troublesome Benelli...In the end I gave in and started playing with comparatively reliable British motorcycles.

 

Benelli%20-%20Fantic_zpsk3kmb0nh.jpg

 

When it was running, it was quick. Surrey Constabulary gave me a nice little paper certifying 54 mph and Oxted magistrates were less than impressed.

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Did Fantic make a military motorcycle or did this thread escape from 'off topic' ? I suppose that my disinclination to let any machine get the better of me might well date back to that particular type of unreliable Italian two-stroke. I wouldn't care if I never saw another Dykes piston ring, ever.

 

I had a 'GT' which I then replaced with an even more troublesome Benelli...In the end I gave in and started playing with comparatively reliable British moto

 

Benelli%20-%20Fantic_zpsk3kmb0nh.jpg

 

 

 

Hi 79X100 no Fantic didn't make military bikes & no this thread didn't 'escape' from 'off topic' the motorcycle section never mentioned it had to be military & with all the other rubbish that some people put on the forum that has nothing to-doing with the hobby I thought I would try to post something interesting to read with photos to look at as very little seems to get posted on here nowadays.

Anyway those lovely 'Dykes' pistons :mad: if only we knew then what we know now :???:??? it's pretty standard now to fit the single ring competition piston (not Dykes 2 ring) & cut off 4mm of the piston inlet skirt.

The port timing stays open much longer, it wont tick over so you have to keep blipping the throttle slightly & there is an increased induction noise but the increase in power & revs is amazing. real pocket rockets.

Those minarelli engines are amazing, what can be done to them now :wow: if only we had known back then.

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That's my brother. He was still waiting to be old enough to ride it. I rode once in flares - got flapped half to death and never wore them again....Platform shoes were bloody awful for changing gear in too.

 

Being a stupid kid is a stage that we have to go through on the way to becomming silly old buggers and I wouldn't want to turn the clock back.

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That's my brother. He was still waiting to be old enough to ride it. I rode once in flares - got flapped half to death and never wore them again....Platform shoes were bloody awful for changing gear in too.

 

Being a stupid kid is a stage that we have to go through on the way to becomming silly old buggers and I wouldn't want to turn the clock back.

 

Given the fashions and lack of H&S around every corner, makes you wonder how we survived. ;)

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I raced a minarelli engined 50cc bike in the classic club for a couple of seasons & came second in the 200cc class club championship.

I raced it at chimay in Belgium where it was trapped at just over 100mph down the (admittedly downhill) straight

those minarreli engines were incredible when tuned correctly

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  • 2 years later...

Hi Ian

Im going to rebuilt a Fantic TI 50cc and i saw ur post that u own 4 

I need some help and maybe parts also if u have for sale..

The big problem i have is the front forks..still didnt understood how to rebuilt them(if they can be rebuilt)

and one of the fork tube is stuck in the fork leg..

Thanks in advance for any help

Regards Emilios

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  • 7 months later...
On ‎2‎/‎26‎/‎2019 at 6:40 PM, Emilios said:

Hi Ian

Im going to rebuilt a Fantic TI 50cc and i saw ur post that u own 4 

I need some help and maybe parts also if u have for sale..

The big problem i have is the front forks..still didnt understood how to rebuilt them(if they can be rebuilt)

and one of the fork tube is stuck in the fork leg..

Thanks in advance for any help

Regards Emilios

Hi Emilios I've just seen your post, send me a PM with your contact number.

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  • 9 months later...

Had a 74 T I, yellow,  8 speed, forever changing gears,went through clutch cables like they were going out of fashion. Paid 209 pounds for it from Abbey Garage in Hillingdon, West London. Always carried  2 spare spark plugs and 2 stroke oil. After a year I sooped it up by taking a dip out of the top of the piston, skimming a few thou off of the head and replacing the gaskets with hermitite. Also changed out the sprockets. Got it up to 59mph, still needed another 2 gears. Ran for about 3 weeks before I blew the engine... Happy days.

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