Got out for a ride today,went to a local orv park where some buddies of mine were riding.Really like the power delivery,ran well,suspension worked well hopping ruts and logs,but spun the rear tire on the rim in the first ten minutes of riding it had 6psi but I hadn't really inspected it properly since it's crap,splits in sidewall and very worn out.I stopped and looked at it once it started squirming around and saw where the rim lock was on the wrong side of the bead oh well,loaded up and went home,found a patchable tube in an old street bike tire and will give it a go again tomorrow after work.Got the maico fired up and fixed a small issue with the chain fouling the right side shock and I'll ride 'em both tomorrow (Got some Dunlops on order for the Fantic)
The standard skid plate was plastic so the 2 mm will prob do the job ,
Only a silly suggestion but have you thought of putting the trottle on the left hand bar and the clutch on the right. now that would be fum swopping bikes.
Why stop with just swapping the throttle and clutch?
Welcome to trials! Great little bike you have there. You are going to have so much fun. You are actually pretty close to several trials this year. Elizabethtown In has one every year put on by trails inc. Here is their website. In the first week of April we are having a 2 day event in new paris indiana just south of south bend. It will be a michigan event but all of trials inc will be there as well. Here is michigans website. It is rumored that we will have over 100 riders. All you need is your bike, a helmet, and a smile. We also recommend riding boots and you will have to sign up for ama if you are not already. Come on out and join us. If not to ride then just to check it out. Bring the bike and we will go out after the event even if you dont ride. Ask for me.....
--Biff
Used to live in Warsaw In.
Worked for Bruce Petro olds/cad as a Fiat mechanic...
Bought a 76 Maico 440 from the Maico dealer in New Paris back in 1980 or so
hmmm.wouldn't mind visiting the old stompin' grounds...
everybody, well those I know, use slow throttle here. fix the sputtering fist. The carby is probably cause.L
As soon as I ride it more than five minutes I'll determine what the sputtering needs(it seemed only minor),I want to fix the chain tensioner before it throws the chain off and put on some tires that don't have split sidewalls(ordered some dunlops)
I'm sure I'll spend lots of money doing the wrong things,but it'll be experience well paid for,usually the best kind
Found a couple of pieces of aluminum in the garage to make a skid plate with,should I make a thin one(2mm) or a thick one(6mm) I have both,thin would be much easier to mold and cut and much lighter. I likely won't be doing splatters onto rocks anytime soon(If Ever )
Way back when I was still in high school I high sided a Suzuki T500,along with life threatening internal injuries I shattered my right wrist in five places,I haven't had full motion of it since.If I have a slow turn throttle then I have to raise and lower my elbow to get full travel,I've adapted to it so it's normal for me.I usually install a Motion-Pro throttle on my dirt bikes designed for 44mm Mikuni carbs,when hooked up to a 38mm carb it ends up with about 70 degrees of rotation, The throttle tube was already broken on the fantic so I ordered a quickturn one to replace it(but not until I compared it to the Motion-Pro spare I have just to see if it would hook up,would've been about a 45 degree turn on that little carb,luckily the throttle cable was incompatable!) If I don't end up with the control I need then I'll just order the slow turn,they're pretty cheap.
I'm sure by the time I'm done with it I won't be able to say I've got less money in it than anyone else's
Thanks all, but I have one located, I'm just unsure as to costs of repair. I have heard
that the top end is very expensive, although I do know someone who has had some
luck honing "unhonable" cylinders. Anyone know if other jugs/pistons are compatible?
Damn,just a couple of weeks back there was a cylinder and piston on ebay that got zero bids,I'm pretty sure it was from an air mono,just not sure which one.I considered snapping it up for the hell of it but as I didn't even have my 240 then I passed on it,maybe it'll come back up(was cheap,60-70 bucks)
puttered around the driveway,up over a small stone wall,up a small bank at the side of my drive,couple of tight turns,I'm damn excited!
shifts ok,clutch works,a little sputtery on bottom,but couldn't really clean it out as I live right downtown in my small town(I can see the courthouse from my front porch)
rear brake is strong,front a bit mushy(I did hold the brake lever as I tightened the front axle)
As you can see by my second picture above I might be used to a bit more poop from my motors,440 AW Maico,last Modern dirtbike I had was a 380 EXC KTM.
Question-Are the Domino levers malleable enough to bend the clutch lever out a bit? It strikes the bar at an angle that restricts the amount it can pull the cable,if I tweaked the lever out some by bending it in the middle(more as a Magura powerpull) so that it met the bar parallel to the grip I might have better clutch release without drag.
Ordered a new throttle with the white tube so I can have a shorter turn to wide open,my right wrist barely has 90 degrees of total motion so I need a quick turn throttle.
Need to fab a chain tensioner block,one side is worn completely off(should I substitute a more modern design?recommendations?)
It doesn't have any kill button at all,will need to figure out where to connect one(do I need a two wire or just a single?)
gots no skidplate either,might have a piece of aluminum to make one with though.
I'll take it out somewhere this coming weekend and hopefully get some real riding in!(as much as I can with the totally knackered tires)
Are the fantics still reasonably priced in the US.
Here in the uk they are just starting to fetch silly money,But you picked the right bike to go twinshocking.
Good luck old chap,tally ho!
Well,$700 bucks ain't real cheap for a bike that's been "enjoyed" as much as this one has(scraped and scuffed all over,chipped fins on cylinder and head)I'm thinkin' twinshock Fantics are pretty rare so the price of each one is what the seller wants and what the buyer is willing to pay whenever one comes up for sale.Air monos seem to come up on craigslist pretty regularly if you search nationwide with something like the Jaxed.com mash Fantic search (searches craigslist and ebay but doesn't allways catch every listing)
don't try to search for "SWM" on craigslist...
BTW,went to all four gas stations in my podunk town,none had premium fuel,have to wait until tomorrow to get something with enough octane before I can mix up some fuel to try to fire up da Fanny
Just bought myself a 240,needs a bit of work but not much,haven't even fired it up yet!
Never owned a trials bike,or even ridden one,but since my family was a Broncco dealer when I was a youngun' I always knew It'd have to be a Fantic if I got a trialler!
Dad ended up taking a job as a service rep for Fiat,he was one the road alot so us kids rode the inventory to death,mine was an Apache 100,loved it in spite of what Super Hunky said about them.
looking forward to learning trials riding,I'm too old to do the modern thing but twinshocks should be just up my alley!
Just bought myself a Fantic 240,never owned or ridden a trials bike,but have rode dirt for forty years.(I'm such a magnificent rider I have a total of seven whole trophies to show for my efforts )
I volunteer at a local state owned ORV park plus have several places to play and learn at,hopefully I'll enter an event later this year!
Bought a Fantic because way back when I was a kid my family was briefly a Broncco dealer(Fantic trivia buffs will know about Broncco) so I always said when I got a trials bike it had to be a Fantic.
Another Fantic
in Fantic
Posted
Got out for a ride today,went to a local orv park where some buddies of mine were riding.Really like the power delivery,ran well,suspension worked well hopping ruts and logs,but spun the rear tire on the rim in the first ten minutes of riding
it had 6psi but I hadn't really inspected it properly since it's crap,splits in sidewall and very worn out.I stopped and looked at it once it started squirming around and saw where the rim lock was on the wrong side of the bead 
oh well,loaded up and went home,found a patchable tube in an old street bike tire and will give it a go again tomorrow after work.Got the maico fired up and fixed a small issue with the chain fouling the right side shock and I'll ride 'em both tomorrow 
(Got some Dunlops on order for the Fantic)