January 30, 200422 yr Hi Just thinking about fantic coming back, Why did companys like Fantic,swm,Yamaha stop building trials bikes? Danny
January 30, 200422 yr Fantic & SWM, both financial mismanagement. Yamaha still make trials bikes. They're called Scorpas.
January 30, 200422 yr It is either money or ego. If you are a large company you can do it for either. If you are a small company you have got to do it for money. Things like the general economy of the contry and world are factors as in the demise of Bultaco, Ossa, and Montesa in the late 70's and early 80's. I am sure that if Bill Gates were into Trials he could build a world class bike and afford not to make money. Most companies can't.
January 30, 200422 yr I am sure that if Bill Gates were into Trials he could build a world class bike and afford not to make money. Most companies can't. Yeah, but who'd buy a bike that crashes at random, that you constantly have to apply fixes to and you have to upgrade every 6 months?
January 30, 200422 yr Yeah, but who'd buy a bike that crashes at random, that you constantly have to apply fixes to and you have to upgrade every 6 months? Not to mention the bike being sick with a virus every time your want to ride.
January 30, 200422 yr Things like the general economy of the contry and world are factors as in the demise of Bultaco, Ossa, and Montesa in the late 70's and early 80's. Dear Mr. dfwilson, Montesa never demised. Montesa has produced motorcycles, without interruption since 1945. As Yogi Berra said "You could look it up". VIVA Montesa, Martin Belair US Montesa
January 30, 200422 yr Things like the general economy of the contry and world are factors as in the demise of Bultaco, Ossa, and Montesa in the late 70's and early 80's. Dear Mr. dfwilson, Montesa never demised. Montesa has produced motorcycles, without interruption since 1945. As Yogi Berra said "You could look it up". VIVA Montesa, Martin Belair US Montesa But had Honda not needed a foothold in Spain they would have gone tits up just like the rest.
January 30, 200422 yr Point taken, I should have said " and Montesa's near demise". By the way how do I get spare parts from the factory for my Cota 247? Ciao DFW
January 30, 200422 yr Yeah, but who'd buy a bike that crashes at random, Me , that bloody Scorpa that i bought does that. Bloody useless!!! Edited January 30, 200422 yr by Marky boy
January 30, 200422 yr Yeah, but who'd buy a bike that crashes at random, that you constantly have to apply fixes to and you have to upgrade every 6 months? Lots of people own the bike above...it's called a Gas Gas
January 30, 200422 yr Right you are Marky G. My brother who rides a 99 Bultaco(Sherco) has earned enough Tig welding Gas Gas' back together to buy a new Scorpa.
January 31, 200422 yr Fantic had financial troubles not once but twice! It's unfortunate that a bike with a reputation as having good quality was mis-managed. I really hope that the new owners can bring back some of the ideals that made this marque such a favorite!! Viva Fanticmotor!
January 31, 200422 yr Fantic's 'good quality' reputation went out the window quite a few years before their final demise, the twinshocks were really good, but some of the monoshock models simply fell apart before your eyes.
January 31, 200422 yr Part of Fantics problem in the years just before they went belly up was that they wouldn't listen to the guys who rode them. I talked with Tommi Ahvala about it when he gave us our Trials School. When the "Section" bike line came around, the head guy decided to redesign the clutch system to something that they all told him wasn't a good idea. I think that was on the 97 Section. The boss refused to listen and forced the clutch on to the new model. It didn't work, and Tommi said it almost got him killed ...literally. Tommi quit Fantic right after that. Same sort of thing happened in the early 90's. All the manufacturers were going liquid cooling, but Mr. Fantic (whatever his name really was) didn't think it was necessary and was conviced the radiator mounted on the down tubes was too exposed to hazards, so they stuck with air cooling two years too long. When it became obvious that the bikes needed to be water cooled to keep up with the Jones, he went with the horizontal configuration above the cylinder. The main problems with that is that is it made the bike really tall ( I had a 92 Fantic 309 and a 94 Kroo). The Roo was really tall at the top of the gas tank. Plus the fan hung on the motor bearing and it wasn't designed to work in that configuration. The motors weren't sealed units either and went south in a hurry. It was an interesting time in the development of Trials machinery. Some of you may remember that Fantic actually advertised the early KRoos as having a refridgerated (as in freon) type of cooling system, but when the bike actually came out it had the horizontal radiator above the cylinder. I'd sure like to see Fantic come back. Loved that motor. You could easily add flywheel weights to make it faster or slower. True hydraulic clutch too (unless you put brake fluid in there instead of hydraulic fluid...bad..bad)Motor made tons of power, and the thing had the best suspension in the business. Had lots of ground clearance too. Man that dude would roll over and up anything! Just point it, pull the trigger and hold on!
January 31, 200422 yr Used to own a 305, bright orange and white...lovely The motor in mine was a bit tired, the previous owner was a good expert who thrased the bike into the ground nearly........ but it still pulled like a train, I found it a reliable enough bike to own (as reliable as todays bikes anyways). Didn't have much to do with the brand after I sold the 305.
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