FIRST RIDE FANTIC CABALLERO 700
Fantic’s funky Caballero and Yamaha’s CP2 motor should be a great match. But…
WE LOVE LIGHT and middleweight retro-scramblers – they’re the perfect antidote to ever-bigger, heavier and more complicated machinery in other categories. These bikes offer a simple, old-fashioned sense of fun and plenty of charm, together with modern usability and sophisticated tech in a manner that doesn’t detract from the characterful side of their make-up.
Fantic are very good at this: the Caballero 500 is one of the best scramblers, not just in class but full-stop. A chunky-thumpy single with poke and a bit of verve matches with a lightweight chassis to make a bike that’ll bop around town, along nadgery-noodly backroads or even a light trail in a manner that’ll make you smile from the moment you thumb the starter to when you rock the kill-switch to ‘off’.
This is the latest, biggest Caballero, powered by Yamaha’s 689cc, 70bhp CP2 parallel-twin. It’s been used to great effect in the MT-07, T7, Tracer 7 and R7 over the past nine years – it’s a fun, friendly, reliable, economical motor. It sounds like a good combination, and a welcome alternative to the Ducati/Triumph options.
First impressions are good – there are few, if any, bikes under £10,000 that are detailed so nicely. Machined alloy plates on the swingarm pivot and a matching top-yoke, Brembo brakes, a TFT dash and countless little touches make the Caballero as appealing up close as the neo-retro looks are from afar.
Fantic haven’t cracked open the Yamaha motor to fiddle internally, but they’ve designed their own airbox, exhaust and electronics. It has traction control, and lean-sensitive ABS (fed information by an IMU), setting it apart from the Yamaha family, which have basic anti-lock stoppers only. An extra 2bhp and 2lb.ft are claimed over Yamaha numbers too.
It doesn’t sound or feel much different, with those peak figures remaining at the same RPM. It’s geared a little lower than an MT-07, but taller than a T7. That sounds like a good thing – but it’s actually not. You have to consider two things: the bike’s realistic maximum cruising speed of 70mph (I know that’s the UK max anyway but, well, y’know…); and the wholesale retention of the Yamaha’s preference to be kept above 5000rpm to get the best out of it. It doesn’t sit quite right.
TALK
