Fantic 305

shamus

shamus

LDMMC
Want your thoughts on something. I have a friend visiting from Italy, and back home he rides a Fantic 305 Trials bike. I did a bit of research on them, and think they would be a great platform for a fun street/dirt tracker. He can get them for cheap over there, and I'm looking to possibly get a few over here and see what I can do to them. What do you guys think?

305%20dx.jpg
 
AlphaDogChoppers said:
How would you make them street legal?

Powerband would be all wrong, too. No top end.
Click to expand...

Larger front disc, indicators, tail light. City bike only, not to exceed 50mph.
 
It's not a street legal machine. How are you going to add lights to a machine with no electrical system? How will you get tags for a machine titled for off-road use only in a foreign country.

You have not given this much thought. Too many obstacles. I wouldn't try to do it even if you could get them for free.
 
Still, there are many legal obstacles to importing bikes not intended for the country you are importing them into.

I see no reason to change the front brake. It's the legality of getting tag and title that seems impossible.
 
AlphaDogChoppers said:
OK. looking again, I see it actually does have head and tail lights.
Click to expand...

Sure does. RE: "not given this much thought", let me worry about the legalities of import to my place of living. Isn't me posing the question in the first place a form of giving it thought? It's not like I bought a container of them and am in the process of shipping it over. RE: top end, that's the kind of input I'm looking for, thanks.
 
You asked: "What do you guys think?"

I told you what I think. You have a problem with that?
Being a twerp is not going to get you any useful input.

Signing out.
 
AlphaDogChoppers said:
You asked: "What do you guys think?"

I told you what I think. You have a problem with that?
Being a twerp is not going to get you any useful input.

Signing out.
Click to expand...

So many entitled/hostile people on this site with no real knowledge of what the hell they're talking about. You don't know the import laws here, so unless you have real advice to give on them, stick to areas of criticism that you know about.
 
The power band on a trials bike is designed for low rpm torque to climb over rocks etc. It should have lights but whether they will meet U.S. standards I don't know. I don't know where you are but here in California registering a bike requires it to meet whatever the standards were for that particular year. Would it be a fun street bike? Another good question. The "seating" position on those bikes require you to fold up like a pretzel. They weren't designed for sitting. But with a change of gearing I guess they could be used on the street. Or if its just short jaunts and no freeway work leave the gearing alone and climb over parked cars etc and really have some fun!!
 
Hoofhearted said:
The power band on a trials bike is designed for low rpm torque to climb over rocks etc. It should have lights but whether they will meet U.S. standards I don't know. I don't know where you are but here in California registering a bike requires it to meet whatever the standards were for that particular year. Would it be a fun street bike? Another good question. The "seating" position on those bikes require you to fold up like a pretzel. They weren't designed for sitting. But with a change of gearing I guess they could be used on the street. Or if its just short jaunts and no freeway work leave the gearing alone and climb over parked cars etc and really have some fun!!
Click to expand...

Good to know, thanks dude. Here's a picture of a mod'ed fantic. Also, not done for the street but in the direction of what I was thinking.

fantic_2stroke_dirt_tracker.jpg
 
That looks like a totally different set up. Engine and framewise. But I guess you could turn the trials bike into something like that. A lot of work ahead of you but it could be worth the effort. Personally I'd try to find another donor bike. But it would be your build and let me be the last to tell you what to build. Good luck.
 
Hoofhearted said:
That looks like a totally different set up. Engine and framewise. But I guess you could turn the trials bike into something like that. A lot of work ahead of you but it could be worth the effort. Personally I'd try to find another donor bike. But it would be your build and let me be the last to tell you what to build. Good luck.
Click to expand...

I'm sure you're right, you have significantly more experience in the matter than I. I'm not too knowledgable with respect to trials bikes but I will be doing a lot of reading in the near future. Just looks like a lot of fun. Thanks again!
 
I'm not too knowledgeable of current trials bike either. I rode trials 40 years ago and over the years the rules have changed and the bikes evolved to meet them. Current trials bikes are like GP bikes in the way that they are extremes of each discipline. Here's a video of what trials bikes are designed to do. Short bursts of instant power. How useful that sort of power would be on the street is questionable. A change of expansion chamber would possibly alter the power band to make it an enjoyable street ride. But possibly a change of gearing combined with the low rpm power band would make for fun street bike. Thinking of it that way it could be fun. The only problem I really see is the seat. As you can see in the video sitting on a trials bike is not something they do. I saw an article on a "new" trials bike last year. They were developing a flathead single for better low end torque. Funny how the world turns.

http://youtu.be/0FWdv8ytvjk
 
I have had half a dozen GasGas TXT series trials bikes; the last one was a 2006 TXT280 Pro and it had headlight/tail light and a harness for a street legal kit. From what I understand, they ride them on the road quite often in Europe. Not sure about the older ones though, but I am sure it can be done. First gear is very short, but once you get past that, it would be fine. Keep in mind that the bike is not designed to ride in the seated position and the frame angles wouldn't really support a flat tracker seat . . . just FWIW.

If they are super cheap, I would buy a few and keep one and sell the others ang get yours free and just ride it as-is.
 
Hi, I was having a little search for anything on custom trials machines and I stumbled across your thread, sorry if the issue is now dead and buried but I thought I'd share my opinion.

In the UK, trials competition demanded that the bikes are road legal as part of the rules of entry. This not only included lights and plates etc. but also a road legal tyre, something which may have dramatically affected the actual off-road potential of many bikes, but that's another story...

The gearing, as previously mentioned, is not conventional compared to road and 'speed' bikes, gears 1 through 3 are for use in competition, very short, but 4 + 5 (usually) are road gears, they are much taller and can actually pick up a fair pace, the jump between 3 + 4 is usually a very big leap so just adjusting the final drive gearing would not actually adress this. To be honest, I've always considered a trial bike (as is) for use here in London, loads of traffic, tight roads, loads of stopping and starting, getting to and from work without putting a foot down could be entertaining ;)

When I found this thread, this Monty sprung to mind:
http://www.bikeexif.com/montesa
 
Did the law change in the U.K.?? Lights wer not needed but the bike could only be ridden during daylight hours and trials universal tread is road legal. But here in the U.S. lights are required. The frame deign of the current trials bike would, to me, make for a very uncomfortable commuter or around town ride,
 
I'm sure that a few years ago the law was a bit more lax in regards to lights, plus many trials sections would be spread out over a large area, meaning riders had to use roads to get from A to B, these days it would be unusual to cover that much ground, all the events are very local and don't stretch very far so riding between sections doesn't really come up any more. Plus with so many kids riding it's not even an option. Lights are totally necessary in the UK these days, you're supposed to ride with them on the whole time too, regardless of the time of day!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DTT Light or Dark

  • DTT Light
    • www.jadusmotorcycleparts.com
    www.lostapostle.ca/
    www.sparckmoto.com

    Spread the Love

    Back
    Top Bottom