THREE OF A KIND THE FANTIC CABALLERO 500

This month we take a look at Fantic's 70s inspired 500 single, the Cabellero Scrambler, Rally and Flat Track.

Riders of a certain vintage will know all about Fantic, thanks to the Italian factory’s longstanding off-road pedigree and its reputation for building lightning-fast sports mopeds back in the 70s, but if you’re a little bit on the younger side, then you’ll probably be much more familiar with its recent output of modern retro 125s and 500s (and maybe even its range of e-bikes).

The flagship bike in the brand is its reimagined and relaunched Cabellero dual-sport – and if you remember the original but want something a bit easier to live with, it’s well worth a look. Available in a choice of 125, 250 and 500cc in a range of different guises depending on the balance of road and off-road performance you’re looking for, the stylish Cabellero reboot has been incredibly well received since it was shown to the world back in 2018, before hitting UK dealers in 2019.

There’s a choice of Scrambler, Flat Track and Rally (in addition to a couple of limited edition versions), which are all essentially the same bike, with a few small modifications to make it better suited for its intended purpose. The Scrambler is the base model, the Flat Tracker is much the same aside from its pair of 19” wheels, while the Rally is the top-of-the-line machine, and as a result it gets a selection of additional off-road goodies to help make it stand out from the crowd.

For an extra £650 on top of the price of the Scrambler, the Rally gets some longer travel suspension at both the front and rear (up to 200mm from 150mm); a taller seat height; an alloy swingarm; a set of dual sport Pirelli tyres; a bashplate; a headlight guard; some off-road ready footpegs (with removable rubber covers); a high front mudguard; and a few other bits and bobs too. They help make turn the Caballero from a capable off-roader into something that’s up to tackling some seriously tricky terrain without too much trouble. It is worth noting that most of the parts (excluding the suspension units) are available as bolt-on accessories, which means that you can upgrade the Scrambler and Flat Track and create a machine that best suits you.

1. ENGINE The big Caballeros are powered by a 449cc liquid cooled four stroke single befitting the bike’s retro looks. With a healthy 40hp and 43Nm of torque on offer, there’s plenty of fun to be had both on and off-road with a rich soundtrack from the twin Arrow exhaust. Stopping power is offered from a 320mm floating brake disc up front and a 230mm disc at the rear, while switchable Continental two-channel ABS makes the Caballero a serious proposition in the dirt. The Scrambler (including the two special edition models) and the Rally both come with spoked 19” front and 17” rear wheels, while the Flat Track gets a twin 19” set up. 4. SUSPENSION Fantic’s own 41mm diameter upside down forks and a monoshock with rebound damping regulation balance comfort and performance. Across the board there’s 150mm of suspension travel, but the slightly taller Rally (up to 860mm from 830mm) gets 200mm of travel to make it even more capable of tackling tricky terrain. If 70s off-roaders are your thing, you’re going to fall in love with Fantic’s range of cool, capable and characterful Caballeros. And there’s something to suit every rider, with varying degrees of road and off-road ability, suspension travel and seat height depending on which model you go for. 2. BRAKES 5. STYLING 3. WHEELS 2 1 5 4 3