FANTIC XEF 250 TRAIL
An undoubted left-field addition to the test, the Fantic XEF 250 Trail needs to be fully understood to be appreciated. Obviously more focused on off-road performance, the Italian bike is distinctly short of creature comforts and tech, those issues likely defining how well it suits you. If you just want to use the 250 for the road, then it may not be your first choice. But if spending more time on the dirt is a preference, then it warrants more serious consideration.
Not having ridden the Fantic before, I chose it first to get acquainted, the earliest impressions soon underlining its more focused identity. The lofty positioned seat makes just getting aboard a challenge, its narrow, plank-like nature obviously short of comfort when you do. More used to these sorts of bikes, I was happy to tolerate it, and immediately enjoyed its overall toy-like feel, and character of the
250’s perky motor, with its close-ratio box helping to keep it in its sweet spot. Though performing quite modestly, allied to the Fantic’s slimness and very light weight, the single-potter helps give the bike plenty of fun factor. Getting a bit buzzy at higher revs adds to its overall rawness, but as the 250’s so easy to throw around, with the lightness also reducing the workload for the decent brakes and firmer, but well-controlled suspension, I liked how readily I could enjoy the 250. It was a pleasure to zip keenly along Northumberland’s narrow backroads, but then the enjoyment was temporarily halted.
It might have instantly fired up first thing, but after refuelling the tiny, mile-limiting 7.5-itre fuel tank (another discouraging factor for some), the Fantic called time on further fun and wouldn’t restart. Flattening the battery had us try bumping it, but after repeated rear wheel locking, we had to get it running via a jump start pack at a local garage.
Luckily, it never caused me a problem after that, and faith returned in spades when we joined the excellent Kielder Forest Drive, described accurately in the on-line brochure as a ‘12-mile journey on unsealed forest roads, through breathtaking scenery’. Gary and I clocked up extra mileage trying to find the others after an unintended separation. But getting lost and having to tackle more testing off-piste terrain suited me perfectly, the Fantic feeling right at home on muddier, rockier, and altogether more slippery surfaces. Though without either ABS or traction control systems, the emphasis was on rider control.
The rewarding section served as a perfect warm-up to the following day’s long-distance trial’s sterner challenges. After I’d disappointingly slipped off the Honda on the first special test, Fantic-mounted Charlie and I looked at the next one, a steep, rocky incline, with shared concern. Being new to off-road excursions, he decided he’d bypass the slipperylooking ascent, then giving me a new lease of life by swapping the 300 Rally for the 250. Armed with the bettersuited Fantic weapon, I reached the top of the hill reasonably comfortably, feeling distinctly more content with life than I had at the bottom. You need to meter the power carefully as throttle response is sharp at higher revs, but by and large the Fantic just dug in and summited without excess wheelspin or worry. The AX41 Bridgestone tyres also influenced the success, and though I thought the 50/50 rubber might struggle, just as they had on all the wet roads so far, they coped admirably. I didn’t make quite as good a job of getting to the top of the next, even tougher climb, but rider error rather than machine failings caused that.
Ross later proved in a spirited run along dry roads just how well the bike-tyre combination worked and admitted he’d ended up liking the 250 – even if Charlie didn’t care for it. Poor Gary never got to sample it off-road. My only gripes with the Italian bike included the home-made look of some of its minor components, making it look a bit unfinished in places and actually appear more Chinese-built than the Voge, with the dull and unimaginative paint job also spoiling the overall aesthetics. Having to pull the clutch in to start it, even in neutral, and the difficult-to-reach starter button restricted full endearment, too.
Effectively not having a rear mudguard had both bike and rider looking filthy before long, and not having a decent fuel gauge was a pain, too. The fruity-sounding Arrow end can didn’t please all ears either, even if we liked it.
That polarising issue sums up the bike really. It’s a machine you can only fully enjoy at the right time and place – just as I’d done in Northumberland. Elsewhere though, its focus means there’s a chance, depending on who you are and where you ride it, you’ll not always find favour with the Fantic.