Fantic Caballero 700 - Scrambler Heaven (almost)

[Caballero700]

As a 50 year old relatively novice big bike rider, only passing my 'A' test about 10 years ago, I've barely covered 18,000 miles on big bikes. I now live in Tenerife, Canary Islands, which has some of the best biking roads on the planet, but after a few thousand kilometres you've basically done all the more interesting routes at least once. My previous bike was a 2015 Ducati Monster 821 Dark which I had for 5 years and racked up about 10,000 miles. I've also rented or borrowed various bikes for the weekend (Triumph Thruxton 900, Ducati Scrambler, Triumph Street Cup 900, Yamaha MT-07, Suzuki GSXR 600 etc).

 

In the search for something different, fun and reasonably forgiving to ride, I was doing the rounds in the dealerships and stumbled by accident onto Fantic. I'd barely heard of the name outside of their scramber/crosser fame back in the 80's, so I was pleasantly surprised. They have stuck to their scrambler roots but have now broken into street/scrambler crossovers. Their flagship bike is the new Fantic Caballero 700, which caught my eye for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it looks cool and doesn't resemble any other bike I've seen. Secondly, they are still as rare as hen's teeth (I have the 2nd one in the whole of the Canary Islands).

 

Style-wise, it's clearly a retro-style street scrambler, but this is a 90% street bike with a 10% capability for light off-road (green track/gravel etc) due to the relatively high frame and knarly Pirelli Scorpion STR tyres. Unfortunately the carbon-fibre exhaust shield sits slightly too low to allow anything more adventurous off-road. The bike has lots of cool Italian styling and quality parts, including quality billeted aluminium pieces on the side and topframe, stylish Arrow-tweaked twin exhaust pipes (with perhaps questionable welding), quality Marzocchi forks/shocks, Brembo brakes and a nice Italian style seat with the tricolor flag emblem. The quality eye-catching bits definitely take your eye away from one or two hideous plastic fantastic components and switchgear, but that's no different to most Japanese bikes out there. So the first thought that went through my mind was "attractive in a quirky Alfa Romeo way, but sadly sharing Alfa's 1990s reliability". However, I then discovered that the power unit for this Italian unicorn is actually the almost bulletproof Yamaha CP2 700cc parallel twin with 6 speed gearbox, but with tweaks to the inlet and engine mapping, bestowing it with about 3 hp more than the same standard CP2 engine in the MT-07 / Tenere etc. Fantic has also developed their own computer/mapping, which includes impressive features such as Traction Control, 3 ride modes and Continental Cornering ABS. Having ridden an MT-07, the Cabellero 700 definitely feels punchier and sportier low down, with a sexy exhaust note. Other reviews I read claim that once the electronics are turned off, it will easily pull wheelies in 1st or 2nd gear (although as a relative novice I've not yet tested that attribute myself).

 

The headlight, rear light and indicators on the bike are all LED, bright and good quality.The bike also features an attractive backlit digital console featuring a speedo, rev counter, fuel gauge, gear select indicator, engine and ambient temperature gauges, clock, trip computers, and even bluetooth phone connectivity, that's all clear and bright enough to read even on sunny days, although the billet aluminium piece between the speedo console and handlebars causes a bit of dazzle with overhead sun. Reliability of the digital binnacle has already been called into question though, as my unit went haywire with blinking lights and then blacked out completely after 700 completely dry miles. Fantic are replacing the display console under warranty, but a dealership mechanic rumoured to me that the other (1st) bike in the Canary Islands also reported a similar fault, so Fantic could have a recall issue brewing with their digital consoles. However, it's not enough to put me off the bike yet.

 

As a relative novice, I love riding this bike. It has a fairly upright seating position with wide handlebar grips, which combined with the traction control and ABS, provides lots of confidence to throw the bike around into corners. On the windey country/mountain roads it really hits that sweet spot rhythm between each corner, punching it up into 4th on the straight then braking down into 2nd for the next bend. Shiftdown from 3rd to 2nd is a little clunky without clutch control, but I remember was the same on the MT-07 too. Pull away in 1st can be a bit jerky too, but I've learned to use the clutch more to minimise it. Contrary to some online reviews, the single 4 piston Brembo front brake with a dinner plate sized 330 disc has more than adequate stopping power (its a scrambler, not a track bike!). The knarly Pirelli Scorpion STR tyres work really well on this bike and I don't understand some reviewers recommending switching them out for standard road block tread tyres. The ride is firm but far from hard, with plenty of movement in the shocks. For me, the ride setup gives me a lot more confidence going fast into a corner than I ever did on the Monster 821, despite it having similar electronic traction and ABS gubbins to the Fantic.

 

Power-wise, this thing rocks for a 700cc. The lowdown torque is impressive and almost as punchy as my Ducati Monster 821. And that exhaust note inside a tunnel is like music! The only time the power seems a bit lacklustre is when nailing it in 4th from about 4,000 revs, where it's rather tame until you hit 6,000 revs. But I'm nit-picking here as it's not a high speed bike. As with many naked bikes of this size, things are plain sailing until about 80 - 85mph. Above that, the naked nature of this bikes shines through, which isn't helped by the completely flat seat with no pillion-raised section to dig your backside into when you open it up. 100mph is quite doable, but on a windy day with sudden side-gusts, it can get a bit hairy. My friend tells me that I hit about 115mph last weekend on a very short stint (something I strenuously deny, particularly if the police are reading this), but I was definitely gripping on for dear life. Have-a-go heroes can probably squeeze the full estimated 120 - 125 mph out of this bad boy on a still day with no crosswinds, but it won't be a pleasant Sunday jaunt. This bike is all about B roads, not motorways.

 

Fuel economy seems good. Giving it 50% beans and 50% cruising, I've been getting about 40 - 50 mpg depending on my riding style and the tank size is adequate (I think its 12 litres). That's nearly as good as my Piaggio Beverly 400 scooter!

 

The price is cheaper here than the UK RRP of just under £10k (here I paid the equivalent of £8,250, which is a relative bargain). It's not the cheapest bike, but compared to its closest obvious rivals (Triumph Scrambler and Ducati Scrambler), it's good value, better equipped and with more impressive small details. And unlike the said two alternative named bikes, you can go to a bike-meet on the Caballero 700 and not bump into 10 people on the same machine! That probably reduces its theft factor too, given that there is almost no black market yet for spare parts. All in all, a very impressive bike for those looking for something fun, head-turning and a little different.

[Nick the wanderer]

All credit goes to the Yamaha CP2 motor.

[Caballero700]

Quick update. After further investigation, the dealership discovered that the digital console on the bike is not faulty, but simply had a loose cable. It's working perfectly again.