Fantic Caballero & the CP2 engine ‖ A match made in heaven or a marriage of convenience? 

Thanks Andy 🙂. You have to do something pseudo interesting to begin a video or else people won't watch. I noticed people much prefer the section of video with engine noise as well (understandable) so nice to start with that 🙂.

No problem, glad it was useful.

Thanks Phil lovely for you to say. I've seen you've been doing a lot of classic bikes on your channel! Great stuff and definitely a niche as most of us are riding newer stuff!

It is but I Ike the modern bikes as I have two but also like the old stuff and getting my hands dirty sometimes, I love history and nostalgia so that’s where I get the enthusiasm from for riding old machines And cars 😊😊😊

Good on you, nice to see a chap following his passion in life. Too many just stuck in front of a screen replying to emails 📨...

Thanks Willie, how's your Classic going?

@@MindfulMotorcyclist Absolutely loving it bud! 😍 you should get one!!...didn't u have a meteor before?

I did indeed have the Meteor 350, sold it far too soon 😔. I'm waiting to see what this new Classic 650 looks like!

@@MindfulMotorcyclist you and me both buddy!! If its anything like as good as my Super Meteor then I might be in trouble!! 🤣

SuperMeteor is lovely. Those LEDs, USD Forks and the metal switch gear! Only thing that I was a little worried about was the foot controls being a little more forward than I'm used to hence waiting on the classic. Will be interesting to know if the classic 650 comes in cheaper or more expensive than the SuperMeteor?

Hi Motion, thanks for the comment. It's hard to say. I agree with you the range isn't a deal breaker as you can run the engine efficiently at 60-70mph in 6 and stopping for a rest is actually nice 🙂. I guess comfortableness I haven't really established because I wasn't on the bike for ages but the big seat allows you to move around and 'stretch' on the bike so to speak. The two other things are wind protection and luggage, both of which are lacking on this bike. Over 70mph would be a pain from wind blast and I don't know of any official or unofficial panniers so perhaps universal fit is your option. Finally l, there's no cruise which can be a issue for some. I'd like to tour on a scrambler like the 700 just for the challenge, because the bike looks cool 😎😎😎 and who wants to ride a GS1300 or Africa Twin with all the tech? Be different ☺️👍

@@MindfulMotorcyclist Thanks for the answer, it's just what I wanted to hear, the drawbacks are what I had in mind and already had some ideas to overcome them, the wind one is going to be tricky, maybe someone will make some kind o wind shield. Thanks for all the content you do, nice work as always.

One option is to ride slower, the wind after all is clean air not that horrible turbulent stuff that most screens make! Ear plugs and you'd be OK I think...

@@MindfulMotorcyclist I already use a Kawasaki Vulcan s at 120 without problems, so I guess yeah, I'll be okey

Thanks for that, nice insights on the CP2. Black sea sounds awesome, I looked into (Baku I looked at) it but it's a good 10-12 days just to get down there and unfortunately I've got annual leave restrictions 😞. So I did down to Slovakia and back up. I would love to tour on a retro machine, so different from the usual GS, AT or Multistrada crowd. Only thing is wind protection, you haven't got any, do you think that would get tiring on such a long trip? Also yes if the price came down or someone bought one and did 500 miles then decided it not for them could be interesting. Cheers.

Some would say £1500 off the price, other than that I completely agree. Lovely machine...

@@MindfulMotorcyclist ye it could be cheaper. However many bikes are overpriced in that price range

Wrong: Wet its about 190 kgs

​@@aldeen1982maybe you're right. It is still a light bike considering that s Triumph scrambler 900 Is 220 kg wet

@@c.g.c2067 Yeah thats true! Thats why I want to go with this one instead of the scrambler 900.

I think the 500 would be better for me personally. They do a variety of special editions depending if your focus is on/off road, 25kg lighter, more range, cheaper, available secondhand etc. You'll have to sacrifice the extra power and the fancy TFT of course but I'd have a Caballero 500 Rally with the brown/white two tone paint. Still has all the trick parts that turn heads. P.s I had a Meteor, cracking bike and still miss it to this day!!

@@MindfulMotorcyclist thank you for your thoughts, pretty much mirror mine right down to the explorer too.

@@redstormcrowif you ride all year around be aware the bike doesn’t hold up well on salt laden roads. The Meteor holds up better - my friend used his right through winter with minimal maintenance. Meteor is a calmer bike, relaxing to ride; the Fantic is more like a MX bike with great road manners. RE and Fantic do things very differently, both fun, but different shades of fun, both addictive and characterful in their individual styles. Personally my Fantic stays in the Garage as soon as the salt goes down and it doesn’t come out until it’s gone - the RE has a finish which will shrug that off and still look great.

Well, I did the deed. Traded my bikes for a new rally. Had the exhaust upgrade, racks and a few other bits. I'm still running in but already really happy with it. And yes.....the lanoguard will be coming out as soon as the salt hits the roads. For a 450 engine it is remarkably punchy but remains everyday usable.

@@redstormcrow On any back road it’s easily enough. First day out on mine, I blitzed past a string of bigger bikes on a favourite lane between Reeth and Kirkby Stephen - made me grin more than any other bike doing that on a 40hp single 😆 I’m old enough to know better; that it isn’t a race and all that, but it still made me giggle. Never bothered running it in - dealer told me just use it, but don’t lug it.

Hello, thanks for the suggestion. Most of the bikes I review are 2022 or 2023 models. Good idea though thank you ☺️

You might be on to something there, the 500 is still a great bike and is available second-hand right now. It's got all of the nice shiny bits perhaps just lacking the TFT display. 😂 Yes I guess a serious was the wrong word, established? perhaps that works better 🙂

All other CP2 bikes are made in France, quality control is shocking, I've just spent all week extracting swingarm bearings (my press is too big) from a 2900mile item to get blasted an repainted. If Fantic can pull off a more quality product, it'll hold it's money,because the engine is the star of the show(i downsized from a CP3,and currently own 3 x CP2 machines)! Maybe a bit pricey, my 2018 was only £7499 back then!

You obviously really love the motor, nice to be able to try it out on a variety of machines!

@@MindfulMotorcyclist Ideal for up here,done nearly 4000miles around Argyll since 1 year yesterday, the first day I used it,due to injury (bought October '21). Pointless having anything bigger,road conditions, traffic cops etc...knew a guy here,with an original Fantic enduro, back in the day!

It's fast enough for me, the 700-800cc range is now considered middleweight!

Exactly! Switchgear you can live with tbh. A grand cheaper would be perfect but let's see what happens at the end of the summer as another commenter said.

It probably is done better but then it's £1500 at least more expensive. I'm not a huge fan of XSR to be honest...

Well, consumption is really good so you should be able to get 300km out of it which I think is average but not bad either.

Well thanks for the feedback in any case. Speaking personally I've got no interest in taking a bike off road, it's just not my thing. This is compounded by the fact it isn't my bike and so any damage to it would be a problem. I purposely review the bike as a style exercise... If you read the MCN article they did the same it was all about road holding, fit and finish and the value prop. My gut feeling to answer your question would be it's a style exercise, I imagine 90% of riders will buy this because of the aesthetics. I would look at the Caballero 500 explorer edition perhaps? It's got tall, fully adjustable suspension, a high front mudguard, additional crash protection a single for that low down grunt off road etc... If 40hp is enough for you... Cheers.

@@MindfulMotorcyclist fair enough, though I am interested in this bike for exactly it's potential. I've ridden the 500 rally and loved it, but I don't trust the engine for the long haul. It runs hot and lots of reports of transmission failures. I don't do any hardcore off-road, but lots of mucky green lanes and forest fire roads etc. I'm looking for a reliable and competent all rounder. I currently have a Honda 650 Transalp and don't fancy another tall, top heavy & overweight adventure bike. The best bike in this realm is the Ducati scrambler desert sled , but it suffers from the same thing all Ducati s suffer from. Extremely complicated and expensive maintenance. What I've gathered so far from some reviews on this bike is the foot pegs are poorly placed for standing & riding off road?. I'll shortly have to go try one for myself. Having said that, the new triumph scrambler 400x looks promising and may well be worth waiting for.

Or the hotly anticipated Himalayan 450. Water cooled at 40hp with proven off road...

I’ve taken mine off road several times. As long as it isn’t too technical it copes absolutely fine and doesn’t feel overly compromised. However, if you want a competent green lane bike, the Rally version is a big step up, but it’s no KTM EXC. For green lanes I have a Serrow 250 which allows me to paddle it along over most anything, not quick, but good confident novice bike.

I've never been mentioned before Willie so yes happy to be mentioned ☺️ Cheers

@@MindfulMotorcyclist 👍

At least it will be more reliable than the Ducati thanks to the CP2 engine. I guess you could modify a XSR700 into a scrambler.

It's more premium than an XSR700, I've ridden both...

Looks are subjective, but the XSR just looks wrong and ungainly.

I did mention this at the end, even said it's expensive. This is also lighter and more powerful, more torque, has Brembos than the XSR700. That said I'd Def consider the Yam...

What did you want to see on the price ticket?

Expensive too!