Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

1995 FanticSection 249 (Left)Black Beauty: The new Fantic Section is a work of art. The black, gray and orange machine is almost identical to the works bike Tommi Ahvala rode toward the end of last season. (Below)The Fantic engine is the first trials motor to feature a power valve. By Donn Maeda Photos by Joe Bonnello W hen a motorcycle manufacturer goes to the drawing board ' to spec models for the new year, there are generally two options available, and bo th have their risks. One is to simply refine the existing package. By simply updating a pa rt here and th ere, an existing motorcycle can be improved upon tremendously and take on an all-new feel. Experience gained through the previous season can easily be applied to the following year's production models, and this is usually the mos t popular choice . However, the risk in this boulev a rd lies in the ex isting machine's potential. If the design is noncompetitive to start with, adding a few changes here an d there could be too little, too late. Why bea t a dead horse? The other option is to scrap the existing desig n a nd sta rt fr o m scratch. Tho ugh an all-new mod el is exciti ng for the manufacturer an d the bu yin g public alike, crea ting a new m ach ine h as its risk s as well. Wh at coul d be negat ive abo ut a new machine, you ask? To put it simply, teething pains. Thou gh a br andnew mach in e gives the manu factu rer the opportu nity to in tro d uce n ew technology an d take a giant leap for ward , su ch changes can also br ing about a handful of problem s. . When it came time to make plans for th e '95 p roduc t io n m ode l, th e It ali an design ers at the Fantic Motor Company fo und th e m sel ves fa ce d w it h such a d ecision . Th ou gh they h ad dominated th e s port in the mid-80s - ca p turing three Wo rld Cha m p io n sh ip s with Frenchman Thierry Michaud - the Fan tic . marque had slip ped fro m the spotlig ht in rece n t years . De vel opm ent of th e Key-Roo was infl uenced h ea v il y b y Dieg o Bosis and Dona to Migl io, a nd though it was an excellent bi ke in th e eye's of d ie- ha rd Fa ntic fanatics, th e bike was looked upon as a bit b ulbous an d heavy. While man y of its competito rs we re prod uci ng m o re com pact, smaller b ikes w ith perimeter .frames, Fantic stuck wi th the tra ditional singlebackbone double-cradle chassis design. Enter Tommi Ahvala, the 1992 World Champio n . The personable Finn came aboar d at the sta rt of the 1994 season after a mu lti-year stint with the Ap rilia factory , and Ahvala proved to be . the shot in the arm that the Fantic factory needed . Though he rode a productionbased Key-Roo throughout most of the season, he played a major ro le in the development of a new prototype which he co mpeted aboard in the final few World Rounds. The new bike was qu ite an eye-catcher - radically different from anything else the Italian factory ha d ever prod uced . Ahvala ended the series ra nked secon d overall, and both he an d the factory were quite confident in the new desig n . Th us, was born the 1995 Fantic Section, as the newest production machine from the factory appears to be nearly ident ical to Ahvala's '94 works bike. The biggest news about the all- new bike is the engine. Though quite comm on in o ther ty pes of competition motorcycles, eng ines equipped with variable exhaust valves had yet to be introduced in to the world of motorcycle tria ls . Suc h a " revo lu t io nary " new developme n t set the tria ls wo rld on its ear, but Ahvala seems to have already silenced the bike's doubters. Ahvala and hi s Se ct ion top p ed all co me rs a t th e opening round of the '95 World Ch ampion ship Trials Series, held in Warken, Luxemb ourg. The po wer valve, or "comma ndo booster," is of a dual-piston design, similar to th at fou nd in p ast Suzuki RM m otocros s m ach in e s . The Fan tic's exha ust valve, how ever, is a bit prirni tive by com parison . The power valve is driven by centrif ugal force, an d as the engine's rp m rises, a small linkage system caus es two sliding pistons to open up a n d increase th e vo lume of th e exhaus t ports. But whil e power valves on motocross machines are designed wit h brute horsepower in mind, the system on the Fantic is ac tua lly qui te th e opposite. While ad va nce d riders may like a harde r-hitting, more exciting power de livery, the average rider longs for an engine that p u mps o u t a smooth, steady powerband . Th an ks to the Pantie's adjustable power va lve, both can be had with a twist of a wrench. The valve's action can be adjusted by simply loosening or tigh tening the actuating cabl e . Taking u p the slack will cause the pistons to open so oner, m aking for an excitable, expert-level power d elivery . Loosening hey say that one of the best ways to test out a new bike is to throw ~ into the heal of competition, so that's what I did. Sort of. I'mnew 10the sportof trials, but I've learned a lot qUickly and have found a new way to enjoy mysett on two wheels. When you first sal eyes on the Fantic Section, the goodlooks alone almosl make you want 10 rush to a dealer and buy one. It's very 1Iicklooking, w~ its gloss black plastic and carbon fiber highlighls. The first 1hing lt1aISlruCk me as strange was the bike's . kick starter. I hadtr0uble~ itat first; I was usedto iUItook only a single . r tofire upthe bike. My favorite thing aboot the Sectlon was the shong, yet smooth powerband. The power was easy to control over tough obstacles, especielly with the ease of the one-finger clutch. I've never f9K a baKer clutch. The power was always there when I needed ii, and tIlal's why I picked tile Fantic to compele on. My other choices included a '95 Gas Gas JT25, which was a bit too violent for me, and a '95 Montesa Cola, which feit heavy incomparison. The bike also handled well. The Sectlon feit light and maneuverable, and seemed to have greater ground clearance than Ihe other bikes. The suspension was good, but the rear end feita tad soft for my weight. II bottomed hard a few limes as I jumped off some larger rocks, but overall, both ends feit reaily plush. As a package, I give the Fantic Section a thumbs-up. In the hands of a talented rider, there's no limit to what tile new bike can do. Justask Tommi Ahvala, who recently won the opening round of !he World Championship Series aboard one. T the cable and caus ing the pisto ns to stay shu t lon ger will in turn produce a mellower, eas ier-to-ride style of power. Skeptics will be quick to point out the .higher level of mai ntenance requi red by a power-va lve equ ipped engi ne, but in time, th at should pass. The same cri ticisms were hea rd se vera l years ago whe n po wer valves made their way into th e m oto cr os s m arket. Today , every Japanese 125, 250 an d 500cc mot ocross bike in production ha s a pow er va lve . Decarbonizing po wer-valve com po nents isn't a pleasant task; but neither is clean ing an air fil ter, right? Fantic recommends tha t the power valve be serviced initial ly after abo ut the first 1000 miles, an d every 1800 miles thereafter . Maki ng sure that. yo ur b ik e is jetted co rrectly an d us ing a clean-burning tw o-str oke oil will help keep the carbo n bu ildup to a mi ni mum. O ur test b ike, by the way, ca me jetted spot-o n for our sea- level locale. We ra n Trick ra cin g gas and Honda's HP2 tw o-stro ke oi l mi xed at . 80:1. As for the rest of the engine, the magnesi um -cased powerp la n t has a hydraulic clutch that p rovides the usual light pull and excellent feel of such a unit. Fantic has retained their tra dema rk fo rward -sw ing ing ki ck s ta rter, and although u n us ua l-feeling at firs t, th e ForrestHayashi Age: 35 Heighllwelght 5'9"/175 1 00. Specialty: Motocross Riding ability: M Novice, Trials Sportsman X

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