Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127771
.· 'tE T. 1996 Fantic Section 249 S as t year the Italian Fan tic Motor company debuted an all-new trials machine th at was a radical departure fro m anything th at had p reviously rolle d off their production lin e. In addition to bei ng visu ally stunni ng, the Section 249 incorporated a first in trials technology - the use of an adjustable power-va lve m ech anism. Thou gh such exha ust va lves have been in u se on m oto cr oss and ro ad race m a ch in e s for m an y years n ow, ·th e pow er valve was all-new to th e p lonking set. . But as is usually the case with most all-new machines, the '95 Fantic Section 249 had its sha re of teething problems. The new Section boasted a lightweight, reinforced plastic subframe, and though the piece looked strong enough, some Fantic riders - including us - sna pp ed th e unit in ha lf. Vario us othe r small glitche s cre ated more ann oy ances: The chain adjusters were poor in des ign and sometimes slipped, the airbo x wa s di fficu lt t o servi ce , a n d some hea vi er or more aggressive rid ers bent the footpe gs in their mounting brackets. Such min or prob lems ta rnishe d w ha t might ot he rwi se have been an excellent m achine. A ll th e Se ct ion n ee d e d w as a li ttle refinement. As always, wi th time comes refinement, and the 1996 version of the Fantic Section has been much improved. With a full season of com pe tition under its be lt, th e Fantic factory knew exactly w ha t tr oub le a reas needed to b e addressed on the Section. As a resul t, the latest offe ring from the factory is a be tt er a ll-aroun d p ack age, and loya l Fantic rid ers should have a lot to smile about in '96. T RICKS FOR '96 Cosme tics aside, the most noticeable change in the ' 96 machine is the addition of a more conven tional aluminum subframe undern eath the plastic rear tail section. Apparentl y, enough rid ers suffered breakage probl ems in '95 to convin ce Fantic th at th e extra strength of t he a lu mi nu m was well worth th e accom pa nying weight penalty . But th e new subframe also allowe d Fantic engi neers to redesign the airbox, and th e new unit is claimed to be 50 percent larger than last year's. More air volu me equals greater low-end power, says Fantic. The new airbox is also easier to service, ending last year's maintenance hassles. Another change in the chassis is the incorporation of oval tubing in the front cradle section. Last year's tubes were sq uare, and the new round tubes are said to be much stronger. In addition, the new cradle area is built wider to accommoda te a larger radiator and coo lant reser- voir . 24 The swi ngarm b o ast s new chai n adju st ers which a re n ow m oun ted on th e inb oard si des of t he arm s . The s nail-cam adjus ters stay atta ched to the swingarm wh en the rear whe el is removed, as d oes th e rear brake caliper and bracket. The adjustable foot- peg mounts have also been beefed up, ending last year's bending problems, and the kickstand mount has been reinforced as well. The 40mm conventional Marzocchi forks have been lightened up slightly, as many of the steel internals used in last year's legs have been rep laced with aluminum pieces. In addition, the anodizing on the fork tubes is claimed to be of a higher quality. Out back, the Boge shock has new valving. Enginewise, very little has actually been changed . A sma ller 26mm Dell'Orto is mated to the new larger airbox. New cylinder porting specs and a new se t o f reed valves round ou t the motor chan ges. Like last year, the po wer valve adjus tment is controlled by a cable located below the cylinder exhaus t port. Loosening th e adjuster and giv ing th e cable so m e slack ca uses th e va lve to close, a n d th e result is a mell ow er pow erb and , w h ile ti ghtening it u p allows the motor to bark. The exh aust pipe is chromed. The new bike has blue, red and fluo-