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RIDE REVIEW I 2025 FANTIC XEF250 TL
has sold high-performance off-road and motocross bikes that use
Yamaha engines, frames and suspension components but are
highly customized by Fantic, including different tuning, fuel injec-
tion and bodywork. For example, the Fantic XE300 two-stroke off-
roader starts with a YZ250 motor and frame but includes a larger
bore, electric start and other upgrades to be more competitive
with KTM, Beta and Sherco 300 two-stroke off-road bikes. They
even ran an MXGP team with Yamaha YZ450F-
based bikes in 2024 and 2025.
WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT
THE XEF250 TL?
A quick glance at the spec sheet shows that
the Fantic XEF250 TL includes many of the nice
parts you'd find on pricier off-road bikes:
FIRST OF ALL,
WHAT IS A FANTIC?
If you are a hard-core off-road
motorcycle fan, you have proba-
bly heard of Fantic motorcycles.
The boutique Italian manu-
facturer was founded in 1968
and has maintained a strategic
partnership with Yamaha for
several years. Yamaha owned a
portion or all of Motori Minarelli,
the Italy-based supplier of many
Fantic motorcycle engines, for
over 30 years before selling it to
Fantic in 2021. Fantic was well
known in the '70s for small-
displacement motorcycles and
mopeds before successfully
venturing into trials and off-road
models. In recent years, Fantic
The Fantic XEF250
TL is positioned in
an opening in the
off-road motorcycle
market. With an
MSRP of $6499, it
falls between $5800
entry-level bikes
and $9000 higher-
performance bikes.
