Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1543392
Fantic XE300 Fantic XE300 Italian Stallion Italian Stallion By Jubal Brown By Jubal Brown 8 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com For nearly two decades now, the BIG FOUR – Hon- da, Yamaha, Suzuki, and Kawasaki – have been completely overshadowed by their European counterparts in the performance off-road dirtbike world. KTM, Husqvarna, GasGas, and Beta rule off- road, and even a new Sherco or TM is more com- mon than a new Japanese bike on the trail. Good for you if you follow the masses, but what if you s ll prefer the layout and feel of a Jap bike? Well, now you can have your cake and eat it too – enter the Fan c XE300. If you have never heard of Fan c before, you can be forgiven, as they've never had a large pres- ence in the United States. The Italian company has been around since the late 1960s, and it has always made unique, capable off-road bikes with a well-balanced blend of performance and Italian flair. Unless you've had your head buried in the sand for the last 20 years, a lot of the major com- ponents on the XE300 should look VERY familiar. Just glance at the frame, swingarm, and suspen- sion, and you'll immediately recognize the influ- ence of a certain piano company… "Hey, that looks like a YZ250!" The industrial coopera on between Fan c and Ya- maha Motor Europe is not unusual; in fact, Europe has been the center of many successful partnerships between Japanese and European motorcycle makers. Honda motors have powered Spanish Montesa trials machines since the late 90s, and at one point Yamaha even provided their 5-valve YZ250F motor to French manufacturer Scorpa to make the very interes ng SY250F trials bike. How does this all pertain to the bike in this test? Let's start with the engine. Motor Minarelli makes the pow- erplant of the Fan c XE300. Minarelli has been a ma- jor engine manufacturer in Europe for decades. Their 50cc two-stroke powers every entry-level enduro bike offering from Fan c, Beta, Sherco, and Rieju. Yama- ha Motor Europe owned Motor Minarelli for years, and together they developed an EFI, water-cooled TT-R125 motor and the XE300 motor, among others. Although Fan c now fully owns Minarelli, the Yamaha influence is s ll very evident. Is this a YZ250X motor on steroids? Minarelli/Fan c has increased the dis- placement to 300cc and added electric start, hydraulic clutch, a high-output stator with ligh ng, an electron- ic power valve, thro le-body fuel injec on, and oil