Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1543392
March 2026 9 injec on. New cases were designed to suit these addi ons; there's no place for a kickstarter, no hole for a clutch cable, and no bulge for the centrifugal mechanism of a mechanical power valve. Essen- ally, the Fan c engine is now unique to itself. With the chassis as well, Fan c saw no need to reinvent the wheel completely. Instead of spend- ing countless hours and money developing their own frame and running gear from scratch, Fan c decided to go with tried-and-true and used Yama- ha Motor Europe to source the frame, swingarm, and a few other chassis components. This means the XE300 handles like something you've ridden before, and wear items like bearings, sprockets, and brake pads are plen ful and easy to get any- where. All this coopera on makes the XE300 very easy to own. Our test took place in the beau ful, rolling foothills between Fresno, California, and Yosemite Na onal Park. We had an epic 17-mile loop to enjoy, with a great mix of fast grass tracks and slower, tech- nical sec ons with rocks and water crossings. The eleva on was around 2800 feet. Your author is 39 years old, 6'2", and 195lbs. I competed at the ISDE a decade ago, and I'm s ll an expert rider, though I don't race much anymore. Joining me for this test were two other Six Days vets, though I may have been in diapers when they went the first me. What fol- lows are my impressions of the bike; my companions' thoughts are summed up in sidebars at the end of this ar cle. Now to answer the ques on you've all been wonder- ing, "How IS it?!" In one word, it's FANTASTIC! The first thing I no ced was the fit and finish; this bike is one of the nicest machines I've ridden straight out of the box. Of course, I expected the "Yamaha" parts to be good, but the rest of the XE300 is built to match. I've rid- den and owned TM, Beta, Sherco, Rieju, GasGas, AJP, SWM, to name a few, and this Fan c is nicer and more well-made than any of them. The quality is easily on par with that of a Husky or a Honda. Having owned YZs in the past, I was impressed by how Fan c improved them. The Fan c's air filter is side-ac- cess and tool-less, and obviously, the hydraulic clutch and electric start were very welcome improvements! When I first swung a leg over the bike, the ergonomics and rider triangle felt more modern than the 2019 YZ250 I had, and it felt similar to the 2023 YZ125 we have in the garage. The bodywork is completely Fan c's own design, but nothing felt wide, uncomfort- able, or out of place, and neither my boots nor my knee braces caught on anything.