Fantic presents the Fantic Stealth 500

The Fantic Stealth 500 immediately presents itself as a naked bike with racing DNA; the Moto2 layout of the Fantic crew trickles down all the way to the production A2 bike. From the tank to the airbox to the swingarm, this bike has borrowed more than just a few details from Fantic's Moto2 machine. The highlight of this bike is its low weight, which thanks to state-of-the-art know-how comes in at 147 kg with fluids but without fuel, making it by far the lightest bike in this category on offer. The low weight, especially in the A2 category, leads to many advantages. One example is the extreme nimbleness and the ease with which direction changes can be made on this bike. Manufacturers often have the problem that a bike that is too light loses stability, but this proved untrue in the test. The compromise between stability and lightness has been achieved very well; the chassis's balance between comfort and stability was very well designed for everyday use: whether riding into the city, to work, or to school, you don't have to sacrifice comfort, and after work, enjoying the ride home, you have enough stability to enjoy riding and take the long way round.

All components of the Fantic Stealth 500 were created and designed in-house at Fantic, and it has already been revealed that racing components for track use of the Stealth 500 will be available in the near future. The chassis, also made in-house at Fantic, is only adjustable for rear preload, which is not unusual for this class - anyone who wants more has the option of buying the appropriate hardware. The brakes are a 320mm setup at the front and 230mm at the rear, the wheels were deliberately designed for lightness with a total weight of 9kg, and as standard the Stealth 500 is delivered with the Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV, tires that are unusually high-quality for this class.

The 500cc engine that powers this Fantic was designed and produced by Fantic's subsidiary Motori Minarelli. Interesting fact: this engine is also found, among other places, in Yamaha's 125cc four-strokes, and in Italy Minarelli's engines enjoy a very good reputation. In the A2 category, the maximum permitted power output is determined according to the bike's weight, and the Stealth 500 offers the maximum permitted power for its weight of 45 hp and 42 Nm at 7000 rpm. As you can see from the torque figure, this engine in the Stealth 500 is not solely focused on low-rpm torque but, in keeping with its racing DNA, keeps pushing further up the rev range and wants to be wound out in every gear; the setup is deliberately sporty.

The Stealth 500 is driven via a ride-by-wire system and offers two engine mappings: fun and wet - only the power delivery changes here. There are four riding modes in total: Street, Wet, Track and Custom. As for safety systems, the Fantic Stealth 500 has received the full package: lean-angle-sensitive ABS and traction control, and in Track mode you have the option of activating supermoto ABS, i.e. deactivating rear-wheel ABS. In Custom mode you can freely adjust all parameters, while in the other modes they are predefined. The controls are relatively easy to use once you've taken a moment to familiarize yourself with the buttons; the TFT display is easy to read and shows all the most important info at a glance. In Track mode, a different dashboard layout is unlocked, displaying the most important racing data.

There is a USB-C port and the seat height is 810mm, which, while the highest in the class, does not present a barrier to entry. From myself, who is 170cm tall, to my Dutch colleague at 195cm, we all had plenty of room on the bike - it was neither too small nor too large for us, and thanks to the narrow knee angle, both feet touch the ground easily. The riding position is sporty but upright, great for adequate feedback without having to complain about aches at the end of a long ride.

Zippy, fun, playful, comfortable and safe. Those were the first adjectives that came to mind after just a few seconds on the Stealth 500. The front brake, supplied by Brembo's subsidiary ByBre, works very well and is a quality feature that isn't a given in this class. The bike's gearing is tuned so that you reach ~120 km/h by the end of third gear, so a gearing that encourages active riding and is fun. Also pleasant is the smooth engine, which despite being a single-cylinder concept produces no unpleasant vibrations, even at low rpm. It's a modern single that revs to 10,000 rpm and offers a gradual power delivery. This means you get the best of both worlds: the single-cylinder provides enough grunt at low rpm, while the sporty tuning of the power curve means you have to wind it out to the end of the rev range to get the full power to the ground. Thanks to the modern technology, the single-cylinder feels in no way inferior in comfort to a heavier twin-cylinder concept. The Stealth allows for both a hanging-off and a leaning cornering technique.

The Stealth 500 is available in four colors. Anyone looking for a high-quality, lightweight and zippy A2 bike that can handle everyday use as well as be fun in the corners, and who likes to stand out from the crowd, should consider the Fantic Stealth 500. It costs €6,500 in Germany, CHF 6,990 in Switzerland and €7,145 in Austria.