Been biking for years - mostly twin/triple sportsbikes… Triumph Daytona 900 and 675 then Ducati 999, 1098 and 1198,
As I got older I got fed up of ten-tenths acceleration, warp speed acceleration and cornering - fun at the time but I’ve been there , done that.
Bought an “old Man’s bike” to go with my age (Triumph Scrambler 900) - enjoyed tonking around on it but now want something lighter, more “zippy” and flickable - also want it to be retro stylee and not some power ranger plastic modern bike. Also with London, where I do most of my biking, full of 20mph zones I’m no longer interested in 0-60 times and a lighter, more manoeuvrable bike appeals.
So… I’ve been looking at the Fantic Caballero 500…great reviews, good looking and well built but my only worry is I briefly owned a CCM 404 DS and it seemed to run out of puff around 55mph so although the test review videos for the Fantic have said “70mph no problem and cruised at 75mph” whilst others said “Seems happier cruising at 60mph”
Love to hear peoples views on this - on my occasional 50 mile ride outs will I find myself with a breathless slug on 70mph roads that I’ll have to trade back in or a twin?
Possibly not retro looking enough for what you want, but meets the rest of your criteria & with around 75bhp it won’t run out of steam when you feel the need to revisit your youthful exuberances.
I’ve gone from a cbr600 to a 400 DRZ and now have a 990 KTM. Around town the 30ish HP DRZ SM is massively more fun and usable than either of the others. I’d take it every day for the easy low down power, handling and fun. It’s also enough power wise to take on B roads to not be boring.
Only problem is it’s as likely to be pinched in town as the KTM
Failing that, if you think a vehicle should meet the ULEZ standard you can either obtain a Certificate of Conformity from the manufacturer or you can have it’s emissions independently tested and then register it with TfL.
Thanks all for your comments! Clarified things and gave me some new ideas.
My experience with the CCM 404 - was I dreaming it? Did it really run out of puff at about 55mph - 60mph? … My memory from 16 years ago might be a bit crap and having previously ridden twins and triples maybe the lack of take up over 55mph was what i was really noticing???
