Fantic TI TX120 Revisited | Rebuild + Test Rides | Isle of Skye, Scotland

‪@fanticman‬
Rewind to 2020 with the bare frame rebuild and test riding of my 1978 Fantic TI TX120.
Bike spec as follows;
Fantic TI TX120 Cherry Red, Portuguese market model
Fantic/Minarelli SP6 6 speed gearbox, Portuguese spec
Mazzucchelli racing crankshaft
Allumak SP cylinder, SP Export cylinder head
Adapted AM6 12 volt electronic ignition
Dellorto SHB 19.19D carburettor
17 inch alloy wheel rims
Filmed with a GoPro Hero 3+ & an Apple iPhone SE
Edited in DaVinci Resolve 18.6.3

[@cedriclynch]

I had one of these (OLD 90L) in the 1970S. I sold it in about 2010 (after it had been out of use but in good mechanical condition for some time) to someone who intended to restore it to original condition. The original carburettor (on the bike and also in the technical specification in the owner's handbook) was the SHA14/14. Among many modifications I made was fitting a SHB19/19 carburettor which gave some more power but not a huge amount. It had a much better cold-start mechanism than the SHA14/14. I also fitted a crankshaft and gear cluster made for the TX160 model. The gears on this have undercut dogs that almost completely eliminate the possibility of a false neutral. The Fantic TI is one of the simplest motorcycles ever made, very easy to maintain and mine never let me down in about 40,000 miles. I could draw the entire wiring diagram from memory on the back of an envelope in about 10 minutes. The bike is of almost toy-like size, designed around a 14-year-old Italian, and to some extent exudes tinnyness so is not the ultimate if you place a high value on your dignity.

[@fanticman]

What a great story! Its good that your bike is still alive and well, 'taxed' until 1st March 2025. You are spot on about the size etc. of the TI, but I loved every minute of riding that bike. I did once have 65mph (GPS verified) downhill which was frankly terrifying! Mark Daniels sums it up very well here - www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~pattle/nacc/arc0318.htm. "the sound of a TI on throttle was characterised by a haunting Banshee howl as the revs soared to the motor's astronomical capability.........."

[@cedriclynch]

@@fanticman That is very good news. I have calculated that 65mph on the standard gearing would correspond to about 11,000rpm, which is quite perilous for the Dykes type (L section, right at the top of the piston) top piston ring. I did some tuning on mine and got it up to a similar speed, but I changed the gearbox sprocket from 13 teeth to 15 and the rear sprocket from something in the high 30s to something in the low 30s. The internal gearing is 13:60 from the engine to the clutch and 23:20 (a slight step-up} from the clutch to the sprocket in top gear. I joined the 50cc Road Racing Association in the early 1980s and entered some races. (note to current owner: this is why the lights, number plate bracket and part of the rear mudguard were modified to be quickly detachable). I raised the overall gearing so that I would be able to go flat-out on the downhill parts of Brands Hatch without over-revving, and then I found that the engine would pull this gearing on the level if I kept my elbows and knees well tucked in, especially when I was wearing racing leathers. I was officially timed at an average of 54mph round Brands Hatch and Snetterton, which was nowhere near a match for the water-cooled Kreidler proper racing bikes but it was good fun. I rode to race meetings at Cadwell Park and (the late) Long Marston from just north of London. Someone gave me a lift home from the Cadwell Park meeting in his Bedford CF, which I think was noisier than the Fantic TI.

[@fanticman]

@@cedriclynch Another great insight Cedric. I think, from memory, I ran a 14 tooth front sprocket and something like a 34 on the rear. With a little bit of 'tinkering' it's pretty easy to get these engines to reliably run to about 10500 rpm, modern oils and electronic ignition really help. Super memories of your racing days, the old Snetterton circuit was pretty much flat-out in/on anything most of the way round, so a real test for any 2-stroke motor. The steep hill down from Paddock Hill Bend and then uphill to Druids at Brands Hatch is again a massive test for a tiny 'stroker', I bet your finger was poised ready to pull the clutch in........

[@cedriclynch]

@@fanticman I never had an engine seizure except a couple of times after a rebore that I think was done with too little clearance. I think Italian pistons have less silicon in the alloy than Japanese ones do, and so need more clearance which is why Italian engines are more rattly than Japanese ones. I did take care that the mixture at full throttle was a bit on the rich side. There was an excellent firm Contact Developments in Reading that sold Dell'Orto spare parts so no excuse for having the wrong jet size. The then Fantic importers Barron Eurotrade in Hornchurch also had a superb spare parts service. Both of these firms after coming to trust that you were going to send a postal order for the money would put the parts in the post immediately after you phoned to place the order.

[@fanticman]

@@cedriclynch I've only ever had seizures with the early iron cylinders. I think Contact Developments became Eurocarb who are still the UK importer for Dellorto, in Pangbourne near Reading.

[@ColinGreaves]

Brilliant brings back memories I had one aged about 9 in 1976/7. A old friend still has the engine in his garage somewhere.

[@fanticman]

Great stuff!

[@alexrankin8263]

Looking and sounding good Mark 👍

[@fanticman]

Thanks 👍

[@markjones_101]

Love it! I had a white Fantic Super T (NLW 312P) in 1976 remember riding from Hayes middx to Bognor Regis once, didn't miss a beat and quite fast too.

[@fanticman]

What a great story. My friend rode his FS1-E from Wokingham, Berkshire, to Swanage, Dorset once in 1978 I guess it would have been. This TI would probably be about equal performance to the Super T as the engine has been tuned to a similar sort of power.

[@mrsilbo6499]

Cracking rebuild & wonderful scenery as usual. Never saw many TIs back in the day, it seemed to be all GTs & Caballeros, but I think a good TI was just as nice. Don't know if they were faster (all that mattered when I was 16), but they looked miles better than the Garelli Rekord & were sexier than the Gilera RS50 Touring

[@fanticman]

Thanks very much. I'd never even seen a Fantic until I bought this TI in 2019. Where I grew up it was all FS1-Es and AP50s, plus the Gitane Champion Super Veloce you might have seen in my other videos and a Malaguti Monte.

[@mrsilbo6499]

@@fanticman Malaguti Monte? Yum yum! 😋

[@albertofelloniify]

@Fantic Man also I have the same TX120, but mine has the 14.12 dellorto carb, i would mount 14.14

[@fanticman]

The original UK unrestricted models had the 19.19 carb, so that is the one I always fit. Good for 55mph (90 kph).