2026-on Fantic Stealth 500 review: Sporty A2 single-cylinder

Fantic Stealth 500 expert review

4 out of 5 (4/5)

Better known for their pure off-roaders and the fantastic Caballero Scrambler 500 roadster, Fantic are entering new territory. Their new £5799 Stealth 500, available in dealers from May, is an unashamed tarmac tearaway, as we discover here at its world launch in Italy, in the Tuscan countryside.

New Fantic is no shrinking violet

At its heart is an A2 licence-friendly, liquid-cooled 44bhp, 463cc single-cylinder engine, made by Fantic’s sister company: Bologna-based Motori Minarelli. It’s thoroughly modern with a ride-by-wire throttle, traction control, lean-sensitive ABS, two power maps (Rain, Fun) and four riding modes.

Compared to the Scrambler, it’s remapped to push the meat of the power further up the revs, to suit its sportier pretensions. A 20 gram lighter piston helps the engine spin up more urgently, too.

Like this story? You can get more MCN in your life by clicking here and asking Google to make us a preferred source.

Is the Fantic Stealth 500 right for you?

Reasons to buy:
+ Superb dynamic performance from standard equipment
+ Smooth and easy-going single-cylinder engine which rewards being thrashed
+ Intelligent and race-inspired component design that retains spacious ergos

Reasons to avoid:
– Despite decent overall power the engine lacks low-revs response and grunt
– Ride quality and composure suffers when pushing on bumpy roads
– Snatchy throttle and slow-to-warm OE tyres in the cold require careful managing

Smooth single

What stands out most when you’re rolling along is how incredibly smooth and refined it is for a single. It’s almost free from the kind of vibration and shudder you’d expect, especially at the top end of the revs, but its airbox still bellows like a true thumper.

It has plenty of zesty, top-end oomph and feels a lot more powerful than its power figures suggest.

It’s an exciting, easy-to-manage engine, but there’s little going on at low revs, and quick getaways will require a dash of clutch slip. Picking up a closed throttle can be slightly jerky, too, but not enough to spoil your day. If you want more low-down punch from your single, the Stealth 500 won’t be the bike for you.  

That said, weighing just 147kg wet with an empty tank, it doesn’t have a lot of bike to push along. It would be nice to have a quickshifter to help keep the engine on the boil, but that would, of course, add to the cost.

Sporty chassis

Its sporty engine is hung from a chassis with similar swagger. The Stealth 500 uses a stiff, Bimota style steel trellis frame with cast aluminium rear plates and an aluminium swingarm with under bracing, like a race bike’s.

Upside-down forks and rear shock are Fantic-branded and built to their design, and its sharp chassis architecture is inspired by lessons learned from their Moto3 and Moto2 teams.

Weight is centralised with a fuel tank that extends under the seat, a high-level exhaust can and a low-slung collector box. Lightweight cast aluminium wheels are shod with sticky Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV sports rubber.

Sharp handling

All this translates to a lithe, quick-steerer that takes zero effort to flick into corners, change direction, or flow through town traffic. It’s tall and roomy, despite relatively high rearsets, which will please the tall, but it’s slim, too, giving shorter riders the chance to get their feet down at a standstill.

We got the chance to fire up the Passo dello Spino, the Italian championship hillclimb course, and with such a beefy chassis, the harder you push, the more the Fantic hunkers into the tarmac, and the more it encourages you to let go of the brakes to carry more corner speed.

It feels alive when you grab it by the scruff of the neck on smooth, hot tarmac, but the rear shock can bounce about a lot on bumpy roads in full attack mode. The suspension is a decent compromise for different types of riding and riders for the money, though. The front Pirelli can take a while to warm up in the cold, too.

With so little weight to stop and a cornering ABS system developed to give a natural, consistent feel, braking power is impressive, despite a modest single 320mm front disc and four-piston ByBre caliper.

Fantic have had their financial woes over the last few years but are back on track with a new management structure and are more streamlined now that they’ve separated from their cycle operation and shelved their electric vehicle ambitions.

Armed with such a great heritage, machines like the brilliant Caballero Scrambler 500 and now the Stealth 500, they deserve to succeed.

Feature highlights

Colour dash display

A 5in TFT colour dash has Bluetooth connectivity and a USB-C charging port. As well as Street, Wet and Track modes, Custom lets you mix and match rider aids.

Racy front end

Pirelli Rosso IV tyres, Fantic-branded non-adjustable 41mm upside-down forks, a Bybre four-piston calliper and a 320mm disc let you corner with confidence.

Sporty single

Stealth’s 463cc Motori Minarelli single was first used in Fantic’s 2025 Caballero Scrambler 500, replacing the original’s 449cc Zongshen lump.

MCN Verdict

‘Unapologetically sporty’

Fantic’s new Stealth 500 doesn’t pretend to be anything other than a sharp, A2 licence scratcher. Its unapologetically sporty chassis gives you more feel and confidence the harder you push. Its light, quick steering and braking feel and power is impressive, but the suspension can get a little bouncy when you push hard on bumpy roads.

The OEM tyres are sticky, but the front needs careful warming in the cold. Its Motori Minarelli engine thrives on being thrashed. It’s a blast when you ride it hard and roars through its airbox in all the right places. It doesn’t hang around, either, but it’s also easy to get on with, and it’s deliciously smooth for a single.

Some may yearn for more low- and midrange punch, though, and it can be snatchy picking up a closed throttle. It’s roomy, well built, comes with lots of electronics, a colour dash, racy-looking cycle parts and a tank badge loaded with genuine Italian heritage.