Fantic launch Imola sportsbike and Stealth naked featuring all-new 460 single-cylinder engine

Italian motorcycle firm Fantic kicked off proceedings at the 2024 Eicma trade show in Milan with a wide range of new motorcycles, including a production-ready Stealth and Imola family powered by a new Euro5+ 460cc engine.

Both names appeared as concepts at last year’s Milanese event, with the pair now going into production as both a 125 and larger 460 option.

• Related: Fantic Imola and Stealth 125 concepts shown at Eicma 2023

The fully faired Imola (above) features a genuinely sporty riding position, plus subtle front winglets – as is the style of modern sporting machines.

The naked Stealth (pictured below), meanwhile, gets a largely similar silhouette from the headstock backwards, with the upright bars and a subtle front headlight cluster reminiscent of Ducati’s Streetfighter V4.

Developed inhouse in partnership with engine firm Motori Minarelli, the new MM460 motor has been a project over the past three years and meets the latest in stringent European emissions regulations.

Featuring a racing-inspired upswept exhaust can, the one-pot engine also marks a move away from the use of Chinese motors, with this unit now also found in the Caballero 500 retro range that was previously powered by a Zongshen single.

• Related: 2019 Fantic Caballero 500 Scrambler review

Each DOHC lump is said to be managed by a range of riding modes, with each Fantic model using the motor producing in the region of 44.4bhp at 8250rpm.

It will feature in both the fully faired Imola, and naked upright Stealth, with the motor itself weighing less than 40kg, and using a ride-by-wire throttle, plus a slipper clutch for less locking of the rear wheel under intense downshifts.

Both flavours of road bike use a mixed frame combining an aluminum plate and a steel trellis structure, with the Imola placing the rider further over the handlebars, thanks to clip-ons under the top yoke. An underbraced rear swingarm is also claimed to improve rigidity.

Both bikes also benefit from a full colour five-inch TFT dash with Bluetooth mobile connectivity, a traction control system, and cornering ABS – made possible by a lean-sensitive IMU. Full LED lighting completes the spec sheet.