Cult bike Cagiva Elefant
Desmodromic paired with studs
Desmodromism and studs go together like a silk vest and rubber boots. Many think so. Others find the Ducati engine particularly appealing in a rustic setting. We present the cult bike Cagiva Elefant.
When the Castiglioni brothers joined Ducati in 1983, the traditional brand was on the ground. Flat as a pizza, happy about anything that promised work. So there are rumors in Bologna that Ducati should only be the engine supplier for the Castiglioni house brand VS.Play agiva, be met with crisis-proven equanimity. It’s still better than offering superbikes that never really made money because of the enormous production costs. Below this 1000 series with a vertical shaft drive for the camshafts, the Pantah was waiting to be finally loved.
Cult bike Cagiva Elefant
Desmodromic paired with studs
Toothed belts instead of vertical shafts
Their motor – the last great construction of the ingenious Fabio Taglioni – had toothed belts instead of vertical shafts, but nonetheless the desmodromic forced control with a rocker arm each for opening and closing the valves. The 90-degree V-Twin started in 1979 with a displacement of 500 cm³ and has since grown to 650 cm³. Ideal for giving Cagiva a profile in the middle class.
In fact, it appeared in 1985 in two Varese innovations, the Alazurra, a gently knitted Ducati 650 Pantah, and the Elefant 650. On the one hand, this travel enduro crowned the brand off-road program, but on the other, aimed at a market segment that was just blossoming: the R 80 had been vacating since 1980 G / S from BMW sensational, Honda, Guzzi and Morini had also dared to venture out with adventurous two-cylinder enduros. Every year, the Paris – Dakar rally rekindled the hype about studded steering wheels.
Totally proud Italians, the sport-crazy Castiglionis naturally wanted to get into business with a Dakar victory. But not even star driver Hubert Auriol could compete with his former motorcycle – BMW won again. What hardly diminished the joy of the series elephant arriving at the dealerships a little later: Its engine not only had more temperament than anything else, it also delivered full power with 54 hp on the MOTORCYCLE test bench. Above all, it was in a chassis that, thanks to a stable frame made of rectangular steel tubes and exquisite suspension components, showed no weakness on or off the road. No more nasty high-speed commuting and poor chuckling on bad asphalt. No, the thick Marzocchi fork in front and the noble Ohlins shock absorber in the back always remained sovereign, almost made you feel cocky.
An outstanding suitability for country roads
And not only MOTORRAD testers realized that they had never roasted so quickly through the Black Forest with a Ducati engine for so long. No aching wrists, no bruised intervertebral discs and still such a desire to challenge this wonderful engine. The move to the countryside had given him modified breathing organs, and that benefited his pulling power very well. Changed gear ratios in the power transmission did the rest to increase the fun on the country road.
In the city, on the other hand, there was an eternally long warm-up phase – 3.5 liters of oil didn’t even reach operating temperature – and poorly tuned carburettors in the partial load range provided entertainment. Little changed when Cagiva increased it to 750 cm³ in 1987. Unfortunately, the performance hardly increased, unfortunately Taglioni’s beautiful L-Twin has now almost completely disappeared behind plastic. Another two years later, Edi Orioli finally won his first Dakar victory. On a gigantic 900 version, and consequently a really elephant-like giant part with a seat height of 90 centimeters and 72 hp appeared in 1990. The scene got a premonition of everything that defines today’s travel enduros: tight prices, high weight, injection, 19-inch front wheel. And an outstanding suitability for country roads.
Technical specifications
duke
Cult bike Cagiva Elefant.
(Elefant 650) 90-degree V-two-cylinder four-stroke engine, 649 cm³, 37 kW (50 HP) at 8400 / min, 51 Nm at 6000 / min, five-speed gearbox, double loop frame made of rectangular steel tube, weight with a full tank of 208 kg, front tires 90 / 90-21, rear 130 / 80-17, tank capacity 18 liters, top speed 168 km / h, 0-100 km / h in 5.8 seconds.
Specialists
duke
Cult bike Cagiva Elefant.
There are still a few active Cagiva dealers, but in principle every good Ducati dealer should be a point of contact. An intimate connoisseur of the small Pantah engine is in Mutterstadt: NIC’s Garage (www.nics-garage.info). Michael Nitzsche and his team in Dorsten (www.italomotos.de) maintain very knowledgeable and loving dealings with all old Italians. In Switzerland, the Burkhalter company is a top address (www.moto-burkhalter.ch).
Market situation
Exact stock figures are not known, the range of good 650 models in particular is now noticeably decreasing. Nevertheless, the prices are far below Ducati level. Often the 900s are for sale – a good choice, and with the carburettor version also with an acceptable seat height. The chassis is still a stunner. Be careful with damaged plastic parts: these are rare, especially with old models.
Club / IG / Internet
The German forum is organized by Alex Fischer: www.alexfischer.de. Internationally the Cagiva Elefant Club CEC is responsible: www.cagivaelefant.com. And in Switzerland you can meet at www.cagiva-elefant.ch.
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