Just bought a "Ducati scrambler" ;-) For Sale

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Well, sort of.  ;) Went down to Fairfax, VA this morning and picked up this:





'86 Cagiva Elefant 650. It is Ducati powered, but not really a scrambler, more an large dual-sport or "adventure tourer" I guess.

3500 original miles. Only $1000. Will make a nice stable-mate for '88 Paso 750.  :)

[leafman60]

I had two of those back in the early nineties.  One heckuva bike.  Only issue is that body parts are no longer available and I used mine in the woods which can be rough on such items.

I really enjoyed those bikes.  They also had a Lucky Strike cigarette-theme paint job variant. I liked the blue and white best. I have a bunch of pics of my adventures on that thing.

[arveno]

 :drool :drool :drool :drool :drool :drool :drool

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

I had two of those back in the early nineties.  One heckuva bike.  Only issue is that body parts are no longer available and I used mine in the woods which can be rough on such items.

I really enjoyed those bikes.  They also had a Lucky Strike cigarette-theme paint job variant. I liked the blue and white best. I have a bunch of pics of my adventures on that thing.

My brother had a Lucky Strike back around '91. I rode it a few times, must have been taller back then, can't reach the ground on this one.  ;) Fortunately, still have photocopies of the manuals.

[Turin]

I had a Cagiva Alazzurra.  Great bike with an awesome little motor.

[crc]

I read somewhere the Italians first called the a white elephant  :o

[dilligaf]

I had a Cagiva Alazzurra.  Great bike with an awesome little motor.

 :+1 We enjoyed ours.  :BEER:
Matt

[crc]

ive had a couple of moto morini x1 kanguros, didn't do a lot of off road on them but I wouldn't really call them dirt bikes. abit different though riding a v twin trail bike. the gearing was abit low on them for the road riding I was doing on then. I had two 3 1/2s at the same time, a early sport and a strada, them little buggers could realy hum for a 350, and I used to take the sport over redline a lot, it loved it ;-T

[tazio]

ive had a couple of moto morini x1 kanguros, didn't do a lot of off road on them but I wouldn't really call them dirt bikes. abit different though riding a v twin trail bike. the gearing was abit low on them for the road riding I was doing on then. I had two 3 1/2s at the same time, a early sport and a strada, them little buggers could realy hum for a 350, and I used to take the sport over redline a lot, it loved it ;-T

I got this brochure when I lived in Venice (FL.)
Were the Kangaroo's 350cc ?
Test rode a Cagiva Elefant 650 (was coming off a Yamaha XT550), should have bought it..
Your's looks great Mr.Charlie!! How do you find these deals ??!! :bow

[crc]

yes the kanguroos were 350s, there was a few different series of them over the years of production. the camels were 500s. ive never ridden a 500 morini but from what ive read theyre not much faster than a 350

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Test rode a Cagiva Elefant 650 (was coming off a Yamaha XT550), should have bought it..
Your's looks great Mr.Charlie!! How do you find these deals ??!! :bow

Every night before going to bed, I browse several area Craigslists. In this case, the Elefant had been advertised for at least two weeks without any photos and one week with some (obviously) older photos. The seller said most people that replied had no idea what an Elefant even was, but just thought it looked cool. One even compared it to a KLR.  ;D He was amazed that not only did I know what it was, but had actually ridden one before. When I mentioned that I also had a Paso, he decided I was just the guy for the bike.

[steven c]

 I used to have a 750 Paso a few years back, fun bike. What do you do about tires? Is there anything close these days?

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

I used to have a 750 Paso a few years back, fun bike. What do you do about tires? Is there anything close these days?

Shinko started making tires in the original sizes about a year ago. The SR880/881 only come in those sizes.
http://www.americanmototire.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=33_892_1105
$185 a pair for fat, short, radials is a bargain IMO. Reports from those using them are mostly positive.

[crc]

I put a 900ss motor in a paso for a customer. had to take to the 900ss cases with a cut off disc as the 900 mounts were much wider. the boys in the shop were giving me sum strange looks but with carefull measureing it all turned out good. sum time ya just gota do what ya gota do

[crc]

Charlie can I ask a favour of you please? you must have a loopy in the shop? would you please measure centre to centre measurements for the mounting of a police seat and post the results on the customer ettiquite post? don't want to involve you in any of my shit but I know what the measurement is and no one else seems to want to confirm it. I want the measurement to the centre of the rear mount slots as that is the true way to measure something like this. thank you if you oblige to my request

[flip]

:drool :drool :drool :drool :drool :drool :drool

 :+1

[Guzzistajohn]

I had a 'Fant for awhile. maroon colored with a 900 Duc motor. Great bike!

[bpreynolds]

Got a better lookin muffler and exhaust than the new Scrambler, definitely. 

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Got a better lookin muffler and exhaust than the new Scrambler, definitely. 

Supertrapp sticking out, big ugly blob hidden under the side panel.

[Dogwalker]

They also had a Lucky Strike cigarette-theme paint job variant.

The Cagiva Elefant Lucky Explorer, that won the Paris-Dakar Rally in 1990 and 1994 (when the bike for the Paris-Dakar still resembled much the road models from which they derived). Is the most widely known version, and one of the symbols of Italian motorcycle production of those years.

[lucky]

Job 1:  replace the belts.

(Don't ask how I know)

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Job 1:  replace the belts.

(Don't ask how I know)

Yep. On my "to do" list (along with the Paso's and MZ's).

[dl.allen]

Wow, great find!  Subconsciously Ive been making my KLR look like an Elefant!   Someday I will own a Luckly Explorer version

[Travman]

Nice find Charlie. Hope to see it soon. I love funky Italian bikes.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Nice find Charlie. Hope to see it soon. I love funky Italian bikes.

I talked to a guy about a year ago who told me electric bikes were the future. I thought he said "eclectic" so I've been stocking up whenever I get the chance.  ;D

[steven c]

 You have good taste!

[canuck750]

What a cool bike, never seen one, thanks for posting!

[rboe]

Rode with some guys at an enduro rally in Ely Nevada a couple years back. They could ride the Elephant like I ride a CT110. Amazing. Once back on the road and off the dirt the Quota ate them. Geared a bit too low for the open road (and the stock Quota is geared pretty high).

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

A couple more photos taken the day I unloaded it at my off-site storage.





Had the seat off so I could snap a pic of this rubber boot:



It's cracked and wrapped with red tape. I'd really like to find a new one or even something that would fit. There's probably something automotive that will work, I just have to find it. If anyone knows of a source, I'd like to know about it.

I dialed out almost all of the shock preload and can just get my toes down now. Bought another seat from Ed Milich, plan to have it cut down and reupholstered. That should get me low enough to get the balls of my feet down. 

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Update. Brought the Elefant home from storage on Jan. 28th and got to work on it in my spare time. Nothing really challenging and I made good progress fairly quickly. Finished it up yesterday evening except for installing the Tusk handguards. Did the first "test hop" of just over 2 miles yesterday and another 45 miles today. So far, so good. Only "issue" so far was an oil weep from the filler plug, fixed by replacing the perished o-ring with one meant for a Loop distributor.  

The backroads are quite sloppy after 10" of snow followed by a couple of 50 degree days, so now she's a dirty girl.  ;D





Slideshow here: http://s100.photobucket.com/user/Amboman4/slideshow/Cagiva%20Elefant%20650