Cagiva Elefant

Dixie2 · 02-04-2004, 02:46 AM

Thought you might be interested in some pictures of this bike. I'm off on a trip in May to Istanbul with a friend who doesn't have an appropriate bike at present. He has 4 Ducatis in his house and garage but none of them would make the trip.

He asked me to keep an eye out for anything likely looking and I came across this bike on a website over here called muddystuff.co.uk (for buying and selling off road bikes)..

I went to see it and it looked OK on the surface so my mate went to look at it and bought it. Unfortunately we didn't spot the crappy electrics it had, which needed completely re-vamping, and the engine studs that bust after he got it home and had ridden it 60 miles. Apparently the Ducati 900SS engines of this period (97) had studs that were made of a sub standard steel.

The bike only had 6000 miles on it and is pretty clean apart from that. Cost Â£2000. After fixing the problems, it looks like it'll be a good bike.

Cheers, Dix

Dixie2 · 02-04-2004, 02:48 AM

Looks OK like this.

Dixie2 · 02-04-2004, 02:51 AM

Re-sprayed clutch cover.

RikuY · 02-04-2004, 06:01 AM

Nice bike!

speckypete · 02-04-2004, 09:03 AM

Nice bike

For what it's worth, it was the '95 studs which were particularly bad. I snapped both front and rear sets in the first 5000 miles. on my old 900ss. Maybe Cagiva were using a stock of old engines?

Looks like a good buy though, nice and unusual...

cyclecat · 02-04-2004, 09:38 AM

Every bike has a few flaws, and usually well-documented after they've been around for a few years. A few electrical glitches and the breaking studs are well known among Ducati owners of this era, and particularly Elefant owners.

But once you get those things dealt with, it is an absolute GAS to ride. I love mine.

Some resources for your friend:

Cagiva Elefant page with lots of good links here.

Elefantman's Cagiva Elefant page.
This last site seems to be down right now, but has lots of info on things to watch out for, and how to fix them.

There are instructions on that site to subscribe to an Elefant specific e-mail list if your friend is interested in that.

W8-4IT · 02-06-2004, 07:13 AM

Nice bike. I wish they still offered them in the US.

02-04-2004, 02:46 AM	#1
Dixie2 ^OP Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Sep 2002 Location: Cardiff, Wales, UK Oddometer: 206	Cagiva Elefant Thought you might be interested in some pictures of this bike. I'm off on a trip in May to Istanbul with a friend who doesn't have an appropriate bike at present. He has 4 Ducatis in his house and garage but none of them would make the trip. He asked me to keep an eye out for anything likely looking and I came across this bike on a website over here called muddystuff.co.uk (for buying and selling off road bikes).. I went to see it and it looked OK on the surface so my mate went to look at it and bought it. Unfortunately we didn't spot the crappy electrics it had, which needed completely re-vamping, and the engine studs that bust after he got it home and had ridden it 60 miles. Apparently the Ducati 900SS engines of this period (97) had studs that were made of a sub standard steel. The bike only had 6000 miles on it and is pretty clean apart from that. Cost Â£2000. After fixing the problems, it looks like it'll be a good bike. Cheers, Dix Attached Images

02-04-2004, 02:48 AM	#2
Dixie2 ^OP Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Sep 2002 Location: Cardiff, Wales, UK Oddometer: 206	Slightly different angle Looks OK like this. Attached Images

02-04-2004, 02:51 AM	#3
Dixie2 ^OP Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Sep 2002 Location: Cardiff, Wales, UK Oddometer: 206	Engine angle for the techies Re-sprayed clutch cover. Attached Images

02-04-2004, 06:01 AM	#4
RikuY Stuck in the Sandbox Joined: Oct 2003 Location: Ft. Myers, FL Oddometer: 736	Nice bike! __________________ RikuY Beer will not solve all of your problems, but neither will milk.

02-04-2004, 09:03 AM	#5
speckypete Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Jan 2004 Location: Campo de Gibraltar Oddometer: 117	Nice bike For what it's worth, it was the '95 studs which were particularly bad. I snapped both front and rear sets in the first 5000 miles. on my old 900ss. Maybe Cagiva were using a stock of old engines? Looks like a good buy though, nice and unusual... __________________ Yamaha TDM850 Suzuki DRZ400e

02-04-2004, 09:38 AM	#6
cyclecat half post a day wonder Joined: Oct 2001 Location: Vadito, NM, USA! Oddometer: 1,317	Every bike has a few flaws, and usually well-documented after they've been around for a few years. A few electrical glitches and the breaking studs are well known among Ducati owners of this era, and particularly Elefant owners. But once you get those things dealt with, it is an absolute GAS to ride. I love mine. Some resources for your friend: Cagiva Elefant page with lots of good links here. Elefantman's Cagiva Elefant page. This last site seems to be down right now, but has lots of info on things to watch out for, and how to fix them. There are instructions on that site to subscribe to an Elefant specific e-mail list if your friend is interested in that. __________________ '00 Moto Guzzi Quota 1100ES '95 Ducati Elefant 944

02-06-2004, 07:13 AM	#7
W8-4IT Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Dec 2003 Location: Thornville, OH Oddometer: 300	Nice bike. I wish they still offered them in the US. __________________ 07 BMW G650X-Challenge Insanity is a direct result of to much reality

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