Cagiva Elefant vs Africa Twin

[Wold Rider]

Hello!

Being new to the scene i'm hoping to buy my first 'BIG' bike soon. Having never owned a big traily before i'm relatively nieve to what bike to go for.

I thought I was pretty set on the Africa Twin until I saw the Cagiva Elefant.

Like for like they both look fantastic.

Does anyone have any info on the Elefants? Eg. Are the engine's any good. Which is better Elefant or Afrika?. Cagiva build quality? Are parts more available for one than the other? Reliability.

Regards

Craig

[Jenna]

have to say if money and parts backup were not issues then its a no brainer go for the elephant its a phenomenal bike, its off road manners are great (think RD03 )and its a nice bike for distance.

Down side is Cagiva's build quality my baby Cag' supermoto frame was badly surface rusted at just 2 years old ( apparently the frames are left out in the open before being painted and they are not primed or plaited first.. ) engine wise the elephant motor is a peach just don't bust it unless its a uk part as getting bits out of Cagiva in Italy is total waste of time!!!

as for looks of course the 'lucky strike ele' is stunning and must have

been a few 900ie's appear on ebay lately and all have gone for good money (£1200-2000+) and although i have swarn I would never buy another Cagiva a thousand times i could always find garage space and cash for a nice 900ie Lucky Strike

[Wold Rider]

Thanks Jenna,

I'll have a look around for one. There's an N-reg one on biketrader for £1999 with 26000km. Looks nice. Not the Lucky Strike one though - did they make many?

Craig

P.S. How cool's your job? Fancy doing a job share at a Screen printers?

[Jenna]

the 'lucky strike' was a limited build originally back in '90 in a 900ie spec but it got rehashed in '94 with the 750Cie and again in 95' under the guise of the 900Cie models. Ideally what you want if you can find one (which is rare outside italy) is '90 'Dakar rep' as this was no holes barred with Ohlin rear end and trick upside down front forks (easily spotted as it also had a twin front disc set up), Weber Magrelli fuel infection and really is the dogs dangles of a beast.

All Cagiva's share a large amount of Ducati bits which are great when they work but be prepared to shell out big time for spares on these, and you must also consider that unlike the Africa Twin your not going to get pattern part spares that easily ( infact they're largely non exsistant) which can be a real pain in the arse!

lol job is not as glam as it sounds belive me!!!!!

1991 Dakar rep. (900ie)


1994 750 Cie


1995 900 Cie

[magwa]

I test rode an Elephant before I bought the AT
It was a no brainer......go for the AT

Everything about the Elephant was cheap, and the electrics didn't work, brakes were c**p, frame was very rusty, and it was the same age and milage as my AT

Don't do it....buy a HONDA

Magwa

[Jenna]

think it totally depends on what you want from the bike, I am not into lardy arse plastic fantastic and want better off road than highway use so its no question that a 900ie wins for me.

At the end of the day if you want run of mill buy an AT( cheap, reliable, and more go faster bits than a boy racer spec escort), if you want something different ( and all the hassel that brings!!!!) and a bike your not going to see everyday then the Cagiva is a great bike (but not without it's faults!)... one report likened the Cagiva to KTM and Ducati in that its very much a purists bike and definatly NOT made for the mass's!!

[Slimie]

Buy 'em both and let us all have a go, then we can have a poll on which one to keep

I always fancied an Elefant, but my head won the argument and I'm riding an AT. I still wonder sometimes...

Whatever you get, enjoy it

-Simon

[Rubberchicken]

Hmmmm I sure like the looks of that 3rd bike...

I had a chance to buy one a while back, but it was juuust a bit too ratty for just a bit too much money, so I let it go. Looking at one all proper looking like that sure makes me wonder about what could have been though...

[Muckybill]

A mate of mine had a Elephant and had to have it trailered home from the Italian Alps after locking the back wheel doing 80mph. Turned out to be a bent gear box shaft. Never did find out the cause so he got it fixed and got rid.

Bill

[africajim]

Right, my personal opinion on this one, simply what do you want to do? ride a bike or live with a problem?

Honda; simply the most reliable motors in the world, the @T will not let you down, these engines are very similar to the ones used by the Trans Alp and the Revere, much used by couriers due to their longevity. Over 100,000 miles is not unheard of from these motors. If you want a bike that will start on the button day in, day out with minimal servicing costs the Honda's the way forward. Buy and enjoy!

Cagiva; think Ducati service costs and reliability, a rare, focussed bike but not for the faint hearted. I am a mechanic but still wouldn't like the servicing issues with the Cagiva, too much to go wrong, dogged with the usual Italian electrical issues coupled with expensive servicing costs and not the most reliable bikes in the world, not for me I'm afraid.

Just my opinion.