'85 Cagiva Alazzurra 650

[Joe Mc]

I have been riding a CB400 for just over a year now. It's been great to learn on and I have totally restored it during this time. I have tried to make it suit my needs but I really feel like I want something with more low and midrange power, and larger so I can take it on extended highway rides.

I have always loved things that are a bit out of the norm and a '85 Cagiva Alazzura at a local used bike dealer really caught my eye. The owner let me take it for a spin around the block and it felt great. The Ducati 650 V-twin had much more low-end power than my 400 inline twin and the exhaust note was to die for.

Before yesterday I had not even heard of Cagiva but a little research has turn up that the Alazzurra 650 is something of a transitional bike for Ducati when they were bought by Cagiva in the early 80's. It shares many parts with the Ducati Pantah 500 and 600. They also made the Cagiva Elefant, which is dual purpose version of the bike.

Question is:
Is this a suitable 2nd bike for a mechanically inclined motorcyclist who loves oddities? (my cage is a '83 Saab 900 turbo which has been restored by myself) Or too obscure to work on and find parts for?

[Joe Mc]

Here's photo for those that have never seen one.

[Gadjet]

lucky you. I say go for it, you're not likely to find another one of those anytime soon.

[High_Side]

I remember drooling over those when they came out. An American bike rag compared it to the then brand-new Ninja 600 and the Cagiva kicked it's "O Ring". They were still Italian, and at that point, still unrefined. If you like to tinker and are good with wrenches, it would be a great bike to own.You're not likely to lose it in a sea of R-6s at a bike gathering either

[Joe Mc]

Thanks for the input. I'm going to have a closer look at it next weekend.

One thing I am a bit worried about is parts availability. A lot of parts seem to be shared with the Ducati Pantah though, so it might not be too bad.