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Am I nuts? Ducati Elephant 900

Surj said:
I got my names mixed up. You're right, the GC came later—but I thought the Cagiva Elefant and the Ducati E900 were essentially the same bike back in the nineties, sold in parallel. In fact, I think the Cagiva version showed up in '93, whereas the Ducati version launched in '94—at least in the US.

Anyway, I'd buy it either way.
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You're right about the double branding.

Cagiva is the Castiglioni family company. They got into motorcycle manufacturing when they bought the Aeromacchi Harley Davidson factory in Varese. They bought Ducati in 1985 and also owned MotoMorini, Husqvarna and MvAgusta

They made some great motocross and offroad bikes and won Dakar twice with Ducati-engined bikes.

The Dakar race replica bike was sold as the Cagiva Elefant in Europe and rebadged as a Ducati in the US. It was built in Varese, not at the Ducati factory in Bologna.
 
Lunch Box said:
Nice looking specimen. This isn't all that different from the Gran Canyon, is it?
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:confused Didn't you used to have one of these? I thought you did your SA ride on something similar.
 
Lunchbox's was a 650. This one is a 98 second owner bike. It isn't what I need for sure. As for value, they're worth what you pay for them. About $3500 is realistic.
 
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Ah...
 
I saw a guy riding one on an easy split that turned hard due to snow on the Sheetiron years ago. Bit of a bitch to pick up but he did pretty well. Hell, he did better than me. In my defense it was literally my first time off pavement and I was on a 1980 XT. That poor bike.
In short(ha), it seems like a great all arounder.
 
I'm still contemplating this beast :|

We bought a Tiger 800 at Dubbelju but there is a huge money gap between a tiger and my friend's Elefant.

I know he will advertise the bike this week if I don't move on it.
 
seriously, if it's in good enough shape, just pull the trigger

you can't simply dial up one of these Ducs, on demand - & here it is.....
 
If you already have a GC then buying the Elefant is a no brainer.

Go for it.

You have a good idea of what you're getting into when it comes to the un-obtanium bits. Realize that some of the hard parts are simply impossible to find. ANYWHERE. You have to either adapt or make new.

BIG HINT - Smart folk are splashing molds of the plastics before going off road. Just. In. Case. One drop and you could find yourself with a bike that has severe damage to plastics that simply cannot be replaced. No matter how hard or long you look around the globe, there are no plastics remaining unless you buy another surviving Elefant. That gets more than a little expensive.

Also, the plastic fuel tanks are prone to swelling from the fuel we get in N. America. You're golden if your bike has a metal tank. Not so lucky if it's been equipped with an aftermarket oversize plastic tank by Acerbis or any other European aftermarket fuel tank maker. They didn't formulate their plastics to deal with the E10 or E15 fuel and they soften, then swell. (This holds true for any European motorbike circa mid '80s to mid '00s. Check that plastic tank for swelling before you buy.)

Carbs - if it has em - the carbed Elefants end up getting FCR flatties because the stock carbs are crap that can't be found anymore. If you get an injected Elefant - good luck with the mapping. I mean GOOD LUCK. Some are good, some are lucky, some just are.

There's a good number of Elefant owners, you can find the owners group on www.micapeak.com I don't know how active the email list is but it's there. It may have been absorbed into the Eurotrash list by now.

Have fun. Big trailies rock. I loved my Triumph Tiger 900. Spiritual brethren to the Elefant and the Gran Canyon and the big Katoom too. Big tools that can hustle in the right hands in amazing conditions. Or fall over and make you look like a noob. Sometimes you choose, sometimes the bike does it for you.
 
I know virtually nothing about that bike but it looks like a gas, and as said before, is just funky enough to be cool. Too bad you can't find one on a dock to resurrect.
 
Go for it!!!

Old article from a friend back in the day...http://dot.com.ph/uncle/e900.html

I just got done restoring one and have 600 miles on a fresh 944 motor. It is awesome!
 

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ThumperX said:
It's feels quite a bit shorter than the Gran Canyon. It's for sure a 900.
The picture is from a link on the interwebz but the same color as the opne I'm thinking about.

The bike is a family meber of a riend. He hasn't been riding and decided he'd sell if I want it.
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LOL! WTF r euw drunk?
 
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msethhunter said:
LOL! WTF r euw drunk?
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Nope, iphone and antique eyes :laughing

Really great info you guys.

So say I buy this thing, it looks like I should be able to sell it to some mad twisted soul if it proves to big, too heavy, too advanced for me.

BTW, it's been a long long time since I've heard the term "big trailies" that is exactly what these things are.
 
ThumperX said:
Nope, iphone and antique eyes :laughing

Really great info you guys.

So say I buy this thing, it looks like I should be able to sell it to some mad twisted soul if it proves to big, too heavy, too advanced for me.

BTW, it's been a long long time since I've heard the term "big trailies" that is exactly what these things are.
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:wave
 
I'm so anti inner tubes in tires, I'd do something about that.

There are ways. Trials bikes are using various modifications now.
 
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