anybody here ever ride cagivas

[moto614]

i know the new huskys are built by cagiva but, i mean in the old days.i used to race a wmx250(200)and a wmx500 in mx and harescrambles back in 1984/1985 when i lived in south florida.
even with all the stupid problems those bikes had i still loved them.
i'm a sick man i know.aahh those were the days.

 

[weimedog]

I had a bout of Cagiva in 84/85 as well. I had a pair of those wmx250's that were really 125's punched out to 200cc. They were pipy but fast. I had those things in my garage along side Honda's until 1994 when I sold the pile of Cagiva to some folks in Wyoming for $600 bucks. I sold them a box full of parts as well. Enough for at least one more WMX250 and about 2/3's of another one.

I actually didn't ride them much at first...its a funny story for another time on how I ended up with that mess of Cagiva's. Actually they got the most ride time when I let a freind of mine start his MX career racing it in 1989-90 while I was running my Honda. He was actually competitive in the 250 AM class in District 34 (NYS) at 40 years old on that old Cagiva! He eventually bought a Honda CR like most smart racers of that time did. I saw in the 2001 district 34 standings he still races in the senior "A" class in the NY area with more rational hardware.:) So credit those Cagiva's for bringing someone into the sport.

I took those Cagiva's out to Colorado when we moved there and ran the crap out of one for a couple of years because it was expendable and I was too busy to race..so they were my way to scratch the ride itch without using up my Honda..Those Cagiva's didn't get much proper mechanical attention and they never had a motor/transmission issue. I did break that long bolt that held the swing arm to the frame...several times. All eye opening experiences.:scream: And those goofy forks were so flexible that you could SEE them whipping around out in front of you. Not good for the old heart. (They were the ones with compression damping in one leg and rebound in the other...with FLEX in both!) The rear suspension was actually pretty good and could soak up one hell of a bump. It must have had almost 14 inches of travel back there...anyway they were unique.


I know where a 1984WMX 125 is in Colorado that is in very restorable condition. The place is Cycle Central (Loveland Co.) and the guy who runs that place is named Justin. You could have that thing for couple of hundred bucks I bet.

Actually the positive MECHANICAL experience I had with those old things was one reason I was curious enough to get that 1998 Husqvarna WR360 I had for a while. The down side was that the HANDLING didn't get much better!
:eek:

 

[moto614]

cool weimedog,
i bought my 200 new in 84 and raced mx with it at first,had just came from 125s so the 200 was good.that thing ran great for a 200 but no bottom end power at all,it made all it had within a 500rpm width at the top you had to be talented to keep it there.always seemed to be top three in 250c class.problems were broken motor mounts from frame flex( i think),the muffler kept falling apart,they used a metal band to hold the end cap on,i went up 2 teeth on the rear sprocket and with the terribly soft rear suspension when it would bottom out the sprocket would hit the silencer and cut the band off and the end cap would fall off then BBBBBRRRRAAAAPPPP!!!! OH MY GOD IT WAS LOUD.
harescrambles were fun because i could race the 200 class and would smoke kdxs,its and all the husky 175s, one race i remember the swing arm pivot nut fell off and the pivot bolt started coming out so i kept kicking it back in all through the race,i got 2nd that day to another guy on a wmx200. oh yea and that thing hated water the ND ignition would poop out if you got anywhere near water.i almost wished i could find another one to race the bomber class we have around here.the 500 was pretty bulletproof except the rear chain adjusters would bend all the time.if anyone knows of a good website on the older cagivas let me know.i don't know why but i have and urge to dig out my old flock of seagulls albums and listen to them hahahahahaha!!!!


later
jeff

 

[mgorman]

moto614, we meet again in the antiques discussion.

I got to spend some time on a 125 cagiva back in the mid '80's. The bike was fast but I wasn't. The suspension if I remember was almost as harsh as the seat which was harder than any KTM I ever had. Mt friend who had , sold it because he was even slower and you can't ride a 125 in 4th gear at 10mph. he was the only person I knew that would be 3 gears high and think he was on the pipe.

I almost bought one of the 500's but the seat was so far back that I thought maybe it was designed by Harley. Sorta felt like my T-Ape.

Glad I got the Can-Am

Sorry...

 

[moto614]

mgorman could be because we are antiques hahaha!!


your right about the seats on the 85andup cagivas, my 500 seat was widdled out of some kind of italian hardwood. funny story about the seats though,they had a textured grey seat cover on them,and the mascot for cagiva was an elephant,they had little elephants on anything that said "cagiva" so we used to tell people the seat covers were made of real elephant hide and thats why the bikes cost more and were better quality than jap bikes,believe it or not some people bought it hahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!(wait what does that say about me i had 4 of those bikes, I AM NOT GULLABLE) i never owned a wmx125 but rode a couple they were very fast but the suspension was to soft and harsh on the little stuff at the same time if you can believe that. almost bought a can-am in 1986 but couldn't spell it so i bought a husqvarna instead heheheh!!


later
jeff

id be sorry to if i admitted i owned 2 can-ams hahahahaha!! bye-bye

 

[mgorman]

I went to Dirt Works with Bank Loan Approved to buy a Cagiva Elephant. Every one was sold out. Later on Honda came out with the Trans Alp (T-Ape). I still have it.

Since you like wierd bikes, I'll sell you my Ossa Plonker, it's an antique too.

BTW, it realy is for sale.

 

[moto614]

OSSA OSSA MADE OF TIN RIDE IT OUT AND PUSH IT IN




author unknown

 

[mgorman]

That's similar to "Harleys are the best, ride a mile, walk the rest"

I actualy wish there was more tin in it. At least it would weigh less.

That ossa is ahead of it's time. 90/120 gear oil in the forks and a spring-loaded primary sprocket (instead of a gear) instead of a cush drive in the clutch basket. They even had parts doing double duty like running the clutch rod throught the countershaft. And it comes with the infamous "trickle" or "dribble" carb. Not to mention the "cooking pot" muffler.

Besides, it's change the plug, then ride it back...