Hi everybody,

I just wanted to know by curiosity if some of you have experience with the Cagiva Nagivator 1000 which has the same engine as the DL-1000.

They are pretty cheap because of the bad reputation of Cagiva, and could be a very good deal.

Personally, I had a Cagiva Raptor 1000, with the same engine, bought it cheap, never had a problem with it, was great, still regret having sold it, I think is the best roadster for low money you can get.

So what about the big sister? I wouldn't be surprised if somebody tells that it has better suspensions and frame than the Suzuki.

'Bad Reputation of Cagiva'??

I have owned several Cagiva Elefants - the BEST big traillie to ride, no doubt! Admittedly you have to rip out some of the Ducati Electrics and live with the Ducati maintenance schedule but that's a small price to pay for the handling and power delivery.

The Cagiva Mito is the best 125 sportsbike ever made.

I've never had a go on the Navigator or the Raptor but I imagine it follows the same formula of taking someones engine and sticking it in a far superior frame.

Cagiva are talking about making a new Elefant but they're saying it wil be a 1200, to compete with the GS - bad move! They should make a 650 'Fant to destroy the new Tenere and the F650 GS.

If you want that sort of bike I'd say go for it - they are superb value for money - my last 750 'fant cost £750. I spent another £400 on it and it rocks!

well I mean, in switzerland at lease, they are very difficult to sell because everbody think it's crap and you can't get the parts....

I love Cagiva, and think about selling my R100GS when my trip is finished to buy either a Cagiva Elefant 750 (lucky explorer) or a Cagiva Grand Canyon or a Cagiva Navigator, depending on when I find a excellent pick. I would like to try a Cagiva with the Ducati Motor to see if the sensations are better that with the Suzuki engine.

What about maintenance with the Ducati engine, I will do all by myself, valves it's every 10'000km? And oil? 5000km?

thanks
David

Just sold my Navvy,and happy to pass on some views on it
Tall,comfy seat! I'm 6' and struggled to get both feet down flat on the road.
Excellent screen and fairing.Kept all wind noise to a minimum and most of the rain off.
The twin fuel tank filler's were a nice gimmick but ended up a pain when filling up.
Plastics are pretty robust but if you need new parts they aren't easy to find or cheap.
Brilliant brakes with twin discs on the front.
The suspension is basic,but works very well.mine coped with a pillion with ease.It is on the firm side but suits the engine to a tee!
And the engine is definately the main point of the bike.Cagiva "detuned" it slightly but gave it more midrange grunt
Not that the V-twin needs it,it goes like hell.The induction noise when you wind it over 5k revs is sooo addictive.
I also had Termi' cans on mine.Could set car alarms off as i rode past them!

Downsides?
You will end up thrashing it everywhere!
You will get everyone asking what is is!
Drinks the fuel a bit when you are "making progress"
The engine is noisey at tickover.It's a throwback to the old TL (tick loudly) engine.It's the cam drive system Suzuki used to try keep the cylinder head's compact.
3rd gear is a well known weakness on these.if it jump's out of 3rd,walk away unless Very cheap. Not cheap to fix
The tps sensor and throttle bodies need to be set up on a regular basis or it will run like a bag of spanners at low revs.

edit; should just say that All the mechanical parts of the bike are pure Suzuki.Engine-wise it is identical to the Dl1000 so servicing is fine.Injection system is also Suzuki so anyone used to dealing with the Suzuki V twin motor will have no problems with the Cagiva.

It's the Cagiva bodywork that's the problem.How about £2250 for One of the fuel tanks!!!!


A great bike overall,very much overlooked but will put a smile on your face.
I only sold mine after a car driver decided he needed the bit of road i was on !

Andy

A quick comment here, it depends on what you want the bike for and where you will ride it?

Do you really want to depend on a bike that is hard to get parts for in a foreign country?

If you are just riding it at home, then that is different, you can learn to fix it and also where you can get parts etc.

Cheers
TS

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www.travellingstrom.com

You should be able to get 10,000 km out of valves and belts. I'd say 3,000km for oils changes but I'm always a bit over-cautious about this. You can buy titanium collets and shims from a place in the states that more or less doubles the valve service interval.

The 750 LE does have a fairly poor front brake as standard but with a braided line it gets a bit better and is plenty for gravel/dirt roads, just a bit weak for hard riding on tarmac.

A grand (1000 GBP) or so should get you a fairly decent Elefant. I am expecting about that for my '94 750 with a load of spares. It is true that getting things like piston rings can turn into a proper pain.

Hi there,

I bought this year a Cagiva Gran Canyon 900, and just finished a 7000km trip with it from switzerland to Ukraine and back, and thought I should share my experience with you about this incredible bike.


I bought the Cagiva Gran Canyon from a garage with 52'000km for 3000$, with top case and 2 side boxes, the bike was fully serviced, new tires, new chain kit, new battery and and in very good condition. It's a 1998 bike.

During the whole trip, 7000km, the only maintenance I had to do is adjust the chain once and after 5000km add 2 dl of engine oil.

Alone with the luggage, the consumption is 4.5 to 6 litres for 100km, the bike has a 20 litre tank, so a good range. Driving 2 up, you get more 6 to 6.5 litre/100km.

The saddle is pretty hard, but I always travel with my airhawk cushion, so no problem for me.

I've been riding motorcycle for 15 years and owned many bikes (BMW R100 GS, TDM, Tenere, Dominator, XT, Raptor, F4) and tested many others, and I have to say, for this price, the Cagiva in unbeatable. The chassis is fantastic, the brakes are perfect, this Ducati 900 engine is really fun and has plenty of torque and you really can rev it if you want to get some action. I really appreciate the fact that it has a 6 speed gearbox, especially for highway and long boring strait lines..

Even fully loaded the bike feels really light.

Honestly, I have not much negative to say about it. Maybe that the wind protection is not good... I got the 2 screens with it. The high one makes a lot of turbulences (but I have this problem with every bike, except the GSA), and the short one doesn't give any protection. But I prefear the short one. For me it could make more noise as well, I like loud bikes and it's pretty quiet unless you rev it over 7000rpm.

Now, the bike need some maintenance and I will service it myself. The valves needs to be adjusted every 10'000km. Ducati engine are special, and I still don't know how difficult it is, but will do it myself anyway. And the oil change is every 10'000km as well. Timing belts needs to be changed every 20'000km. SO I'm good for 10'000km more.

The weak point of these bikes are the quick couplings of the tank. They are in plastic and with the time they start to leak. I just bought 2 other Gran Canyon that don't run and both have the same problem. The fuel pump is dead. Because these bikes were not in use for a long time, and the owned disconnected the tank, air could penetrate the fuel circuit and the consequence is corrosion of the fuel pump...

There Cagiva Gran Canyon shares almost everything with the Cagiva Navigator. The main difference is that the Navigator has the Suzuki TL1000 engine, the rest is the same. I haven't tried it, but I suppose it's a pretty good bike too. The injection on my Cagiva Raptor was a bit tricky, really on/off, so it might be the same on the Navigator as it's the same engine. The GC is much smoother.

Every engine parts comes from Ducati and for Cagiva parts, better look on ebay, you find almost everything.


zimiontheloose.ch | Rock'n'roll Motorcycle Adventure!

Hi there, I thought about posting a quick update for those of you looking for cheap Italian bikes.

I owned for about 1 year and a half a Cagiva Navigator 1000, basically the same bike as the Gran Canyon, but with the Suzuki TL1000 engine.

In comparison with the GC900, of course, there is a big difference in power. But the injection is pretty brutal, and it's not so easy to drive smoothly. The throttle is really on/off...

The clutch is with a cable instead of hydraulic and harder to pull.
Otherwise, pretty good bike. I sold it because I needed space for other bikes, and I still prefer the look of the Gran Canyon with the nice Ducati Engine.

I recommend both bikes for someone looking for a cheap touring bike.