Having written before about my BMW R100S for the UMG in 1989 I thought it time to report on a bike I've now owned for three years. Shame on me, I bought the bike from a dealer (a first), admittedly one who had supplied the machine new and regularly serviced it since. It still felt odd to be handing over £2000 when poverty, real or imagined, had kept me away from the trade for so long. It looked like a reasonable deal, a bike I'd heard on the quiet as having a lot of hidden potential.
Like a lot of other UMG readers I keep my motorcycles for a long time, believing that learning the idiosyncrasies of one's chosen machine pays off in the effort saved in maintenance and repair later. For me that has meant going for eccentric machinery, in this case a Cagiva Allazurra. What the hell, is that I hear you say? In translation it means Blue Streak. Odd really, because mine is silver.
Who are Cagiva? Lots of folk think that the Cattiglione brothers' company only make race replica 125s and an aptly named monster trail bike, the Elefant, having possibly heard of a certain bright red GP missile. In fact, the resurrection of the European motorcycle industry is largely dependent on the continued success of this Italian firm, probably the biggest and most significant motorcycle manufacturer in Europe, today.
Any Ducati rider reading this will already know of the brothers' involvement in saving their favourite ailing legend, just as they have taken over other once famous Italian marques. Right now they are involved in helping Jawa CZ enter the Western European market. If they are as successful there as they have been with Ducati we could see some big upsets in the market for small bikes. In short, Cagiva now own much of the Italian industry, but market only a small number of bikes under their own elephant logo.
What is an Allazurra? This bike was the first fruit of Cagiva's involvement with Ducati. They took the rare long stroke version of the Pantah engine from the 650SL - highly sought after by those in the know - and mated it to the frame from the touring version, the TL. A set of well made, if not very attractive, clothes made in Germany and added at the Ducati factory in Bologna, completed the package. It didn't sell well in Britain, but I'm not complaining because this makes it about the cheapest route into reliable Ducati ownership - as long as you're not expecting a cheap 851.
Most were imported by a firm that has since moved into Harleys, Moto Vecchia of Dorking (the same place I bought mine). They were sold cheaply for vee-twins, at a time when Ducati's fortunes were in the doldrums, between the glory days of Mike Hailwood at the TT and today's BOTT/Superbike successes. Survival looked unlikely. The Allazurra in some ways marks the beginning of a new attitude to quality control. Always famous for their engineering quality, the paint, electrics, ignition and other minor bits had often been less than impressive. Journalists still write of a fly painted into the fairing of the first 750SS imported in the early seventies. No more. The Allazurra is well put together and stays together even in the rain.
It has Brembo brakes, of course, Marzocchi suspension, Bosch electrics, Ducati frame and engine, and Veglia clocks (unfortunately, they don't say lies, damned lies and Veglia clocks for nothing...). Good kit on the whole. Spares aren't as bad as might be expected for such a rare machine, as the parts are shared with many other models. They can be expensive but most everything is available by post. It's also possible to cheat - 2CV oil filter, for example. Oil filtration is much more impressive than the BMW, with a proper spin-on filter. I do believe in regular oil changes with quality lubricant - oil is cheap, bearings are expensive. Do join the Ducati Owner's Club, though, their tip sheet for the Pantah is most worthwhile.
Servicing is generally simple with one exception - the desmo valves. Some claim they are easy to adjust, I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole, a mistake could prove far too expensive. My problem is that Ducati engineers in mid Wales are kind of rare - one of the prices paid for free roads. Ignition's electronic, the cams are driven by a toothed rubber belt that needs occasional replacement, the swinging arm bearings run in the gearbox oil, very close to the sprocket (minimising chain stretch) and everything else is fairly normal, whatever that is. In fact, it's pretty similar to a Pantah. The engineering quality of the motor is very impressive, even when compared to a BMW.
Chronic problems aren't common. Just a battery that can discharge itself mysteriously. I am hoping that a change of rubber will cure a gentle top speed weave. Metzelers always worked a treat on the Cagiva while it felt a little slippery in the wet on a Pirelli Strada rear/Avon front. A recent change to, horrors, a Japanese tyre in the form of a Bridgestone Battlax rear is proving very successful. I've also fitted a Scottoiler at the same time.
A fairly heavy hydraulic clutch action is less than welcome but clutchless changes can be made. The later GT model, fully rather than half faired, has a dry clutch, which might help. 50mpg is very easily achieved with more possible, whilst oil consumption is negligible. Top speed I'm not so sure of because the clutch has slipped since I bought it and I have only now got around to replacing it as the effect became more noticeable. 110mph minimum, 125mph claimed. With the Veglia clocks the truth may never be known!
Stock, it makes quite a reasonable middleweight tourer. It has happily carried me around Ireland on holiday and, for a year, regularly between Aberystwyth and London. Unlike the BMW it's never let me down on the road. The tour of Ireland, a trip that all my bikes undertake regularly, did manage to destroy what little damping was left in the rear suspension. God, but that got painful. My girlfriend, now wife, complained bitterly and promised never to be nasty about the BMW again.
The Koni-Dial-A-Rides that replaced the Marzocchis are superb, though I can't really compare it with a mono-shock machine, never having owned one. Handling seems good, though after the BMW anything feels quick steering. I do think I'd have to be riding upside down before anything decked. Tyre sizes seem minimal by modern sports standards but work sufficiently well that I can feel when the rear wheel starts to slide on my favourite bends on the A44. Brilliant biking country.
Now that I am permanently based in Mid Wales I have begun a slow conversion of the bike into a more sporting mode. The Krauser panniers and racks were removed to be fitted to the BMW, where they belong. The Silentium silencers rotted quickly, replaced by a loud and expensive 2-1 Conti. I knew it was going to be good when I took it out of the box, held it up and realised I could see straight through it. Full bore but crap chrome. Stainless brake hose - before you make it go faster make sure it can stop to match - freer flower filters, revised gearing, rear-sets, ace-bars, polished engine covers, etc.
There was a potentially embarrassing episode near Llanidloes when I pulled over to see what was the cause of the strange noise emanating from the front end. As I came to a halt, the front guard collapsed, and a police motorcyclist pulled out of a concealed opening opposite to see what the trouble was. Thanks for being so understanding, mate. Close call. The cause was probably a combination of old crash damage, poorly done plastic welding and my clouting a farm gate during some massive evasive manoeuvres earlier that day, trying to avoid an enraged driver who didn't approve of my overtaking technique. I still think that chasing me over the mountain was a bit much.
All grist to the Cagiva's mill. They are so rare that it's hard to put a price on one. I think it's truly a European classic and shares most of the virtues of later Ducati vee-twins. I've kept the BMW boxer and suspect the Cagiva will stay around for even longer. Can't say fairer than that!
Richard Marshall