Produced for just three years, the Cagiva Alazzurra 650 was a rebadged Ducati street bike. Cagiva purchased Ducati in 1985, and was looking to grow their market share in larger-displacement bikes. Instead of building one from scratch, they used a 650cc version of the Pantah engine for both the Alazzurra and the Elefant.
MSRP was $3,893, putting it slightly above the Japanese competition that were producing more power. But Cagiva was competing on the emotions of owning an exotic bike, and style. Frankly, I think this bike looks a lot like the BMW K75S of the same vintage, but the Italian ‘exotic-ness’ can’t be denied. The 650 V-Twin engine produced 55 horsepower (less than the competition) and the bike weighed 424 pounds dry (also less than the competition). All of that translated to a 0-60mph time of 4.6 seconds. Want to learn more? Cagiva Online has a period motorcycle review from Cycle Guide’s February 1986 issue.
This specific Cagiva Alazzurra 650 is a non-US spec bike, so the gauges are in kilometers. It’s hard some recent work including a new clutch, brake lines, Uni filter pods, cermaic-coated exhaust, and more. In addition, the seat’s been redone with a gel pad in the front. Gotta love rare Italian bikes that won’t break the bank!
Find this Cagiva Alazzurra 650 for sale in Newport News, Virginia for $3,500 here on Craigslist.
This bike-uriousity brought to you by Jim R!