Founded by Giovanni Castiglioni in 1950, Cagiva is a Varese-based motorcycle brand owned by MV Agusta. Cagiva produced a wide range of popular bikes, including the Elefant, a Ducati-powered adventure bike that would claim victories at the 1990 and 1994 runnings of the infamous Dakar Rally. Fast forward to today and MV Agusta is now reviving the Elefant monicker for an all-new pair of vintage Dakar-inspired adventure models.
Dubbed the “5.5” and the “9.5,” MV’s new ADV bikes take ample inspiration from the Lucky Explorer Elefant racers of the ’90s, with full sets of vintage rally raid-style bodywork and off-road-ready 21″ front and 18″ rear wheel-sets. At the heart of the 5.5 is a 47-hp 550cc twin-cylinder mill produced by MV’s Chinese partner QJ, while the 9.5 is kicked along by a larger liquid-cooled 930.63cc inline-triple that makes 132.25hp and 75.2ft-lbs of torque. Wrapped in a steel double cradle chassis, the 930cc engine will be available with the buyer’s choice of either an automatic Rekluse clutch or a standard manual gearbox that’s electro-actuated. Both models also come adorned in modern liveries modeled after the Lucky Strikes paint digs that cloaked Cagiva’s ’90s era Dakar winners.
MV Agusta has yet to reveal full spec sheets, pricing, or availability for either model, though after the new adventure bikes make their public debut at EICMA, the Italian marque has stated that both motorcycles are slated to enter production.
