Cagiva Elefant 900ie

peepingtom

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Luckily, out of the blue one of my all time favourite bikes turned up a couple of days ago just a few miles from my home. No hand shakes were done but with copious amounts of alcohol (hand sanitiser gel ) a deal was struck and bike loaded into the van.

I was told by the owner who seamed very trustworthy that the bike was started before he brought it 3 years ago but has not been on the road for 10 years :( . the tank and main faring were in pretty good shape considering but underneath .......well its kind of rough. which I don't particularly mind as that's what makes stuff cheaper I just hope I don't have major problems with sized bolts in critical areas.

Im not sure how far this project will go or wether it will reach the full rebuild stage but for now my first goal is get it running. :green gri

ill share some pictures and tell you what im going to do and will be grateful if you can tell me STOP before I blow myself or the bike up.

Ive had 2 X 750 versions both briefly but this is for me as ive said one of my favourite bikes. currently im happy sitting in the shed just looking at it. despite its enthusiastic patina its still a beautiful bike
 

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don't even try turning it over never mind starting it without replacing the belts!!!

Lovely Bike Look forward to the resto
 
don't even try turning it over never mind starting it without replacing the belts!!!

Lovely Bike Look forward to the resto

Thank you, yes funny you should mention changing the belts it’s something I was very aware of but still decided to turn it over using the starter but I took the spark plugs out so it would have very little compression I couldn’t help myself stupid I know .So now I know it turns over it sparks and I have lights on the dashboard this is all good news.
Tomorrow I’m going to order new belts and rollers petrol pipe get some carb cleaner or injector cleaner give it a good soaking ,then later get them fitted and see if it will run then take it from there .
This is what I’m dealing with.
 

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Iconic Bike with the best colour scheme. Have you checked out the Cagiva owners club.
An old pal of mine used to help run it and I had quite a few good meets at rallys in europe.
Never had the chance to buy one at the right price
All seemed to be good lads and helpful as lads on this group.
 
Awwww, you bugger! One of my favourite all time bikes too - really looking forward to seeing this progress, Bon chance :thumb2

Andres
 
Thank you, yes funny you should mention changing the belts it’s something I was very aware of but still decided to turn it over using the starter but I took the spark plugs out so it would have very little compression I couldn’t help myself stupid I know .So now I know it turns over it sparks and I have lights on the dashboard this is all good news.
There is not a great torque on the cams as they are very light springs but I remember seeing the remnants of a 916 that had lain in a garage for about 5 years
The bike was about the same amount of patina but the belts were crazy cracked up

he was really lucky the front belt broke very near tdc and he got away with it but the schit and rubber teeth in the cambelt tunnel was scary

They aren't a safe engine sadly

I think that is what the bike is supposed to be in my avatar
 
Iconic Bike with the best colour scheme. Have you checked out the Cagiva owners club.
An old pal of mine used to help run it and I had quite a few good meets at rallys in europe.
Never had the chance to buy one at the right price
All seemed to be good lads and helpful as lads on this group.
Yes I love the colours of this one , I’ll have a look up for the owners club as it’s all going to be new to me

Awwww, you bugger! One of my favourite all time bikes too - really looking forward to seeing this progress, Bon chance :thumb2

Andres
I love it, I’m not sure how far I will be taking the project I’m very tempted to just strip it down and make a pile of bits for painting, plating cleaning etc but I don’t want costs to run away too much as unromantic as that is I’ve got to be realistic as money is easily spent even without things going wrong
 
There is not a great torque on the cams as they are very light springs but I remember seeing the remnants of a 916 that had lain in a garage for about 5 years
The bike was about the same amount of patina but the belts were crazy cracked up

he was really lucky the front belt broke very near tdc and he got away with it but the schit and rubber teeth in the cambelt tunnel was scary

They aren't a safe engine sadly

I think that is what the bike is supposed to be in my avatar

I think when the belts are done they’re quiet a reliable motor but having to change them every 2 years is slightly annoying.
I was told that it has the same engine as the 907ie do you know if that’s the case? I think is the same as a 900ss but with bigger valves a fuel injection.
 
First seized bolt casualty. The two piece belt cover has nuts located in the rear of the plastic housing and a rusty allan bolt to the front. It was just spinning so force was used and the inevitable snap happened. It was the only solution as far as I could see. Hey ho
 

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Nice find, and the best colour scheme too. :thumb

Something worth checking is the big block connector for the rectifier/regulator (ISTR it being on the RHS).
I've repaired two over the years, which had badly worn or corroded connectors, leading to the block melting and nearly going on fire.

Keep us posted. :beerjug:
 
Thats a great project for the next fortnight.:thumb
Top tip - as you could not help but start the engine can I suggest you only use the back brake when you take it for a spin round the garden tomorrow as you inevitably will? :augie
I shall take notes as you progress.
 
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I'd order a new chain & sprockets as well,

The orginal is more than likely fooked

I bet it sounds ace when it fires up :)
 
Oh nice one!

I think you can be hopeful that it will run, given your tests so far.

The really hard to source parts are the plastics and you have all those, so that's great.

As Mickdb1 says, there is a really helpful community, if you can track them down including a fella called Marc in Hull who has a good store of parts.

If you are interested in how far you can push the Elefant obsession, gave a look at Gavin Robertson's site here www.gavin944888.com

Electrics aside, which can sometimes be a bit 'italian' I think the engines are really well engineered.

Mick, did you attend the Treffen in Aachen about 10 years ago? If so, we probably spoke :beerjug:
 


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