Hi, Very new to this Forum and I guess I feel like an interloper as my bike is not a Ducati..... but it uses a Ducati engine. So a plea for advice from the Ducati experts.... The Ducati engines used in the Cagiva Elefant are stamped with a unique engine number at the rear, behind the vertical cylinder. My questions are: is there another number, stamped individually on both crankcase halves, to show that the cases are a matched pair? And if so, where is this stamped? Are these Cagiva crankcases the same as those used in the Ducati Pantah? Are the Pantah crankcases common to all the engine sizes (350, 500, 650, 750 etc)? Any advice very welcome. Just trying to climb the learning curve! Sigean
I can only partly answer these, your best bet is to join this Elefant dedicated group and ask on there:- https://groups.google.com/g/elefantadventurebikes/c/wI7YtaTh7ps?pli=1
Don't think both crankcase halves were ever both numbered, just one. Yes, the Cagiva Elefant engines shared crankcases with Pantahs
Very helpful, many thanks. I think I need to replace the cases on the Cagiva I have just bought (won't know until I have the engine out of the frame) so I guess this might give me a little more choice of replacements. Kind regards, Sigean
it is, and without adding more publicly, I was a "member" for many years. You supply your details and are then invited to join. i.e. - it's not a conventional website.
Very helpful, many thanks. I think I need to replace the cases on the Cagiva I have just bought (won't know until I have the engine out of the frame) so I guess this might give me a little more choice of replacements. Yes, that's the beauty of it, it may be just as easy to transplant a 750 into it as they are probably more plentiful - the missing bits for this one you have on yours.. @Chris may be a better advisor with much first hand knowledge of the 650 Elefant https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ducati-7...299041?hash=item486c296b21:g:QcIAAOSwmOhf9HZL
that's why I hesitated in replying John, some of the swingarm widths and dimensions were peculiar to early Elefant crankcases although virtually identical to Pantah of the time otherwise. This is from memory but can't find any notes to confirm. I think you can machine the Pantah crankcases to suit above Elefant, and not the other way round so not out of the question if that's what you need to do. John's suggestion of later 750 is a good idea as easier to get a complete unit in good condition plus spares more easily obtained (but still might need crankcase rear pivot for swingarm altered/sleeved).
Many thanks. The bike is 1986 - would you classify this as "early"? And can the other crankcases be modified to fit? Sigean
Yes and (I believe) yes. Hopefully someone else on here will come up with information and dimensions, I tried to cultivate an Elefant Owners section on here a few years back but it's all but fizzled out now. There are at least 3 dedicated Elefant Forums, well there were, but you will need to translate for at least one of them if not fluent plus the following linked Forum has so many general Elefant posts that I never finished reading them! :- https://advrider.com/f/ e.g. ^^ :- There is an "Elefant sightings" thread that was started in 2004 which has 119 pages.
Once again, many thanks for the advice and information. I take delivery of the bike early next week and will then be able to discover the reality of what I have bought. Covid denied the possibility of looking beforehand. Hey ho, there are few engineering problems that can't be solved with modern tools and techniques. I am familiar with advrider - that forum has provided good advice in the past for other bikes I have/had - hadn't thought of looking there, but now I will. Kind regards, Sigean
Now you mention it, I seem to recall the Pantahs had a larger diameter swingarm spindle .... so if you were to slot a 750ss engine into the Elefant, you may need the swingarm to go with it, but am I right that all other mounting points would be the same?
if it helps, from memory, the mountain (Pantah engine) partly came to the molehill (early Cagiva Elefant) but with the 750 onwards these roles were reversed and a virtually standard Ducati engine could be used.
