Tweaking a Cagiva Alazzurra Part 1

This is from a document published by Nick Woods on the Yahoo Alazzurra Group. It was a PDF file so I asked Nick if I could copy it and post it here. Because of the extensive amount of info I'll break it into several sections.





As I understand it, my 650 Alazzurra was one of a dozen early examples that were brought into the UK in 1985 as an independent import by Three Cross Motorcycles in Dorset. Moto Cinelli may have imported more later, and a few used examples have since reached these shores from Italy but, despite the obvious Ducati connection, Alazzurras never proved popular here.

This was apparently because the average pro-Italian British biker wanted a dedicated sports machine, not what we might now call a street-bike that came with an unfamiliar name and a hefty price tag. Consequently, Alazzurras are rare in the UK and remain unknown and unwanted, not least because they tend to be dismissed as not being ‘proper’ Ducatis. In the eight years I’ve had my bike, I’ve only seen one other on UK roads, and that, by an amazing stroke of luck, parked next to mine at a local village bike meet!

In contrast, at least a third of the 1536 total production (1985/1986) were sent across the Atlantic where they were, and still are, appreciated by enthusiasts. Perhaps the price was more favourable there, or the competition less strong, or maybe the biking fraternity was more open- minded than in the UK.

My own interest in the Alazzurra is precisely because Cagiva had repackaged the Ducati Pantah to produce a comfortable all-purpose bike. Of course, it still had the sports bike’s high quality cycle parts and handling, and that beautiful fully-finned desmo vee-twin engine I have admired for so many years. (Thankfully, mine has the original gleaming alloy finish, not the black paint of later versions.) Cagiva also incorporated worthwhile features such as a safety-interlocked side-stand that worked, comprehensive and useful electrics, and an excellent relaxed riding position with perfect balance between handlebar and seat loading.

Ducati engines don’t come any more stylish than this, IMO.

Prior to the Cagiva rescue package, Ducati themselves had produced a version of the Pantah aimed at the same market. However, despite having the right name on the tank, few liked the styling of the 650TL and it was not a success. Unwanted examples of this atypical Ducati were certainly sold cheaply in the UK, and I suspect many went the way of one I know about and were stripped and converted to a sportier appearance. When Cagiva took over and bailed Ducati out, they maintained an interest in a touring-type bike, and designed new bodywork to cover the mechanics of the 650TL, hence the chassis plate of my Allazzurra, which reads ‘Cagiva 3M (650TL)’.

Love the matching NGK plug caps! Note absence of ‘650’ decals....    

I am the fifth owner of this bike, and would like to know more of its history, as it has a couple of features that do not correspond with the published Alazzurra specification. These consist of a short-stroke bottom- end with hydraulically-operated wet clutch from a Pantah 600SL (DM600L701626), and Marzocchi fork sliders with forward mounts for the Brembo 05 front brake callipers, as per the Pantah 500SL. Ian Falloon’s invaluable book suggests that both these combinations were phased out of Ducati production in 1982, while the first Alazzurra prototype (a 600) appeared in 1983.

People familiar with these bikes when they were new tell me that Ducati/Cagiva were famed for assembling machines from whatever bits were in surplus, so my 1985 bike might still be ‘original’, even though it has parts that date from 1982. It could, of course, have been repaired with old spares but, given a front-end prang that destroyed the original forks, it seems unlikely that the specific-fit Alazzurra front wheel (with Cagiva stamped on it) and the ’85 Alazzurra mudguard would have survived. Indeed, all the rare Alazzurra-specific bits are still present and intact, plus those parts shared with the Pantah, such as the exhaust and intake-air filtration, which often get changed.

All very mysterious, and it was interesting to find that the original 1985 UK registration details omitted the engine number altogether. Maybe because the importers were a bit embarrassed to find the bike they were registering as a 650 had DM600 cases? Then, three years later, just the suffix code 701626 appeared on file, associated with a particular owner. While this could represent an alteration to the bottom-end of the engine, it may equally have been due to an owner who just liked to see blank spaces filled in. I fear the chap concerned has now passed away so I shall probably never know the truth, but my gut feeling is that the bike has not been changed since it left the factory, whether that was in Bologna or Varese!

I have to admit that my interest in this bike has not always been so keen. In ignorance of the UK market value, I paid good money for it, upgrading from a Moto Guzzi V50 as I returned to biking in later life. The last owner had had the good taste to have it repainted in solid red, but he showed no talent when it came to the mechanicals, and I found it most frustrating that some niggling repair always got in the way of riding it. Eventually I decided enough was enough, and bought an almost-new Ducati ST4. This bike was, and is, simply superb, and the Alazzurra was stuck in the shed and forgotten, pending its disposal.
Many photo-adverts went in, with succinct descriptions that I thought would hook someone with similar tastes to me, but I never got a single offer, despite an asking price that dropped to about half that of an equivalent Pantah. Specialist dealers knew very well about the UK Alazzurra market, and either offered insulting money or a commission sale only. Despairing of selling the bike, at one stage I even considered taking the engine out and having it as an ornament in the house!

Late in 2006, I had to put fresh petrol and a new battery in, to ready the bike in case a friend-of-a-friend might possibly be interested. Of course, the guy didn’t show but, to my surprise, the bike performed rather well! Not to the standard of the ST4, of course, and it needed a thorough tune- up, but it had a definite character and charm. In fact it made a nice contrast to the ST4....

So commonsense at last prevailed and I realised that the Alazzurra should stay with someone who appreciated it, i.e. me! That way, I might actually get the benefit of all the money I had sunk in it over the years. It would make an interesting project over winter 2006/2007, and a great alternative ride to the bigger ST4. One other factor was in its favour, and that is that my Significant Other had really enjoyed riding the bike, and she much preferred it to my winter ‘hack’, a Honda NTV650 vee-twin. I would be doing her a good turn by keeping the Ally in my collection!

The plan was to repair and renovate the bike as necessary, and improve various aspects that I felt were deficient. I was also keen to refine the style to my own tastes, though I wanted to stay faithful to Cagiva’s design concept of an all-purpose bike. Ultimately, I felt I could do whatever I pleased, as nobody else had any claims... The account that follows will, for completeness, include all the various jobs carried out during my ownership, as well as the recent modifications.

 ...continue in next post.