The Cagiva/ducati Connection the Duke Lives On

THE CAGIVA/DUCATI CONNECTION The Duke Lives On

EVERY MOTORCYCLE HAS A heritage, a history that helps explain what it is and how it came to be what it is. But the Cagiva Alazzurra is different. Instead of having just one family tree leading to its present form, the Alazzurra is the lineal descendant of three companies—Cagiva, Ducati and Aermacchi.

Undoubtedly, the strongest of the three elements that have influenced the Alazzurra is Ducati. The bike not only shares much with a Ducati Pantah, it almost is a Ducati Pantah, at least where the frame and engine are concerned. But the Pantah is gone forever, and the Alazzurra no doubt will evolve further as other influences begin to shape its destiny. This model merely marks the first step in the Cagiva/Ducati union.

That union dates back almost two years. That’s when Ducati President Mario Brighigna announced that Ducati Mecanicca, the chassis-assembling arm of Ducati, was going out of business, but that the enginemanufacturing division would stay around to produce engines for Cagiva. Since that announcement, Americans have had their tastes whetted, time and time again, with stories of exotic, single-shock frames and new engines from Ducati. But until now, the only Cagiva/Ducatis to reach this country have been in rumors and blurry photographs.

That’s because most of the releases and announcements were premature. The final agreement between Ducati and Cagiva wasn’t signed until about nine months ago, barely enough time to change the fuel-tank decals.

But Cagiva is an old hand in the business of redirecting existing motorcycles under a new name. The company’s history becomes even more intriguing when you consider that only five years ago, Cagiva wasn’t in the motorcycle business at all, but rather was a manufacturer of fasteners. The firm was founded by Giovanni Castiglioni in the Italian town of Varese, and the name Cagiva itself is derived from the first two letters of each of the names Castiglioni, Giovanni and Varese. It wasn’t until 1978 that Cagiva purchased Aermacchi, the struggling Italian division of Harley-Davidson. Harley had used the Aermacchi plant to manufacture all of its 350cc-and-under machines, but was meeting stiff competition from the Japanese in the U.S. market. Under Cagiva, the firm reaimed its product at the domestic Italian market, where the government had all but eliminated competition from the Japanese. Cagiva was met with instant success in the smallbore streetbike market. Within a few years, the firm grew into the largest motorcycle manufacturer in Europe. Now, with the Ducati agreement, Cagiva is ready to return to the U.S. market and meet the Japanese headto-head.

That task won’t be easy, because the Japanese have a firm grip on American motorcycle sales. But Cagiva has a history of survival, and judging by that heritage, the firm stands a better chance of penetrating that grip than just about any other European company. In fact, you might even say it stands a better chance than any other three European companies.