cagiva was founded by Giovanni Castiglioni in 1978, manufacturing small mechanical parts such as buttons, buckles and locks. The name Cagiva is derived from the first two letters of the name of its founder Castiglioni Giovanni and the first two letters of the town where the factory is located Varese.
in October 1979, Cagiva bought the AMF-Harley Davidson factory in Schiranna (Varese). With a surface area of 8,000 m² and the presence of skilled workers and engineers, the factory was the ideal base for the Castiglioni brothers to build a motorcycle. With a workforce of 150, the factory produced 40,000 motorcycles a year, with an assortment of 8 models including 2-strokes and 4-strokes with displacements ranging from 125 to 350cc. The bikes were sold under the Harley Davidson - Cagiva name.
since 1980, the bikes have been sold under their own Cagiva name. From then on, the brand name became known as a motorcycle manufacturer with the ability to build its own engines, frames and accessories.
in the early '80s, Cagiva was the only Italian manufacturer successfully resisting the invasion of Japanese brands. This was achieved by using new techniques and introducing innovative machines. The Cagiva range included cross-country, enduro and street bikes. With a network of 400 dealers, Cagiva was the market leader in Italy for lighter motorcycles.
in the mid '80s, Cagiva attacked the market for heavier bikes, using Ducati engine blocks from 350 to 1000cc. It was a very good choice, and in 1985 and 1986 Cagiva bought the Ducati, Husqvarna and Moto Morini brands.
after the merger of Cagiva and Ducati, both brands did good business. Several details demonstrate that the two brands belong to the same group. An attentive rider (and already an older one) will certainly recall the beautiful racing outfits of Raymond Roche and Giancarlo1 Fallapa, among others. Red suits with gray stripes on the shoulders, as if they were an ancient Roman cuirass (a folder worn on the chest by Roman soldiers). Compare the old photos of former Cagiva rider Randy Mamola with the Ducati photos and you'll find the same race suits. That's what we call "Corporate image"!
on the sporting front, Cagiva has scored some fine victories. For 10 years, Cagiva dominated the Paris-Dakar rally with Ciro de Petri, Hubert Auriol and Edy Orioli. Cagiva also won the Farao Rally three times and the Tunisian Rally twice. Cagiva also wins the Motocross World Championship title in 1986 with Dave Strijbos and several MotoCross GP victories. On the circuit, Cagiva is also a title contender with great riders such as Randy Mamola, Eddy Lawson and John Kocinsky. In all, Cagiva won more than 10 GP 500s, and in 1994 finished third in the World Championship.
cagiva opens the Cagiva Research Centre in San Marino under the direction of design guru Massimo Tamburini. Later, CRC and Tamburini would be responsible for the development of the Ducati 916 and its derivative, the Mito 125. In addition, Cagiva opens the Crimson Design Centre in Morazzone, headed by Migael Galuzzi, who is responsible for the development of the Ducati Monster and later the Cagiva Raptor family. Finally, MV Agusta was added to Castiglioni's impressive stable in 1991.
the Elefant is one of Cagiva's most illustrious models. The most illustrious motorcycle in the Enduro series, it was built in two versions; the Elefant 750 and the Elefant 900. Both variants are based on an air-cooled Ducati two-cylinder V engine.
finally, in 1996 Cagiva decided to sell the Ducati and Moto Morini brands to concentrate entirely on Cagiva, MV Agusta and Husqvarna. After the sale, Cagiva successfully launched the most spectacular motorcycle introduced in the last 25 years, the MV Agusta 750 F4 Serie Oro.
the MV Agusta was a runaway success, and Cagiva decided to change the factory name to MV Agusta. Since then, Cagiva has been a brand name rather than a factory name.
in the off-road tradition, Cagiva introduced several progressive models. There were the Gran Canyon and Navigator models, off-road sports bikes that stood out from many other sports models. Cagiva also launched several road bikes, the Raptor 1000 and the V-Raptor 1000. Later these models were also introduced in 650 version, and for Cagiva this was a new impulse. True to tradition, Cagiva continued to build and develop 125cc 2-stroke models.
the Mito 525SP and Raptor 125 models are the latest productions.
Credits : Official Cagiva