| 1985-88 Cagiva Elefant 650 |
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| Performance |   |
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| Yes, it's a belt-drive Ducati mill. But in its early air-cooled, 2-valve, carb'd, 650cc guise, it was not the standout performer today's Ducs are. Nice, but not stellar. |
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| Handling |  |
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| On road, a 4-point score. Off-road, a 2. Since it was street-biased to start with, I went higher than a straight average of the two. |
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| Looks | |
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| While it looks decidedly '80s and a bit Euro-crude, it has aged well. |
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| Reliability | |
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| Solid motor; expect to have some frustration with chassis parts. |
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| Practicality | |
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| Much narrower and more dirt-bike-like than today's adventure dual-sport twins. Enjoyment of the riding experience is dependent on the width of your tush and length of your inseam. A very nice bike for people who can stand a tall, narrow seat. Ergonomics are otherwise good up to about 60 MPH, at which point the upright rider becomes a sail. The wide availability of Ducati engine parts is a plus for a bike so rare in in the U.S., but some parts, such as the exhaust, are nearly unobtainable. |
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| Desirability | |
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| Ducati fans will tell you it's not a real Ducati. Dirt bike guys will tell you its not a real dirt bike. Adventure riders will tell you it's a lousy Paris-Dakar-style bike. They're all right. And they're all missing the point. |
