Brought this little beasty home on Saturday:
Nope, I can't own anything normal.
2000 Cagiva Gran Canyon. Has the 904ie Duc 2-valver with a dry clutch. Basically a Monster/SS 900 motor but with 750 small-valve heads (less HP, more low-end grunt... or so they claim). If I own it long enough to rebuild the engine, I'd eventually like to turn it into a 944 with MBP Big Red heads. So anyway, motor is common Ducati 2-valve, chassis is a little more rare. Only around 1000 of these imported between 1999 and 2000. However, I found out the chassis (and plastics) is basically the same as the Cagiva Navigator, which was Suzuki TL1000 powered and sold in Europe until 2006. So if all else fails, I can get a lot of the plastics out of Europe. Thank God for the interwebz and a global economy! (I just ordered a really cool fuel mixture tuning tool from the UK a couple weeks ago as well)
Bike also included the OEM handlebar, a set of round Monster mirrors, and big Givi sidecases + trunk. I'll put the Hepco-Becker crashbars on it, find some OEM Multistrada mirrors with integrated turn signals, do an HID conversion on the low beam, and eventually add some fog/driving lights. Some form of heated grips or those hippo hands are also on the accessories list, along with a Throttlemeister. I'd also like to fab up an aluminum bash plate for underneath... that silver plastic housing conceals the fuel pump.
I'd like something a little tougher between it and the ground.
I'm VERY happy to be back on a Ducati-engined bike.
This bugger is going to see many kilometers of use (the odo and trip meter are in km... which will make calculating range and mileage a little more interesting).
Bought it without digging myself a debt hole, which makes me even happier! A Multi would be easier to find chassis parts for and a Tiger would be more powerful, but this was affordable without getting a vehicle loan, has basically the same engine as my SS, and sounds awesome. Rides really well, too.
In the pics you can see the light silver handlebar and spacers under the bar mounts. Previous owner had those to improve the reach to the bars. I found with my long arms that I needed to sit way back, halfway on the pillion seat. So yesterday I removed the spacers and put the OEM bar back on. Fits my frame much better now. Speaking of fit, Erica likes the back seat, says it's quite comfortable. I'll order the backrest for the Givi trunk to finish off the passenger accommodations.
Anyway... I'm very happy to have a bike in the garage again.
And one with a Ducati engine, no less!
