My Cagiva story

[Eric250R]

I've been reluctant to post anything about until I actually started the rebuild. I didn't want to post a story and wait a year before any updates. Here goes.... A friend of mine is sitting in my shop and we're talking 3 wheelers when he starts telling me about some old wheeler he traded for years ago. He couldn't exactly remember the name but when he started to try and pronounce it, I asked him what it looked like. He said he hadn't seen it in years but it was real ugly....lol. He said it was kind of orangeish red with a green seat and a green swing arm. I said: A Cagiva ? Yeah, that's it. Of course at this point I think he's just trying to fill me full of bs, but I played along. Bear in mind, he knows about 3 wheelers, he as a couple, so I"m still not sure about buying his story. But I listened....then he said it's still at my uncle's house, if you want it I"ll trade you your Tri-Z for it. I said yeah, I"d trade for it. Now as this point I"m about to explode on the inside but I"m keeping my cool. We ridr over there....which is in the middle of absolutely nowhere. On the way it starts to sound worse. He tells me he knows a few years ago his cousin had taken the front end off to use on a Tecate...oh well, it's still a Cagiva I thought...then, he tells me other parts have been taken off here and there and he knows the plastic is gone....I"m getting less excited as this point. Well, we get there and it's gone...no where to be found. So, I"m back to thinking he's gotten online and found an atricle and decided to mess with me. But he pulls out his phone and calls his uncle. Yeah, it's still there he says, we took the radiator off of it a few years ago then pushed it over the hill. Sure enough, we look over the side of a cliff ( literally ) and there is what's left of it. And that isn't much. After walking down to look at it, it's trashed...I mean nothing left of it. Someone had taken what appeared to be a sawzall and went to work on the subframe. They wanted the clutch basket out of it ( who knows why ) and instead of simply removing the side cover bolts they took a hammer and busted the case off it. I'm heart broken. And he knows there's no way I'm trading him a Z for this. I shake my head and start to walk away. But it's killing me, after all, this was at one point a Cagiva. The thought of leaving it there sucks, but there's just nothing left of it except a frame and part of an engine. My buddy looks at me and says: Tell ya what, you give me a set of those new MSR handgrips you just got in and you can have it. Of course I said Cool, I"ll trade ya. We pulled it up the hill and threw it in my truck. In the end I traded a set of hand grips for a Cagiva. It's a steaming pile, but thanks to some members here I"ve been able to start gathering alot of parts. ( Big thanks to O.C for parts and his awesome webpage ) Billy Golightly is in the process of repairing my subframe and swing arm. So hopefully I"ll be able to post some pretty good progress pics in the next year.

[harryredtrike]

now this would be the ultimate phoenix.

[Eric250R]

now this would be the ultimate phoenix.

It will rise from the ashes....

[TrailerRider]

pic of the steaming pile? Hoep you get her screaming again :)

[code200k]

do you have any pics of when you first got it?

[Xpress]

We need pics of the steaming pile :lol:

[3wheelmecca]

Sweetness! Need....pics... steaming pile.....

[dcreel]

That is an awesome story.. I would have taken it home too.. History is still history..

[Brockey]

Yep, we really need pics. I would love to see pics of it sitting where ye found it, just because........................................... ..................................... Cool story, now wheres the pics?

[Eric250R]

Sorry guys, no pics of when I found it. I was too exicted and forgot to grab the camera. Still kicking myself. I will however post a pic of it in it's current condition in a day or 2 when I drag it out. Have to get the rest of it ready to ship to Billy.

[Eric250R]

Edit: I did snap this after I got it home to use as my avatar.....teaser pic :lol:

[ATCeeya]

good story man i think you made a good trade too

[aldochina]

what a shame, but props to you for trying to resurect it!!

[leviblue]

Who cares what it looks like now it's the end result that counts. Grips are a dime a dozen but a Cagiva is history. Best of luck with this histroic build......and I'm jelious

[3wheelmecca]

the fat elephant knows all, wat to bring back some Italian Firepower. Vive Italia!!

[atctim]

Eric - that story is crazy - too bad people robbed it of parts and busted it up! I'm excited for you that you are re doing it. Should be a challenging build that is totally worth it in the end. Good luck with it buddy!

[bigworm626]

Just like Hayabusa-- "the phoenix that never dies" kudos to you for keeping it alive. A true 3-wheeler aficionado

[Eric250R]

Thanks guys, going to do my best. I'll post pics along the way of it's progress....

[puggerton03]

Id like to see a pic of it the way it is now. Anybody have a good pic of what its suppossed to look like?

[Eric250R]

Id like to see a pic of it the way it is now. Anybody have a good pic of what its suppossed to look like?

Here's a link to O.C's Cagiva page. ( Orangecounty250R here on the boards ) http://sites.google.com/site/tigerrotax/cagivathreewheeler

[NINJA]

Good luck on resurrecting it. There is honor in this build.

[cox]

Thats a cool story, thanx for sharing. how hard is it to find one of the MX bikes? how many parts can be used off them to restore your build? just curious...

[Eric250R]

Thats a cool story, thanx for sharing. how hard is it to find one of the MX bikes? how many parts can be used off them to restore your build? just curious...

The bikes do pop up every now and then, and thanks to 200x350xTri-z250 for posting a link to one in N.C I was able to drive down and pick up a complete running bike for a song. Pretty much everything interchanges on them.....thankfully.

[Orangecnty250r]

Cool story, Rebuilds of this nature take time, dedication, and patience. You seem to have all those going for you.


Another thing!!!! Thanks for posting that web page, It doesnt show up on my site home home page and I thought it was LOST FOREVER when they converted the sites!!!!! Sweet!!! I know Andy was thinking of putting one together.

[Eric250R]

Cool story, Rebuilds of this nature take time, dedication, and patience. You seem to have all those going for you.


Another thing!!!! Thanks for posting that web page, It doesnt show up on my site home home page and I thought it was LOST FOREVER when they converted the sites!!!!! Sweet!!! I know Andy was thinking of putting one together.

You're welcome....I look at it quite often to stay motivated. Thanks for making it. Btw, any progress on yours ?

[TrickyDickII]

You'll definitely have an awesome story once it's restored. When you get it running I'd take it back where you found it and get a pic of you jumping it out of the ditch. :)

Hopefully, I'm not too far behind you on starting my restore.

[Eric250R]

When you get it running I'd take it back where you found it and get a pic of you jumping it out of the ditch. :)

:lol::lol::w00t: I may do just that.....

[bobotech]

Very cool yet sad story but PLEASE post pics of the trike as it is now BEFORE you restore it!!\

[Eric250R]

Very cool yet sad story but PLEASE post pics of the trike as it is now BEFORE you restore it!!\

Will do....Going to try and post pics through the whole restore.

[portland250r]

try asking around and see if any of your friends family still has the parts they took off the bike.

[Bryan Raffa]

Cool story, Rebuilds of this nature take time, dedication, and patience. You seem to have all those going for you.


Another thing!!!! Thanks for posting that web page, It doesnt show up on my site home home page and I thought it was LOST FOREVER when they converted the sites!!!!! Sweet!!! I know Andy was thinking of putting one together.

Ok.. you need some motovation.........I havent forgot about yours......;)

[Orangecnty250r]

Ok.. you need some motovation.........I havent forgot about yours......;)


:lol::lol: I have acquired some more cool NOS for it!! I have quite a few irons in the fire at the moment and the cagiva is one of the red hot ones!!!!

[Eric250R]

try asking around and see if any of your friends family still has the parts they took off the bike.

We have, it was a lost cause. It had been years since it was pushed over the hill.

[TrickyDickII]

:lol::lol: I have acquired some more cool NOS for it!!

I have a feeling we were bidding on the same stuff. :)

[Orangecnty250r]

I have a feeling we were bidding on the same stuff. :)

Woooops Sorry about that!!.....going to give you a ring in the next week or so, I want to run something by you I think you may like!!

[Eric250R]

108688Was digging through my junk today and thought I"d snap a pic, other than removing the subframe, this is how I found it.....a sad site indeed.....

[Eric250R]

Spoke with Chris Berry today ( one of the guys who used to actually race the Cagiva back in the day ) and it was awesome hearing all of his stories and reviews of the bike. Got to love the internet.
Also, a member here on the boards contacted me a few weeks ago and due to the location of my bike and the story he believes he knows the guy who used to race the one I have. Going to get in contact with him. Once my restore is done going to meet up with him and let him see it again. And of course get some pics with with him and the bike after about 20 years. Should be pretty awesome!

[Macs]

Keep us updated on the progress.

[Eric250R]

Keep us updated on the progress.

Will do, and keep us updated on yours. Oh, and Big thanks for the front wheel and tire!!

[Macs]

I actually did the unthinkable over the weekend and moved it out to my storage shed. Actually moved all of the trikes to the shed. Maybe i will get back on it someday when more time free's up.

[Eric250R]

give ya 100 bucks for it.....:lol:

[ironchop]

Hey Eric...I spoke with Larry recently and he didn`t have a whole lot of time (I hit him up at work)

sidenote: dang....that thing is trashed, you weren`t kiddin

anyway, he said he didn`t think he had any parts left at all for it...told me he`d know it if he saw it but....uh....I don`t think he will by the looks of those pics!...haha (I`d be hard pressed to tell him how it might look right now)...maybe Tricky Dick Jr. can cross-ref Larry`s name with the old purchase orders I think he posted that he still had...not hard to find when there were like 65 or so....does it still have the VIN ? or any numbers?...Larry bought his new....said it was really nice when he sold it (ARGGGGG!)...Doug and Bert cringed when I told them what happened to yers and they both said Larry would be sad too...that trike is sorta a legend around here cuz it`s a Cagiva and they are cycle nuts from WAY back.... being the only one they EVER saw in person was his...like I said, they told me to find it and try and buy it back when they heard I was trikin again and wanted to race... like it was the Western Kentucky Bigfoot of race trikes

anyway...we need to track the VIN if it has one cipherable and ask Tricky Dick Jr. on here who it was sold to and go from there...if it is Larry`s old race trike, I`ll hook up a meet with him for you

[Eric250R]

Sadly, the neck was buried in dirt and leaves when I found it and that's where the majority of rust is. As you can see in the pic. You can see a few of the numbers and maybe once I have it sand blasted, they will be readable. I hope. Either way, I"ll bring it down and let them see it, and snap a few pics. As we wrote in the PMs, the chances of their being 2 Cagivas in this neck of the woods would be staggering and the chances that this is the same one are pretty darn good. Hopefully as things get smoother here I"ll be able to tear into it soon.....

[Yamaha_Rules69]

Keep up the good work! Certain parts must be extremely hard to find for that one! I wonder what ever happened to the Cagiva that was on Michigan's craiglist about 6 months ago? It supposedly ran, but the plastics were rough, and spray painted silver. The price he was asking was $2500.

[whittim]

Just to relate to this i recently went to a guys house in the middle of know where who stated he had a bunch of old 3wheeler parts to get rid of. I left and found what was left of 3 200m and 200s's and then there was this red frame.. i looked at it quick then seen the tag on it... 1985 350X first time ive ever seen one in my life especially in the maratimes, almost crapped my pants. Any ways it is in rough shape but i bought it for..5$ lol and i know it needs a ton of work definately a piece together rebuild but just to have that piece of history made me feel awesome!

[tri-Z ripper]

try some evapo rust stuff works great on the VIN number it should work enough to get you the number for reference incase it gets sandblasted off!

[Eric250R]

Keep up the good work! Certain parts must be extremely hard to find for that one! I wonder what ever happened to the Cagiva that was on Michigan's craiglist about 6 months ago? It supposedly ran, but the plastics were rough, and spray painted silver. The price he was asking was $2500.

If I"m not mistaken Andy Lillard ( the son of Tricky Dick himself) bought that one.... Someone correct me if I"m wrong.

[Eric250R]

try some evapo rust stuff works great on the VIN number it should work enough to get you the number for reference incase it gets sandblasted off!

Thanks, I'll give it a try...

[Dirtcrasher]

This would make a great "Bedtime Story :D" I hope you find some more parts!

[Cagiva Kid]

Very cool story Eric. I look forward to following your progress

[TheBlueWale]

Any updates on this?