‘What I’d buy right now with’ £7000
1990 Cagiva Elefant 900ie
Off-road bikes have been Harry Metcalfe’s passion since he first took to the mud on one when he was just 11. However, the man who founded Evo magazine, which specialises in performance cars, and now runs his own YouTube channel dedicated to his rather enviable collection – Harry’s Garage – has a huge love in life – road-going Dakar replicas. In fact, given £7000 that’s exactly where his money would be spent – which is what he has just done! “The ie is about as close as you can get to Cagiva’s Dakar race bike and as well as fuel-injection where the standard 900 has carbs, the ie comes with gold cam covers on a black engine, an alloy swingarm and frame lower cradle, Öhlins shock, Marzocchi forks, a bigger 24-litre plastic tank and of course, the Dakar ‘Lucky Explorer’ paint – all it lacks is the racer’s kickstart. “They are very rare. After years of searching I’d given up owning one when this bike popped up in Yorkshire. I called the chap but he had already agreed to sell it to a buyer in Germany – I was gutted. I said ‘I’ll give you £1000 more than he has offered, which was £7000, and pick it up tomorrow’ and after the German messed the seller around a bit he accepted. “Just a few weeks after I got the ie I left for the Sahara to ride on actual Dakar stages to celebrate my 60th. I had organised to take my Africa Twin but I stuck the Cagiva in the van. In the dunes I struggled on the Twin as it was heavy and so I unpacked the Cagiva... “The guide rider was on a proper KTM 450 Dakar bike and after following him up a dune I was amazed just how good the Cagiva was. I remember the instructor looked round to check if I was still there and then just took off across the dunes
– so I followed! It was the best day ever and I didn’t get off the Cagiva for the rest of the trip.”