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Cagiva SST

Oddball for the week - Cagiva SST 250/350

( by Guy ‘Guido’ Allen, 14 July 2021)

Think back to the late seventies and there's a remote chance you saw one of these things running about, though it may have had Harley-Davidson branding, as a second-generation Sprint.

harley sprint

Let's walk this back a little. Harley-Davidson in 1960 bought a half share of Italian maker Aermacchi, seeing it as a means of adding smaller motorcycles to its premium range. This they did with several models, including the single-cylinder Sprint 250/350 four-strokes (above).

cagiva sst

Aermacchi became Cagiva in 1978, when Harley sold off its share of the business. That company in turn developed a line of two-stroke singles called the SST in 250 and 350 form. The street version, the SST 250/350SD series (above), sported cast wheels and slightly different geometry, while the SST 250/350SX (top pic) was the trail version with wire wheels and disc front brake (top pic).

Contemporary road tests liked the SX (top pic) as a road bike and not so much as a trail bike, while the SD was criticised for odd steering. The 250 developed 17 horses at 7000rpm, while the 350 claimed a much healthier 27. They ran five-speed transmissions. Carburetion was (of course) by Dell Orto, while suspension was Ceriani up front and Betor rear. The 350 SX weighed in at a respectable 114kg.

cagiva sst

Cagiva launched a second-generation SX (above) in the early eighties, which sported a more trail-friendly chassis, with longer-travel suspension. It looks good, doesn't it?

 

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