Cagiva Canyon 500

MCN Review

There are no end of single cylinder commuter/trailie bikes around if you have the urge, so the Cagiva Canyon loses out for a couple of good reasons in that hard-fought battle for novice biker cash; first off, it's not the most reliable, even by Italian standards. Secondly, it just doesn't have the oomph to match its city slicker looks. What's more, the Rotax engine is outdated and down on power.

The Cagiva Canyon is nice and soft for novice riders, but once you gain some confidence and riding skills, you'll soon wish the Cagiva had more precision, more panache, than it can offer. Non adjustable front forks and a squishy rear monoshock make the Canyon something akin to a mobile bouncy castle on a country lane.

Here's an odd thing, with the Canyon, Cagiva started out with a 600cc single, then downsized to a 500. Not exactly progress some might say, although to be fair the old 600 Rotax lump makes about the same poke as the later 500cc unit. But both feel very vibey and are unpleasant above 65mph.

The Cagiva Canyon is just not very well made basically, with the chances of electrical gremlins, bits coming loose or engines spluttering to a halt all realistic scenarios. Starter motors are known to fail on them. Buying one used is a real gamble, purely on Cagiva spares availablity if nothing else.
Insurance, running costs & value 2 out of 5

Yes, Cagiva Canyons do go cheap secondhand. But there's a whole stack of reasons why and they're mostly bad news. The Canyon's used buy competition in the shape of the Aprilia Pegaso 600/650, CCM R30, Suzuki Freewind 650, BMW F650 etc, all make the Cagiva look like a poor second choice. Which it is. Find a Cagiva Canyon 500 for sale.

Actually, the Cagiva Canyon 500 looks really good. The nose fairing has an insect-like aggression about its bug-eyed stare, whilst the wide saddle, handy carrier and 20 litre fuel capacity help make it a viable commuter machine. On paper it's got all it needs - in reality, few riders fell for its quirky charms.