The name Cagiva is subtraction of Castaglioni Giovanni and Varese.
Giovanni Castaglioni from the Italian town of Varese (near Milan) starts in 1928 a company which main activity is the producing of small metal parts, like door hinges etc. His company is a stiled elefant. In 1978, the motorcycle brand Aermacchi, than in financial problems, is bought and Giovanni’s sons make their introduction in the motorcycle world. The first Cagivas are in fact Cagiva branded Aermacchis.
Having started fairly small, business is groing and to be able to extend the model line the brothers find themselves looking for a supplier of bigger engines. They find more than they were looking for, because their search ends with the purchase of Ducati in 1985. Later, the brands Husqvarna, Morini and the legendary MV Agusta become part of the family, while in the second half of the nineties Ducati has to be sold. This moment marks the end of the use of Ducati engines in several models of Cagiva. Currently they source their big engines from Suzuki.

It is impossible not to enter one or more sports if you want to be somebody in the motorcycle world. Although Cagiva triumphed several times on the tracks of the Moto Grand Prix, they made fame with the big public mainly by the participation in the desert rallyes from halfway the eighties until well into the nineties. No doubt, the “Dakar” rallye, where Cagiva booked several triumphs, is the epifany of this.