A custom brand based in Italy, Motorobica, had its way with a 1987 Cagiva T4 350 E, turning it into a head-turning custom enduro bike while keeping its performance, versatility, and capability.
Motociclismo had a field day with this bike taking note of all of its details and snapping up some good photos in the process. The bike was built to be an all-terrain machine, and Motorobica chose a build direction that stays true to the Cagiva’s roots while putting its own special spin on it.
The stock T4 350 E had a 28 horsepower single-cylinder engine, which puts its engine performance on par with quite a few modern-day 200cc-class motorcycles. Other performance bits that were thrown into the mix include a Honda CRF Showa front fork, and a rather unique T4 350 rear shock, which came from the R version of the bike. The rear suspension is fully adjustable as well.
As for its footwork, the Torcola is equipped with another set of Honda parts, namely the rims. Its wheels come in at 21 inches in the front and 18 inches in the rear, upsizing the original’s set by one inch in the rear. This change was done in order to mount a specific set of knobby tires onto the bike, as most hardcore off-road rubber comes in 21 and 18-inch sizes anyway. The rear also gets a disc brake in return, whereas sticking with the stock 17-inch wheel would mean that the bike would have retained its rear drum. A good amount of work went into fabricating the swingarm, which is custom-made in order to accommodate the system change for the braking system. A Honda caliper was used along with a Honda disc in order to achieve the desired wheel and brake combo.
The Torcola retains the standard Bing carburetor as found in the stock Cagiva model. The retention of the original carburetor on this bike was done in order to keep the linearity of the powerband. While a Keihin carburetor was considered, the Bing won out due to the fluidity of its power delivery even with changes in altitude due to it being a vacuum-type carb.
For its body, the Torcola uses aluminum sheets to replace the stock plastic bodywork of the standard Cagiva T4 model. The work recalls the colors of the Bergamo flag, with a red and yellow paint scheme. It kind of screams Moto Guzzi V85TT to some extent.
What’s most impressive is how the assembly is done with almost no tools. It takes five minutes to attach the bike’s bodywork, and structures, as well as the cleanliness of the design, which was executed without showing cables, nuts, or bolts. The bike came out even lighter than the original, shedding 11 pounds of weight. The original Cagiva T4 350 E had a dry weight of 324 pounds. After all, was said and done, the Torcola ended up with a weight of just 313 pounds even with a full tank of gas—granted it’s only eight liters of fuel.
