  We present 21-cm HI line and 408 MHz and 1.4 GHz continuum observations of
the dwarf galaxy UGCA 86 with the DRAO synthesis telescope. UGCA 86 is detected
in the continuum at 408 MHz (S_{408} = 120 +/- 30 mJy) and 1.4 GHz (S_{1400} =
79 +/- 3 mJy). The HI structure of UGCA 86 is complex, with two separate
components: a rotating disk and a highly elongated spur that is kinematically
disjunct from the disk. The HI disk is centered on the optical galaxy with
similar axial ratio and orientation of the major axis. An area of the disk with
a peculiar velocity of 25 km/s relative to the regular rotation of the disk is
found on the southern side, where most of the star formation is concentrated.
The spur is seen along the minor axis of UGCA 86 and overlaps in part with the
disk. Towards the optical center of UGCA 86, the velocity difference between
the spur and the disk is 40 km/s, about one third of the rotation velocity of
the HI disk at 6 kpc from the center. This implies a large radial component of
the orbital velocity of the spur, and therefore a significantly non-circular
orbit. The velocity dispersion of the disk is 8.8 km/s, whereas the velocity
dispersion of the spur varies from 10 km/s to 30 km/s. A possible tidal origin
of the spur is considered in view of the proximity of the large Scd galaxy IC
342. However, evidence that the spur is located far outside the plane of the HI
disk, and the absence of evidence for a warp in the outer HI disk, poses a
problem for the interpretation of the spur as a tidal tail induced by IC 342.
Detailed modelling of the IC 342/UGCA 86 system will be required before a tidal
origin of the spur can be dismissed conclusively. The possibility that the spur
is part of the nascent cloud of UGCA 86 or the remains of a small dwarf galaxy
is presented as an alternative interpretation.
