Month: December 2016 | Moto-Abruzzo

20/12/201603/05/2019

More bunged up …… or spoke too soon!

I’ve been carrying six spare spokes around in the front wheel spindle for years ….. however the whole thing was a bit of a mash-up and not worthy of a post on here unless I desperately wanted some serious ridicule. Until now that is! Out with the hand-cut foam and insulating tape and in with the nice new 3D printed parts – two spacers to hold the spokes all nice and even and two new symmetrical end caps. All this held together with a length of 8mm aluminium tube, two ‘O’ rings and two M6 stainless fasteners topped off with a pair of decorative washers I had left over from my old Honda Blackbird days. All works pretty well, even if I say so myself! 😀

18/12/2016

Feeling a little bunged up

The Capo now has 3D printed bungs in the swing arm pivot and the ends of the crash-bar mounts. They’re held in by 43-39-2, 14-10-2 and BS011 ‘O’-rings. And yes, the BS011 rings are the very same as those used on the fuel lines. So one day if the old girl springs a leak and needs a new fuel line ‘O’-ring by the roadside – no problem, whip out a crash-bar bung and pinch the ring! Next ….. front and rear axles then the engine mounts above the swing-arm pivot .

14/12/201603/05/2019

Print me a Capo ……

Yesterday, on a rather cold and wet afternoon, moto-abruzzo took a step into the future ……. courtesy of a good friend that I’m doing a project for. A 3D printer arrived! And being the top man that he is, he’s cool about me printing off those odd little Caponord bits-n-bobs.

It was rapidly unpacked and Jan and I stood in awe at this little box of awesomeness, we oooo’d and aaaah’d in all the right places …. then it was time to fire the beast up. But first a good nights rest. Early the next morning I loaded up a model and hit the ‘MAKE!’ button. My heart pounded as it hummed, rumbled and whired into action. For an hour it beavered away – then stopped dead! In fact everything stopped – ANOTHER BLOODY POWER CUT! So on with the coat and off to buy a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) to keep computers and printers running when we get these annoying micro/mini power cuts that last no more than a second or two but mess everything up. Once installed I was away like a whippet on speed ……. by the end of the evening we stood and marvelled at its first creation – A Mk1 speedo sensor case.

Like any piece of kit it has a bit of a learning curve attached to it, but hey, that’s all part of the fun. Here’s a pic of the first printed Capo speedo sensor main case and cap. The holes print really well even at this resolution and tap to M3 no problem. The sensor is a nice snug fit and (thankfully!) it fits in the brake caliper carrier and even the bolt lines up which is nice! So overall – moving in the right direction. Now I just need to order a couple of sensors, some cable, rubber boots and Molex connectors and the jobs as good as done. Then I can change out the sensor on the bike, run it around for a while and see how the printed parts hold up to life on a motorcycle.

Why bother with all this?

Have a look at the cost of a replacement sensor from Aprilia (AP8124985) ….. currently £112 plus postage from Fowlers and Ultimateparts in the UK and €146 (approx. £127) from wendelmotorraeder in Germany. OK it’s much cheaper from AF1 at £65 but the postage is higher and you may well have customs duty to pay – all bumping up the cost.

So …….. IF (a big ‘IF’ mind you) it tests OK over a couple of months and possibly a small batch were to be made, would anyone be interested in an aftermarket Capo speedo sensor for half the price of an original?

Anyway, until then what’s next ……. hmmmm.

Hybrid velocity stacks – Caponord height with Futura diameter (51mm)
Hi-Flo airbox snorkel
Frame/axle/crash bar bungs (insects use the orifices as nesting sites!)
……. and maybe even a 1:5 scale model!! 😀

11/12/201603/05/2019

Beasthonda (Andy) Fuse Block

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid Beasthonda (Andy) fuse block Unfortunately, due to circumstances I won’t elaborate on just yet, I found myself with a bunch of cut accessory cables sorely in need of a home! So step forward front-and-centre the fuse block made by Beasthonda (Andy) from the AF1 forum.

Truth is I’d had this pre-production block sat on my workbench for about three years! Andy kindly sent it to me without the PCB being potted in place so I could have a look at the circuit board. I never got around to potting it and so it sat all forlorn in the corner. Time then to dust it off and put it to good use.

I decided to mount it to the underside of the pillion seat decking – Aprilia call it the luggage rack – so I made up a bracket that bolts in place with two stainless M5 screws and M5 clips. The fuse block is attached to the bracket by good old double-sided 3M adhesive pad. Wiring-up was straight forward and as I knew the overall current load it was going to feed, I used 14AWG and a 20A fuse to the input. The outputs are 2A (GPS), 7.5A (Optimate), 15A (fog lights) and another 2A (Autocom). The output wires connect to a Wago 236 terminal strip – no screws or crimps, just a strong spring to hold the cables in place. And they do hold them believe me! Each connection is rated at 16A and accept cables from 28-12AWG.

Wago 236 terminal connector And that’s it …… one neat block and no more external fuses.

In this location the battery strap retaining screw is obscured, however I only have to disconnect the ground, then the live, remove two screws and lift the fuse block out and drape it over the side of the subframe. Now the battery/screw are more accessible than they’ve been for years! I really wish I’d done this ages ago and I can only apologise to Andy for not putting his fuse block to good use before now. I owe you one matey!!

You can contact him via PM on the AF1 forum or at ‘a’ underscore ‘allott’ at hotmail dot com. Price is £25 UK £30 USA/EU and £35 Oz/Asia inc. P&P

Now if Mr Beast ever decides to do a Mk2 version (R U listening Andy? 😀 ) then I’d love to see a relay in the box and maybe another output …… then we could have some outputs powered continuously (like now) and some that are powered via the relay connected to the lighting circuit or a handlebar switch for example. That way I could bring the INNOVV K1 and cruise control power lines to the fuse block as well. Ahhhh …… what dreams may come true eh! 😀

04/12/201628/04/2019

Charge of the fright brigade

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid tachometer voltmeter dashboard I had a bit of a stress-monster moment last night. After finishing off a bit of work on the Capo, I fired it up and stuffed the multimeter probes across the battery terminals – 16.1V with the lights on! My heart skipped a beat and thoughts of a toasted rectifier rumbled across my mind. However the Sparkbright battery monitor LED showed steady green and should have been flashing red/green at this voltage. A prod of the ‘mode’ button activated the tacho/voltmeter in the dashboard and it said just over 14V. What gives? Then another glance of the multimeter channelled my thoughts in a whole new direction – an itsy-bitsy low battery icon was showing. A fresh PP3 and a calming cup of tea later and the Capo was in fact charging at a healthy 14.2V all along ……. So with the stress-monster firmly back its box, I made a note to check/change batteries in all the other tools in the workshop ASAP!