Karl Bianchini | Moto-Abruzzo

26/03/201326/05/2016

Slip slidin’ away …..

Ok I admit it ….. I posted these shots up on the AF1 forum first, but I thought I’d load them up here for posterity. If you’ve seen them already – tough, get over it! 😉

The Capo and I got caught out on a little muddy patch that appeared after a particularly windy day blew some of the neighbours field across a local road. Harmless when dry, but it took on the consistency of a melted hazelnut choc bar …. the one you left on the car dash when you went shopping last summer, yes that one.

So as I rolled on in, it peeled off with the stone surface wrapping around my wheels and jamming everything solid …… enough to leave stress marks in the plastic where it was trying to lift the mudguard off! Oh joy, what fun! Stuck in Beelzebub’s play-pit on tip-toe and not a soul anywhere in sight to help.

How I got out and back home is just a blur, a snapshot of tears, tantrums and praying to any passing deity within earshot … but we made it. Like Thunderbird 2 on telly, the jet-washer was rolled out and away we went, me blasting away, the sun mercilessly trying to bake this stuff on …. it was a close call I can tell you. This stuff sets like cement!

Note to self …… when it’s winter, fit the bloody winter tyres you Muppet.

Keep it shiny side up – KarlB

19/03/201320/03/2013

A courier conundrum

Sorry folks I’ve just got to get this off my chest before I explode in apoplectic frustration ….

CGK

Have you seen the film ‘2001’? Remember the computer – HAL? Did you know the name was a little in-joke by the director because if you add a letter, H becomes I, A becomes B and L becomes M making IBM the (then) biggest and most memorable of computer companies.

So now I’m going to bemoan a courier company, not a little provincial one, but a global name known to most. Let’s call it CGK (work it out!). Here is a company that can prove a committed and sustained level of incompetence that is truly inspirational, indeed the sheer magnitude of its ineptitude is breathtakingly staggering and that takes some commitment. Why?

Because every time we have been unfortunate enough to have an incoming parcel handled by them, they have delayed, mislaid or attempted to deliver to a completely wrong house – all while having parcels that are clearly marked with our address AND phone number. We invariably get embroiled in numerous (premium rate) phone calls trying to track the damn things down. The first bit of glorious stupidity comes in the form of the tracking number. The number that should tell you where your beloved brown box is at any one time … but stops at the border, changes from 12 digits to a new 10 digit number and is known only to some secret squirrel in a call center!

And so it goes on, more phone calls … ‘the name is wrong on the package, but the address is OK’ …… ‘the courier tried to deliver twice yesterday’ ….. ‘they only deliver on a Tuesday or Thursday’ …. ‘it’s on a canoe heading for Nova Scotia’. OK, I made the last one up, but the others are genuine. Frankly, I give up. If these bunch of clowns were the only postal/courier company in existence, I’d buy some new boots and start walking the package to its destination, it can’t be any slower that’s for sure.

Deep breath …..and release slowly ……. ahhhhhhh, I feel so much better now!

UPDATE: 5 minutes after posting, the phone rang …. it was a courier. In the end I got the parcel an hour later, after a 16km round trip to a local village because he didn’t know the area and frankly didn’t want to. So there we stood in the piazza as I signed his 21st century electronic gizmo, him cutting a dash in his corporate sweatshirt and cap while his 20 year old van wheezed and creaked on its springs in the wind. I don’t think it would have survived our road after all!

11/03/2013

Calling all over the World ……

My wife came up with a great idea recently. Why doesn’t moto-abruzzo host a collection of guest authors from around the world on the lead-up to the 2013 ACIM event?

Hmmm ….. I thought, she just might well have something here!

So I’m looking for budding Caponord owning authors from around the world, willing to submit a piece of 1 to 1½ sides of A4 – about 400 – 600 words. At a minimum the subject should be about motorcycles, preferably with the Caponord in their somewhere, maybe not the central subject but somewhere on the fringe none the less. Talk about your country, what seems day-to-day for you will be intriguing and interesting to others. Your best places, best roads, breakdowns, frustrations, living with the Capo – ANYTHING! Just try to view your world with fresh eyes. And of course, plenty of photographs!!!

If enough participate a new post will be uploaded weekly from early May until the ACIM meet on the 12th-14th July – 8 to 10 weeks or so would be nice. The event will end with a final write up about ACIM and hopefully something a little special! Depending on the number of people who may be interested in doing this, then I’ll either post a little more frequently, or start earlier – who knows!

Interested? Then either PM me through the AF1 forum or use the contact page above for more information.

Quills at the read Caponaughts!!!

10/03/2013

Bad contact page

Sorry folks, only found out yesterday that the contact page wasn’t sending me anything. If you’re reading this and sent something recently – and no doubt thinking I’m a miserable sod for not responding, I can only apologise. I think it’s sorted now and you should get an auto-response as confirmation you’ve sent me a message. Isn’t technology so wonderful sometimes!

Cheers KarlB

02/03/201302/03/2013

ACIM 2013

Details are out for this years ACIM (Aprilia Caponord International Meet) – can you believe this is the 5th one? This year the event takes place at Flims in Switzerland on the 12th/13th/14th of July. Click on the graphic on the right to go to the website.

[mappress mapid=”1″]

I’m really hoping to attend this year as I’ve missed the last three because of other commitments. With any luck, this ties in very nicely with a trip back to the UK and only takes me about 100km off route, so no excuses really.

Along with Mike081, I attended the first one held in Verbania, North Italy. Since then they’ve certainly played on the ‘International’ aspect with No2 held in Slovenia, No3 in Portugal and No4 in France. These guys put an awful lot of effort into this and it shows. From registration, to the ride-outs and the fantastic choice of restaurants after a fun days riding – meticulous preparation makes it all look seamless.

I’m sure the event will be well represented by the Italian and Eastern European riders, with French and Spanish in strong support …… all we need are a few more souls from the UK to brave the English Channel!

20/02/201309/04/2017

Happy 5th Anniversary!

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid - 5th Birthday! Today, the Capo and I have been together longer than any other bike I’ve owned. On a chilly but bright afternoon five years ago to the day, the Capo pulled up outside the house in Oxford and so began our unbreakable relationship.

In October 2007 I’d ridden my Honda Blackbird over to Italy and whilst I enjoyed running around the mountains, it was increasingly obvious that it was a proverbial fish out of water in this terrain. I needed something like my old BMW R1150GS Adventure again …… and funds most definitely were NOT available for that kind of purchase!

No, the B-Bird had to go and whatever I bought would have to come out of that money. So I racked my feeble brain to try and come up with a viable alternative. It ended up between the Triumph Tiger 955i and the Aprilia Caponord ETV1000. I remembered seeing a Caponord when Motorcycle City collapsed and were rapidly flogging off stock at their Reading branch. One solitary silver Caponord had sat among a sea of discarded cardboard boxes and brochures as the place was stripped. I remember spending some time looking around it, wondering if I could get the £5K asking price together before the doors finally closed in a few hours time. It never happened of course, but the Caponord left a good impression …. I liked it. So I started searching, second-hand prices certainly seemed favourable and throughout the winter of 2007/08 I kept looking.

Meanwhile, I’d come across a post on an obscure motorcycle forum where someone mentioned that they had a ‘Rally-Raid’ version for sale. The thread was several months old and no responses had been posted – I’d give it a go I decided. So I registered and sent the guy a message and waited ………

Photographs emailed to me by the seller in January 2008

A few days later a reply email arrived. The long and the short of it was that yes, the bike was still for sale. currently it resided in Lyon (South France), was UK registered and had covered less than 1,800 miles and no extras or accessories had been added since it was purchased in Lincoln. Only the front fork recall had been done at the 600 miles shake-down service, then it was shipped out of the UK.

1st day in Italy - 2008 — Arriving home in Italy – February 2008

Photographs were sent (above) and a deal was struck. I’d ride the B-Bird back to the UK and the Caponord would be delivered about a week later. In the end, everything went like clockwork. On the 20th February 2008, a Wednesday afternoon, the deal was done. The next morning the Insurance, MOT and road tax were sorted and 12 hours later we were winging our way back to Italy through a nippy (-12c) Switzerland.

And so it’s now 5 years on. One sidestand switch, one Sagem coil, a set of front wheel bearings and 65K more on the clock since the journey started. A few shiny trinkets and several practical upgrades make sure it stays as reliable and enjoyable now as it has always been. But has it been worthwhile?

Some photos 2008 – 2013

As the dog on the telly says – oh yes! Overall the Caponord has been as reliable, if not more-so than most other bikes I’ve owned. It’s a wonderfully agile mountain goat on the twisty Gran Sasso mountain play ground and a supremely comfortable and quick workhorse on the 24hr mad-dash pan-European jaunts back home. Certain things are starting to show their age, handle bar grip rubbers and saddles that will need recovering within the year – but the overall finish is still good and the stainless fasteners and alloy frame still twinkle in the sun.

On the 5th September the Capo will have its 10th birthday ( of registration) to celebrate and maybe a surprise or two as well! 😉

Ciao fer now – KarlB

18/02/201312/05/2020

My very own total Eclipse…..

When I got back from the UK just after Christmas I set about installing the new Eclipse-8 battery monitor on the Capo. You may remember from a previous post that I fitted a 5mm LED battery monitor from Sparkbright a few month ago and loved it (previous post here). In December Andrew very kindly sent me an Eclipse-8 as a sample so I could evaluate it – thanks again Andrew!

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid - Sparkbright multi-state auto dimmng battery monitor

What’s the difference between them? Well firstly, it’s only available as an 8mm or 10mm unit, no 5mm version as yet. Secondly – and this is the kicker – it’s also auto-dimming, changing it’s brightness depending on the prevailing light conditions, without using a separate photo-sensor to do it. Here’s a Sparkbright video of it in action.

So does it work? Short answer – yes, VERY well! I installed it in the same place I’d had the 5mm unit, just drilling the hole a little bigger to accommodate it. The Eclipse-8 has the circuit board attached directly to the LED, so only two wires and no circuit board in the loom to find a home for. The board is very compact and once the LED is inserted into the mounting clip, it is hardly visible. The length of wire supplied was ample to attach to the battery and earth points I chose in the bikes wiring.

The Caponord was bolted back together and fired up, the LED quickly changing from orange to green as the rec/reg did its thing and the voltage rose in the loom. In the strong daylight of the barn the LED glowed brightly, but put a hand over it and it very quickly dropped its output in response. All well and good, but would it be effective when put to use in the real world?

Well I’ve covered about 700 miles through January and early February in all weathers and lighting conditions and the Eclipse-8 has certainly lived up to my expectations. For example, here along the Adriatic, the A14 Autostrada weaves its way along the cost through numerous dimly lit tunnels. Jumping from bright sunlight to twilight and back gives the unit a good workout and each and every time it switches very rapidly – I’m guessing in a few milliseconds, but certainly fast. At night-time the unit operates primarily at it lowest output and is never distracting, sometimes increasing in brightness as I pass under a sequence of street lamps just to let me know it’s still doing its thing!

So are there any downsides? Yes, but not as a result of anything done by Sparkbright. 8mm LED clips it seems are only available in convex and not concave style. Great for increasing the angle of visibility ( not important from the saddle) but also increasing the susceptibility of the LED to being ‘washed-out’ by direct sunlight and becoming difficult to see. As it is, there is a simple partial fix. Drop the LED further down the clip and glue it in place. I dropped the LED so its top was flush with the clip – a couple of millimetres I guess and this has made a world of difference. Now only the most direct sunlight affects readability and I can live with that!

Bottom line, the Eclipse-8 is a simple all-weather battery monitor for day/night use on a motorcycle – no more, no less. And it is doing the job perfectly.

Contact details E-mail: [email protected] or Tel: 0141 557 5277

Other than my initial purchase of the 5mm unit and sample Eclipse-8 supplied by Sparkbright, I have no affiliation to them. I’m simply offering my own review of products I believe to be useful and cost effective. It’s my unbiased opinion, if you buy one and don’t like it – tough. Don’t come running to me! Is that a disclaimer?

26/01/201326/05/2016

New page added – Rear Suspension Linkage

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid - 3D Rear suspension linkage Yes, a new page added under ‘Chassis’ in the drop-down menu after installing the Brucaliffo supplied rear suspension linkage overhaul Kit. An excellent and comprehensive kit of parts and tools. I adapted it slightly from the original documented installation procedure (available here in Italian), nothing too radical though.

There is a slight issue with the alignment of one bearing, but it’s not a problem ….. and it’s all explained on the new page! I hope you find it useful.

15/01/201326/05/2016

You are what you are

Someone close to me once said;

“You’ll never be riding motorbikes when you’re 30”

A simple statement I’ll grant you, but among the endless conversations that spiralled into arguments, the tone of voice, the inflection and the derisory look, all combined to weld that moment into my mind for eternity.

Today I am 50 …… I first rode a motorbike at 7. I’ve had my licence for 34 years and been lucky enough to earn a living from riding one for over 50% of that time. 7 accidents, over 50 bikes, and ridden almost 946,000 miles in all weathers and through many wonderful countries.

Today, I think am a biker.

Yep, who would have believed it … I’m 50. More to the point, I’ve made it to 50! It only seems minutes ago I was sitting at home reading ‘On Two Wheels’, a sweaty-palmed teenager eager for life to get a move on. But it was in my late 20’s that the innocuous statement was made ….. what did she mean? As a full-time dispatch rider I wasn’t going to survive? Or that I had no conviction in anything I did? She certainly didn’t believe I was much good at anything. As a rider I was an accident waiting to happen in her eyes, so I took my ‘Institute of Advanced Motorists’ test and passed first time – but the bar was simply raised in her mind.

I think it’s fair to say that praise didn’t come easily, hell, it never really came at all. But I plodded on. Over the years I became a professional rider, earning a living from the one thing I love doing ……. I was still never good enough though. In the end, we parted our ways and life went on. Our paths haven’t crossed in the past 15 years and it’s now 12 years since I qualified as a motorcycle instructor and 5 years that the Capo and I have worked together.

Mother, you were wrong then, you’re still wrong now …….

I am Karl Robert Bianchini. Today I am 50. Today I am a biker, I always was and always will be. I think I’ve earned that right.

11/01/201326/05/2016

Dash it all Jeeves…..

Well here it is at last ….. the green LCD Caponord instrument panel. A hot brew and an early start on a cold wintery day, had the panel off the bike and in the warm workshop by 8am. While the soldering station warmed up, I separated the cases, eased the needles off and surprised myself that all this only took a couple of minutes – no hassle with the needles at all, which is unusual!

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid - Dashboard LED's to replace Next, the six diagnostic panel and two odometer blue LED’s were replaced with green versions, this isn’t difficult but you need to make sure they go on the right way round or they won’t work! The LED specification I used is:

3.2-3.8v 20ma 1000mcd green PLCC-2 SMD LED

Then I removed the old 24C02 chip and read off the data and saved it. I modified the file and wrote it to a new chip and soldered it in place. Back out in the cold I plugged the board into the bike and got ready to switch on. Would it, wouldn’t it ….. blingy lights or a puff of smoke? Hoorah – we have bling!!! The case was buttoned back together after giving the clear lens a clean and checking the rubber seal was OK. All in all, about an hours work, time for another brew then.

So is it just a bling-thing or is their anything worthwhile about changing the LED’s? Personally I prefer it in green, the contrast between digits and background is better making it easier to read the display on the move – sadly the photographs don’t reflect how good they really are. Also the green LED’s are brighter than the blue and that certainly helps. Keeping the blue LED’s behind the analogue gauges adds a nice touch, balancing out the green.