Who’s bright idea?

Yes I know, I keep fiddling with this damn board …… but my new green LED’s turned up today!

So in one went on the test board to see what it looks like. The pic doesn’t do it justice as the green is a little deeper and more vibrant. The idea is to replace the LED’s under the diagnostics panel (x6) and the odometer (x2) and keep the meter lighting in blue.

I quite like the look of it, so tomorrow the RR instrument panel comes out of the bike and all the work I have lined up for it begins … please don’t let me screw up!

05/01/201326/05/2016

DVLA data

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid - DVLA register of taxed/SORN bikes Well here it is …. the third quarter data for 2012. Including mine (August 2012), the UK has a total of 13 registered Caponord Rally-Raids – that’s a loss of three in the last year. Will 2013 see us drop into single figures? For those not familiar with UK registration, SORN means “Statutory Off-Road Notice” ….. in other words the owner has declared the bike will not be used on the highway, so probably garaged, untaxed and stored for winter. Hence the seasonal fluctuation you see on the graph.

So how about the standard Caponord? Well, 293 are registered altogether, 5 more than the end of 2011 …… ‘new’ old-stock or imports? I wonder.

If you want to see how many of your favorite car or bike are still registered in the UK then pop over to: http://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/

01/01/201326/05/2016

Chips with everything

And a Happy New Year to one and all. Welcome to 2013 ….. and have I been a busy boy over the festive period.

The Caponord/Futura instrument panel simulator-rig thing is built and working, allowing all the functions to be tested and it will plug directly into my main loom/ECU simulator when I get round to finishing it. I also piggy-backed a neat socket for the 24c chip onto the programmer and so now I can test a board and reprogram it all in one location.

A nice new solder station (thanks Lucy!) with better heat control has made working on the boards a breeze and a ‘Chipquik’ SMD removal kit’ has made chip replacement so easy compared to a couple of weeks ago. Working on stuff this small is certainly challenging!

So what’s left to do with these boards? Nothing much, finish the circuit diagram and replace some of the back-light LED’s as an experiment and trial a built-in Sparkbright battery monitor. Stay tuned!

23/11/201225/01/2021

A little light circuit training

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid - Dashboard large LCD panel On a previous post I mentioned a visit by Mike081. During his stay I said that I’d like to get hold of another instrument panel at some point, so I could look into the circuit and programming in more detail. It just so happened Mike had a board lying around and he promised to sent it over. Well, true to his word, a Mk2 Caponord board was sat on the post-box when I got back home the other day. Cheers Mike!

First, I made a stand to support the little beauty while I prodded and poked around with my trusty multimeter. The next job was to try and fix it! The board had a couple of problems, a high resistance track and faulty regulator but nothing too taxing. Next up, I photographed the front (high resolution pic here) and back, then imported them into AutoCAD and started the tedious task of unravelling the tracks and components (click on pic).

Next up, the EEPROM. The little memory chip that contains settings and data relevant to the running of the board and recording of mileage and trip.

Two AF1 forum members – Michele (MCR) and Andy (Beasthonda) have been forefront in unravelling the data on the chip and how it alters the way the board works. The bottom line is that instrument panels from both the Caponord and Futura can now be reprogrammed in various ways and used on either bike. This also means that the ability to safely recover boards that have reset to factory default is now possible.

I’d like to thank both Andy and Michele for including me in the email exchange and for sending data and documents so I can better understand the particular settings for each bike – Cheers gents, you’re the best!

So this week I’ve experimented with the alternative settings and sure enough my little board has changed from Caponord to Futura and back and dabbled in metric and imperial measurements and even been a hybrid – Caponord with Futura LCD display and Speedo/Tacho calibration.

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid - dashboard

21/10/201226/05/2016

Low voltage battery warning LED

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid - voltmeter in right hand fairing I’ve already got a voltmeter in the right hand fairing and although I wouldn’t be without it, I have to say it suffers from a couple of drawbacks.

Poor readability in very bright daylight (Blue LED display)
Low down in the fairing, so requires eyes to be diverted from the road ahead.
I also have to lean forward a little to see over the hand-guard/brake master cylinder.

So I decided I wanted something more in my eye-line, something that simply displays as a go/no-go indicator, something simple; and it looks like SparkBright have just the solution. A neat encapsulated circuit feeding a Tri-state LED that will display a different colour depending on the system voltage. Now my peripheral vision should quickly spot a change in the Caponord system and give me ample time to take action. Here’s a table that explains the various states of the LED at different voltages.

The package can be supplied with LED sizes of 5mm/8mm or a whopping 10mm. I chose the 5mm as it will match the one I already have in place for the Autoswitch AS7 (fog lights). Before ordering I had a couple of questions and sent off a quick email – bear in mind this was a Sunday morning. Before I could even read through the Sunday funnies, Andrew Ferguson owner and guiding light behind SparkBright had replied – now that’s dedication! the bottom line – It does what I want and it’s waterproof, ideal for motorcycle use then!

Anyway, long story short, Andrew agreed to make a change to the mounting clip for the LED (at no extra cost – see gallery below for clip differences) and also told me of an exciting new development just around the corner for this product; auto-dimming built right into the LED for the 8mm and 10mm options. Sadly it won’t be available on the 5mm version for some time to come. However, this bit of technology is something the Capo is aching for on the Autoswitch Red/Green LED (fog lights) I already have fitted. By day it’s fantastic, but by night it’s just a little too bright.

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid - dashboard with AS7 Autoswitch LED and Sparkbright battery monitor

LED symmetry. Hopefully !!

So I’ll wait for Andrew to send this unit and if it does what I need of it, I’ll no doubt upgrade to the 8mm auto-dimming version and retro-fit this one to my tractor ….. about time I dragged it screaming into the 21st century. And maybe if I ask nicely, he may be able to help me upgrade the Autoswitch LED as well!

You can contact Andrew direct at [email protected] or bookmark www.sparkbright.co.uk (website should be up and running by the last week of October). You’ll also find them on Ebay, just search for “12v battery warning light”. The cost? £11.80 including P&P (UK) as of 21st October 2012.

I’ll finish by saying I have no affiliation or involvement with Andrew other than as a customer – I just like the product!

12/10/201212/10/2012

TuneECU update

Not a major update, more a bug fix and more Triumph map support added. TuneECU is still the ECU software of choice for the Aprilia Caponord and hasn’t added any new features for us since the beginning. Each new version has primarily focused on new Triumph models and addressed a few minor bugs – only one of which has been relevant to the Caponord so far.

I do like to load the new versions and compare functionality with an older trusted version just to make sure that nothing untoward has crept in with each new release as far as the Capo is concerned. Oh and as I write this, I’ve just realised – it was two years ago this month that the Caponord/Futura were added to the bikes that TuneECU support ….. wow time flies! To download the new version and maps, click on the ‘TuneECU’ link on the menu bar.

29/09/201226/05/2016

A brew, a battery and a bimble in the boonies.

Heart pounding fit to burst with sweat dribbling off my chin, I got to wondering quite how I got here. Between wheezing gulps of air I figured there were most definitely better things to be doing, and places to do them. To add a little spice to events, a Carabinieri (police) car had pulled up alongside and they watched mesmerised as I huffed and puffed behind Mike’s Caponord as we tried to bump start it on a three lane exit from the motorway!

Mike had rung that morning from Trieste and asked if he could pop in for a brew and a chat …. no problem matey. You nibble away at the 680Km and I’ll pop the kettle on. I arranged to meet Mike at the Giulianova exit from the A14 Autostrada and everything went tickety-boo until his battery fell off the proverbial perch just as he go to the exit toll booth – a paltry 50m or so from where I stood waiting.

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid & Motorbatt battery So here we are at seven thirty in the evening with two Capo’s stripped while we try to jump start Mike’s bike. After a couple of false starts we get it running, but he can’t use the lights so he follows me home glued to my tail. The poor thing has a battery voltage of 11v and a total lack of charging system. 24hrs later we had the Capo up and running again no problem. A new battery, 30A fuse and a quick tinkle with his mapping has the Capo purring like a fine Swiss watch. We decided that the next day would be a ‘test’ day in the Gran Sasso mountains.

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid in the Gran Sasso In the end the ‘test’ covered about 220km and re-established Mike’s confidence in the Capo’s abilities; considering he’s 10 days into a 5 week trip that puts him in Barcelona next week and Morocco a few days later, he needs to have 100% trust in his bike. Although the low cloud was broody and the stiff wind on the chilly side, we had a great day. We even managed a coffee at Castel del Monte and a chat with a group of BMW GS riding Germans!

$Mike\'s well spec\'d 06 Caponord$

$Mike\' heads towards Santo Stefano di Sessanio.$

$Mike\'s cockpit$

This morning Mike strapped the last bag into place and burbled off to new adventures. I watch him as he disappears out of sight, finishing my brew and feeling a little sad. I wish I was going as well. Mike called tonight from Civitavecchia, safe and sound as he waits for the ferry to Barcelona, good luck Mike have a brilliant time, keep the camera rolling …..and don’t forget to send a postcard!

19/09/201226/05/2016

Wot’s that switch then eh?

A couple of keen-eyed readers have asked about the switch behind the riders saddle. Well, no mystery really ……. I got fed up with removing the saddles then rummaging around next to the battery to find both halves of the service connector – bloody inconvenient is what it is.

So I dropped a small waterproof switch into the bodywork behind the saddle. Now I just remove the rear saddle, flick the switch and I can reset the ‘service’ indicator and check out any error codes quickly and easily, no fuss, no scuffed knuckles.

19/09/201226/05/2016

Putting the Cat back ….

The Quill Evo2 cans and link pipes had been on the Capo for a couple of years and sadly, never fitted properly. After spring I gave up waiting for a replacement left hand link pipe from my to-busy pipe bending chappie, so I decided to go back to standard cans. Then realised after 5 minutes – bad move! Way too muted, woolly and heavy! I wanted the best of both worlds!!!

So in August, after much pondering, I went for a hybrid system. The standard cans were cut from the their link pipes and the remaining weld ground down to suit the external diameter of the Quill can inlet. An adapter sleeve made from stainless was fabricated to fit the Aprilia 45mm pipe to the internal 54mm of the Quills. These were welded onto the link pipe and the cans held in place with Mikalor stainless steel clamps and a little exhaust paste on assembly ensured a nice gas tight seal. Now the system also has a more robust three point mount compared to the Quill original two point.

The Aprilia link pipes are 45mm diameter and have Catalytic converters installed compared to the free flowing Quill ones – straight through 50mm, so generate a little more back pressure, not as much as the standard silencers though. The benefit has been in the sound department, the Quills still have the wonderful base-burble, but have lost the sharp edge … the ‘bark’ that they had before, making them much more pleasant to ride with, especially for the pillion!

So for me it’s been a win-win on this one. Looks, weight, sound and fit.

Map tweaks in the UK were minimal, suggesting the link pipes make little difference; as suspected, the standard cans are the biggest restriction.

14/09/201226/05/2016

Rally-Raid fuel economy – update

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid - fuel economy In the last post I mentioned the improved economy of the Rally-Raid over the recent three weeks continental trot.

Low: 45mpg Avg: 48mpg Best: 51mpg

Well that wasn’t the whole story, those were the results from the majority of the journey but not the last 250Km. Oh no. I guess the answer starts with a question; do you ever get tired?

Let’s face it, motorways are mind numbingly dull and the A1/A14 from Milan to Pescara is no exception. The only technical section is the last 200km or so through numerous tunnels that wind their way along the Adriatic coast. After 22hrs and with 250km to go I was bushed, knackered, veritably cream-crackered as they say. Stop the bike and I felt fine, but 10 minutes back in the saddle and I flagged badly – not clever. I needed a pick-me-up, something to fine-focus the concentration and fire up the juices.

Do you ever consider divine intervention or guardian angels?

Well either luck, chance, chaos theory or someone watching over me knew just what I needed ….. and it came in the form of two Moto Guzzi Stelvio’s. As they passed waving cheerily I decided to tag along. And so over the next hour or so these two riders not only brought a smile to my face, but also educated me as to the whereabouts of various cameras as we periodically slowed, then rolled on again as we attacked each tunnel with gusto.

The pace was ‘somewhat velocious’ with the heavily laden Capo handling superbly as we swept through ever tighter tunnels on the approach to Ascoli Piceno, at one point the right boot tickling tarmac as we rolled on the gas in a decreasing radius bend; to say I was loving it would be the understatement of a lifetime! Sadly all good things come to an end and they eventually indicated off the motorway. A tap on the gas brought the Capo alongside and for a fleeting moment we waved and grinned like naughty school kids, then they slid away down the slip road out of sight. I wish I could tell them how much their company had meant to me at that time.

The last kilometres slid under the wheels without incident and home was mere minutes away. The next day I wondered how the exuberance of yesterday’s dash had affected the consumption of the Capo …. 40mpg? ….. 35mpg? Now the remorse set in. Dear Dog what had I been doing; while I grinned like a loon the Capo was probably drinking fuel quicker than a ladette on a Friday night binge! The tank was filled, the mileage taken. The clatter of calculator keys …..

44mpg!!!!

I was expecting much worse. Happy days … I can live with that! 😉