Last year I had a look online for exhaust coatings that could possibly help reduce the radiated heat from the Caponord down-pipes. Among the usual rattle-can, cloth-wrap and ceramic paint contenders, I found a link to Zircotec in Oxfordshire. A few emails later and it looked like it would be around the £150-£180 mark to get the Capo’s pipes done. Not cheap granted, but when you read through the claims and list of customers who swear by the product, you just know they have something unique. Now they are ready to bring a product range specifically for motorcycles to the market. Take a look through the website and be amazed!
Shorai Power – Pt2
Just a quick post to update on Shorai batteries. As you may remember, I tried a Shorai LFX18A1-BS12 in the Capo and had mixed results. Mixed enough to swap back to a standard battery anyway! In my case, the battery became unpredictable below 12-14c, above that the bike started every time, below that …….. well let’s just say it could take a while!
Anyway, it appears that Shorai have changed the battery specified for the Caponord/Futura to the higher capacity LFX21A6-BS12. They are available via EBay(UK) at about £135+ with postage bringing it to an eye watering sum in the region of £190 … then I’m sure Customs & Excise will want a slice as well!
After last time, I think I’ll give it a pass. The chunky high-capacity lead-acid YTX14 is doing a sterling job for less than half the price, but if it’s your idea of under-saddle bling then go and fill your boots by all means. 😀
Oh do get a grip ……
I can’t believe that the Aprilia heated grips have been on for 5 years, boy how time flies! Over that time they’ve worked perfectly and I can’t justify replacing them any time soon. What I do need to do however, is replace the rubber grip as the originals look tired and are well worn. In truth, they could probably last another year or two as they’re not split yet, just look worn. And I don’t like my RR looking shabby!
I ordered a set of Ariete 02624/L grips from Caprimoto here in Italy and they arrived within 24hrs, fantastic. They cropped up on a thread on the AF1 forum a few months ago as a viable 
alternative, as the Aprilia ones appear to be unavailable except as a complete unit. I’ve written about the fun and games of grip replacement and thoughts on upgrading the original Aprilia heated grip elements in a separate page. Click here.
Get yer motor running ……..
No, not the mighty V990 Rotax, more the tidily-tiny stepper motor that runs the speedometer and tachometer. An unobtrusive little thing with a hefty replacement price tag of between £30-£50 each.
The B-0410-116-530 stepper motor is also used in a variety of cars from Audi, Fiat, Renault and Citroen. Anyway, I had a duff one on a board and decided to remove it and poke/prod/measure its internals for digital posterity. Here’s a couple of 
images of the little darling. I’ll be adding a Dashboard page shortly with lots more info on the motor and the circuit board along with plenty of ‘how to’ tips to hopefully save you a few bob on repairs by doing it yourself and avoiding the pitfalls that leave you with an expensive paper-weight!
An extraordinary board meeting
Hot on the previous post and the delivery of the Futura dashboard from Arv, here’s a photo of the hybrid (Franken-Capo) dashboard in the Rally-Raid.
The calibration of the needles was compared to TuneECU (Tacho) and the trusty Garmin GPS (Speedo) and everything is absolutely fine. I’m pleased to say it’s been a complete success and something I can tick off the RR’s wish list. It’s not a very big list, just has some awkward or expensive items on it!
A Futura dashboard from over the pond
Last winter and again a few weeks ago, I put an advert on the AF1 ‘Aprilia Parts Wanted’ forum for an RST Futura dashboard or inlay and other than a very tedious (and obvious) spammer, it was deathly quiet. I kept scouring Ebay and numerous on-line for-sale sites but it seemed like the world’s supply of Futura dashboards had vanished into thin air ……… until Arv (Picky) sent me a PM through the Aprilia forum.
He had a Futura dashboard that didn’t work and had a broken lens but was fine in all other respects. This sounded just what I was looking for because in reality I ONLY need the inlay anyway. So we swapped emails and Arv sent photo’s and a video. Total cost …… p&p only, I could have the dashboard for free!! USPS said 6-10 working days …. it was on my doorstep in 5, now that IS service. Read it and weep DHL!!!!! 👿
And so I’d like to thank Arv, not only for his generosity and honesty, but for getting the thing packed and away in the mail before I’d even got the payment to him. Arv it turns out, hails from White Plains, New York and fills his days with computer wizardry and his spare time travelling on his beautifully sorted Futura with is wife.
Today I’ve fitted a small piece of his Futura into my hybrid dashboard and as I finished the job off, I felt it was also fitting that a part of his bike had found a new lease of life and returned home to Italy. Arv you are a credit to yourself, your family and the AF1 community and although we’ve never met, or spoken, one day on that round-the-world trip I’d like to buy you a cold beer and shake your hand.
Making connections
Hooking up the netbook to the ECU when datalogging has always been a pain. Seats off, fumble around for the Molex connector, run the cable under the seats, refit the seats …… and away we go. So when I saw a neat little MIL style connector that Andy has fitted to his Capo, I couldn’t help asking about it.
Turns out it’s made by Deutsch Autosport and they make a whole range of high quality connectors specifically for the motorsport industry. Here’s a link to the catalogue. Anyway, all-round nice guy that he is, Andy made me a chassis socket and plug assembly with 300mm of loom at each end. Not only that, he popped them in the post to Italy … and they arrived a couple of days ago. And I must say ….. WOW! ….. beautifully machined and fully waterproof with a nice machined cap to keep the greeblies out.
So now I’ve reworked my old TuneBoy cable and installed the connector on the dash. I’ve used shielded cable back to the original molex plug to reduce interference on the data lines and it all works fine.
So it only remains to say a big thank you to Andy for doing this for me. I owe you one! Now if you’re thinking of hot-footing it over to the AF1 forum to send Andy a PM – don’t. This was a one-off kindness and he won’t be making any more, so please don’t ask.
A trundle up to Silverstone
While over in the UK I popped over to Sahara Force India Formula 1 team at Silverstone to meet up with Andy (Beasthonda) from the AF1 forum. We’ve been exchanging emails on and off for months now and this was a great chance to put a face to the name.
I took along my netbook and OBD cable and remapped his Capo while Andy hooked a patch-box and oscilloscope into the instrument panel wiring loom so we could accurately measure a particular signal from the ECU. It was certainly a whirlwind exercise – all done with one eye on the storm clouds brewing overhead! Everything went smoothly and afterwards Andy gave me a guided tour of the team headquarters, it was fantastic. So I’d like to thank Andy once again for his kindness, hopefully we’ll meet again when I’m next over on the Capo. Cheers!
UPDATE: See the foot (bottom right) of the picture above? A fine example of a foot I think you’ll agree …. but it’s not mine and it’s not Andy’s. It belongs to Rob Ashworth who tried desperately to get out of the shot but didn’t quite make it. Rob in fact supplied the oscilloscope and twiddled the knobs in a flurry of practised professionalism. As they say, better late than never ……. Rob, thank you for your assistance and it was a pleasure chatting to you.
UV damaged plastics
I first noticed it about a year ago – the ease with which the rear mudguard scratched. Then the flaking started, it was as though the plastic was turning to powder, all very unsightly! So I ordered a new one last May (2012) – AP8126706. It finally arrived in the UK about a month ago!
A quick internet search on UV damage to plastics proved quite interesting. It seems that they add the plastics equivalent to sun-cream or sun-block to the mixture before it’s injection moulded and this converts UV to heat rather than causing the plastic to decompose. Maybe Aprilia skimped on the Factor 50 when they moulded mine! 😀
Scottoiler – 12 years on
Yes it was 12 years ago I bought the Scottoiler ‘Touring’ package and a twin-feeder as an upgrade. It was all fitted to my lovely Kawasaki ZRX1200, then a year later swapped to a Triumph Trophy 1200 where it did several years sterling service. Later it spent a couple of years on the shelf before being dusted off and fitted to a Blackbird. Then in 2008 it went onto the Caponord where it worked faultlessly until earlier this year.
I noticed a steady decline in the amount of oil being fed to the chain and adjusting the RMV (Reservoir Metering Valve) made no difference. The fault turned out to be a clogged twin-feed. I tried blowing it out and using vacuum to suck out the blockage, but nothing worked. In the end I bought a new one and cut the old one open to try and find the culprit. It turns out that inside lives a piece of foam that acts like a reservoir and this had broken down into mush and was blocking every passageway.
The new one only took a few minutes to replace and oil flow was restored. I’ve worked out that this kit has well over 220,000 miles under its belt and that equates to a purchase/running cost of about £1.65 per 1,000 miles. In truth though it is starting to show its age, the flow rate seems to be less adjustable that it once was which I’m putting down to the rubber diaphragm hardening with time. Before winter I’ll replace the RMV completely (about £42) and hope this one lasts another 12 years!
