Gran Sasso | Moto-Abruzzo

29/11/201329/11/2013

….and winter hasn’t started yet!

Now I’m not a superstitious fella, but 2013 is certainly making its presence know as it drags out its final days. First we have typical warm autumnal weather, rather rudely pushed aside in favour of a month’s rain in two days courtesy of ‘Cyclone Venus’. A couple of days respite and ‘Cyclone Attilla’ barged in …… lowering temperatures and dumping 2ft (600mm) of soggy wet snow everywhere. By now our road is well and truly battered. Run-off and landslides have seen three sections obliterated and turned into mud-holes fit for a fully grown hippo! The trees haven’t fared much better either, the wet snow has devestated the olive groves, ripping branches from mature trees and bending the young until their trunks snap …… what a waste.

Has it finished? Not on your proverbial nelly …… now we’re waiting for ‘Cyclone Neptune’ to wander over on Monday/Tuesday and dump another months rain. So the Capo sits rather forlorn in the barn while I favour the warmth of the Landy ( soz old girl!), but an extended lay-up may be just what’s needed. I could get the crashbars and sundry brackets sent away for powder coating and take time out to give the wheels a damn good clean…..hmm. Something about clouds and silver linings comes to mind! 😉

26/09/201326/05/2016

You never get a second chance to make a first impression

Yesterday the new Karoo 3’s were fitted by a nice chap down at Vulcarapid in Pescara and by 3pm the wheels were snugly back in place. That just leaves a sneaky little test ride!

So the next morning with the thermometer nudging 27°c and not a cloud anywhere in sight, I loaded the camera and a couple of sandwiches in the cases and set off. So the question now has to be, what are the first impressions of the Karoo 3’s?

Before saying anything though, I want to ask a question ……. would you deliberately choose to ride your Capo (or any bike!) on black-ice …. or marbles? My guess is no.

Well, sadly that’s exactly what zero mileage Karoo 3’s handle like and it’s not a pleasant experience at all. As I turned right onto the black-top from our gravel road the steering felt vague and the bike felt as though it was going onto its side. Under gentle acceleration in a straight line the tyres squirmed left and right, exaggerating dips and undulations in the road surface. After about 3 miles I’d all but had enough, the bike just felt awful and I was ready to swing back home ….. but in hindsight I’m glad I didn’t.

I continued on to Castel del Monte and mile after mile the tyres began to settle down, lean angles slowly increased while acceleration and braking stability began to sort their act out. The mileage slowly climbed as did my progress up the mountain, by the time I stopped for a bite to eat, the trip meter said 52 miles and my confidence levels were a magnitude improved.

Now I quite understand if you’re thinking along the lines of tyre pressures, or tyres fitted the wrong way around, or that maybe I’ve screwed up the wheel installation. Fact is, everything was checked and checked again. The instability could only be the new tyres.

And here is where I hop off this particular pony ……. I’m not getting drawn into a ‘fresh tyre grip argument’ or the myth of ‘mould release agents‘. Knock yourself out on the internet or slug it out with your mates down the pub. I just know what I experienced and can only compare it to 34 years of riding both professionally and socially and having ridden out of a fair number of dealerships, tyre bays and workshops on all shapes and sizes of new tires …….. and never before experiencing this dramatic a start with any of them.

But back to the last bit of the journey …..

Well the remaining 50+ miles of the day took me back down the East side of the mountains where dense forest smothers the road down to 800m or so, where it begrudgingly gives way to agricultural land. The trees keep most of the road in dense shadow, dappled by undulating patches of bright light that pierced the canopy above. This camouflages the road surface so you can’t read it until it’s almost under your wheels. The problem is, the road is BAD ……. potholes, gravel, tree debris and water to name a few. I guess the constant dark and micro-climate helps nature do it’s worst to the road surface all year round.

Now though, the Karoo’s were starting to work for me, stable and unfazed by the constant variety of surface they needed to work with. Hair-pin bend after hair-pin bend had the Capo tracking like a mountain goat on steroids, each inspiring more confidence. Eventually I left the tree line behind and headed down to the SS80, familiar roads and onward home. The last few miles I road exactly as I would have done on the Anakee 2’s.

The days conclusions ….

Disastrous to start, but at least they continually improved throughout the day, a roller-coaster of a day in more ways than one! But I have to ask myself a couple of questions:

If I’d known how the Karoo 3’s would start off, would I have fitted the more expensive TKC80’s again? Yes probably.

At this moment in time, with only a measly 100 miles + on which to base an opinion, would I fit them again? The little voice, the one way back in your subconscious answered first …. errr no.

So not exactly a glowing start and one from which the Karoo’s may well struggle to recover, only time will tell. Winter is just around the corner and their performance on our gravel/dirt road over the coming months will no doubt make or break them.

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!

21/06/201226/05/2016

A grand day out

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid - Lago di Capotosto Yesterday we went for a picnic. I loaded up the sandwiches, Spanish omelette, water and squirrelled the nibbles and ground blankets away in military fashion, so that by 10am the Capo was fit to burst and ready to roll. We’d decided on a nice lakeside lunch at Lago di Campotosto with a side order detour to the top of the Campo Imperatore and a look at the observatory and cableway as well. The return would include a little light shopping excursion for Jan at Castelli and hopefully home in time to watch the sunset. All very nice.

As always the Capo performed flawlessly despite the humid 36c as we left. The miles rolled on and the GPS rhythmically counted up the altitude as we headed up the Gran Sasso. Here it was a far more civilised 24c with a nice breeze, smashing! On the way, Jan had plenty of opportunity to practice the royal wave as a steady precession of like-minded bikers passed the other way, no doubt heading for lunch at Santo Stefano or a fountain side coffee in Castel del Monte.

We topped out at 2,150m as we parked up at the end of the line – the car park at the Observatory. Built in 1951 it now runs the CINEOS program (Campo Imperatore Near Earth Object Survey), started in 2001. Standing next to the observatory is one of the oldest ski hotels in Italy. Built in 1921, it was used to imprison Mussolini and in 1943 saw him rescued by German commandos without firing a single shot.

We then headed the last 30 miles or so to Lago di Campotosto, a man made lake built in the 1930’s. It sits at about 1,300m above sea level and is used for hydro electric power generation. The road that runs around it is about 23 miles long, but you can cut that significantly if you use Ponte delle Stecche – The Bridge of Sticks. The road to the North is fine, but to the South, water frequently drains across the road carrying silt and sand with it. I could see clear evidence of bikers pushing their luck in bends and ending up with intimate knowledge of the unforgiving nature of crash barriers, trees and very big rocks!

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid - panoramic of Lago di Campotosto

We finally found a nice little spot that suited us just dandy. Amid the periodic calling of frogs or toads down at the waterside and a cool breeze, we nibbled and munched our way through a king’s dinner. After a couple of hours rest we set off back down the way we’d come until we intercepted the SS80. Here we turned towards Teramo and hopefully a fuel station! We eventually stopped off at Montorio a Vomano for a refuel – bike and us as the temperature was back up to the mid 30’s again. Next, we swung South East back into the mountains and Castelli, home of ceramics.

While Jan scoured through the acres of shop shelving, looking for that just-right little something for the house, I caught up with events back at the training school in the UK, then sat and sipped water as the sun dropped behind the mountain and the forest took on a whole new darker and foreboding mood. Time to move on. Finally, with a big smile and a small package beautifully finished with a gold ribbon tucked safely in the top-box, Jan hopped on board and we set off home.

At about 7.30pm we rolled into the barn, cut the motor and sat for a moment exhausted as we contemplated emptying the bike, getting changed, washing all the stuff and putting it away ……. but that’s after the sea of expectant little faces, feathery and furry get fed!

All together we covered about 170 miles between 350m and 2,130m above sea level and with wholesome home produce, a frugal Caponord, Jan’s present and a couple of pit-stop coffee’s, we did the lot for less than €60! Bargain.

20/11/201028/11/2010

Who could forget ‘Little Tibet’

Over the past few weeks the old Capo has had its ECU (brain!) pummelled, all in the name of research. The release of the freeware program – TuneECU, saw a flurry of activity as some of us tested its functionality against the long-serving TuneBoy package. I can say without conviction, it works, it’s stable …. in fact it’s now my programming tool of choice for the Capo.

So on a lovely sunny and warm Friday, while Jan was away in Rome, I decided it was about time the Capo got a run to make sure everything was ok and it wasn’t short of a few marbles after all the brain surgery. I wasn’t sure how low the snow line was on the Gran Sasso, but I guessed it was worth a look.

Duly suited’n booted I headed out toward Farindola, then detoured through Macchie and Vicenne on some very narrow and deserted mountain tracks. The heavy scent of damp woodland giving way to a wonderful aroma of burning logs as I skimmed past lonley building not yet abandoned to the mountain. Back at the main road I turned west, climbing through Rigopano and the eerily atmospheric woodlands, finally popping out at the top with a view of Campo Imperatore (Little Tibet) that never ceases to amaze. When I left home it had been a balmy 19ºC, now it was down to 3ºC …. the ‘Halvarssons’ suit kept me toasty and it was a good excuse to test the heated grips!

The roads coming up are sadly in a terrible state and made all the worse with lots of leaf mulch and a fair sprinkling of rocks and bits of tree. They are however thankfully quiet … I only saw one other vehicle on the way up, so you can take advantage of the whole road to pick the best bits. The roads on the West side though are another story, sweeping bends, fantastic surfaces and excellent visibility.

I stopped for a while, just enjoying the tranquillity before heading down to Castel del Monte, a quick refuel then onward to Villa Santa Lucia Degli Abruzzi, Offena, Brittoli and towards home before dark. If I said I saw half a dozen vehicles the whole way, I’d be exaggerating! In the end I’d really tried hard to stick to bobbling along in ‘tourist’ mode ….. I couldn’t resist it any longer ….. I just had to go back up the road, turn around and give those bends a damn good spanking! The Capo runs beautifully, pulling like a train and happily using the extra 1,000 RPM before the rev limiter kicks in. Only thing to sort out is a slightly nervous tickover, a smidgin more fuel added on the ‘Idle trim’ should sort that out. Happy days!

Back in the barn, the Capo is contentedly ticking away to itself as it cools down, while I tweak the map in the ECU one last time. Then it’s lights out, night-night old girl ….. till tomorrow.