So long and thanks for all the fish….

Someone recently contacted me and asked if I’d been banned from the AF1 Caponord forum ………… and I guess the question shouldn’t have come as a surprise if I’d thought about it!

The answer is that no I wasn’t banned several weeks ago, but chose to ask Edd at AF1 to close my account – my choice. Why? Firstly, I’d steadily became disillusioned with the way the content was heading, especially after January and also felt that my own input was no longer of any real value. Secondly once the decision was made, cyber security –I’m not going to leave accounts open on the internet that I don’t intend to use, be it AF1 or any other website for that matter. That’s it, no mystery! 🙂

I’ll close by saying that I wish the AF1 team all the best and really appreciate the sterling work they do hosting these forums, it’s just time for moto-abruzzo to move on in another direction.

09/05/201409/05/2014

It’s all in the wrist …

Talk to the hand ...... Just as the last of the crappy weather ebbed away and thoughts of having a run out on the Capo sat warm and snug in the front of my mind …… life came along and handed over a great big slap in the face by resurrecting an old injury. Over the past five decades I’ve been fortunate enough to only break one thing in my ageing chassis – my right wrist, unfortunately three times!

For the past 13 years its been ‘unstable’ or so they said, certainly it’s dished out its fair share of misery from time to time, but always controllable with over-the-counter meds. Until this week, when ‘unstable’ finally fell off the proverbial perch. So now I know how a provincial hospital in Italy works ….. and I can only say a heartfelt thank-you not only to our own doctor in Civitaquana, but also all the staff we met at Penne hospital who made my visit a positive experience.

So now I’m trussed up like a Christmas Turkey, stewing nicely for another week before I go back to hospital. Meanwhile the sun shines, the road dries out and the Capo sits silent ………. I don’t rightly know which of us is more miserable! 🙁

That’s quite enough of that thank you very much! I’ve time to spare, a working left hand and a computer to play with – so how about designing an active cruise control to give the wrist a bit of respite on those longer journeys? Let’s see now, one microcontroller, a Pololu motor driver board and a GL1800 cruise module might just get the ball rolling …… it’s tinker-time!!!!! 😀

04/05/201408/07/2018

Capopedia.net ……. the resurrection!

Well another wet’n windy Sunday is upon us yet again and I find myself scouring the small-ads for a boat, a bloody big boat capable of taking animals and motorbikes 2 by 2 …. Because if we have much more rain folks, I think we’ll be washed clean off the hill-side! A month now with hardly a dribble of sunshine …… 🙁

But in fairness it has given me chance to take stock and work out where I want to go Capo-on-the-internet wise. A couple of years ago I registered Capopedia.net and started a Wiki with the idea of using it as a repository for ETV1000 knowledge that could be refined and added to by the Capo owners themselves.

All well and good …… but I didn’t really get stuck into it, so others that signed up probably looked around and felt just as daunted by a blank bit of web space and didn’t come back! Now that’s my fault entirely and as the months rolled by I did nothing to address the issue.

So …… time to reflect. Is it a good idea anyway, or should I just hit the button and nuke the whole thing? It was close I don’t mind admitting. Cost, responsibility and a not least time & effort, versus content deletion, cancelling the domain name and saving a few bob. But what are the alternatives?

The internet hosts various Caponord forums of course, in many languages. But in English we’re pretty much used to one site only …. AF1. Forums are fantastic places for the exchange of ideas and information, the problem however is that the details get buried in a never-ending procession of new posts and threads, yes they can be ‘stickied’ but it’s not perfect. This can make access to the information difficult if not almost impossible at times, depending on how obscure the search is. Add to this the fact that periodically the host may purge the pages to save on storage space (archive them) loosing images and links they contain as they’re reduced to raw text and you can see that maybe they’re not ideal for information storage.

And so after some thought the Capopedia wiki is resurrected. The software has been updated, login and new user structure (hopefully) working and a bunch of extensions have been added to make the whole thing a better experience for admins and users. As of this week I’m going to make an effort to at least put aside an hour or two each day to chip away at it …. nose to the grindstone, shoulder to the …… well you get the drift.

So if anyone is interested in becoming a Sysop (administrator) to help run the thing, I’d be glad to hear from you ………. 🙂

08/04/201426/05/2016

Muppet and mobile in perfect harmony

The weather is a pleasant 23c and the sun is out …….. unfortunately so are some awfully unobservant drivers. Jumping a stop sign at speed onto a main road is probably one good way to ruin someone’s day – nearly mine.

PUT THE F’IN PHONE DOWN WHEN YOU’RE DRIVING!!!!!! 👿

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid - mobile phone - Blah, blah and more blah! Why do I feel that trying to get the message across is like trying to shovel water uphill?

15/03/201426/05/2016

Roll camera …….

gimbal

Pronunciation: /ˈdʒɪmb(ə)l

Noun: A device for keeping an instrument such as a compass or chronometer horizontal in a moving vessel or aircraft, typically consisting of rings pivoted at right angles.

Origin: Late 16th century (used in the plural denoting connecting parts in machinery): variant of earlier gimmal, itself a variant of late Middle English gemel ‘twin, hinge, finger ring which can be divided into two rings’, from Old French gemel ‘twin’, from Latin gemellus, diminutive of geminus.

Ah …. don’t ya just love a bit of ed-u-cation! Yes folks, the word of today is ‘gimbal’ and after a bit of thought yesterday morning, I got mine out and played with it. 😀

So what does this gimbal-thingy do then? Well, in a nutshell, it holds a GoPro camera perfectly steady in pitch and roll while the mounting point is moving around. These things are intended for use on drones, those multi-rotor helicopters that you see flying around, but one look and the old grey matter kicked in …… wouldn’t that be fun on a bike!

And that brings me to yesterday morning, a half-hour blitz in the barn had a mounting plate made and another half-hour had the whole thing fitted, wired up and tested on the left hand crash-bar – which isn’t too bad given that the gimbal has sat in its box since delivery two months ago.

At lunch time the start-up routine was well under way …… pat down the pockets ‘testicles, spectacles, wallet’n watch’ – check, key-on and wait for the dash to finish its self-test – check, fire up the motor and before the gloves go on – camera to record! And this m’dear Smurfletts is an edited video of ‘Tarot Gimbal Test 1’ – I like the sound the front disks make at the end of the video!

Now the keen eyed among you will notice that in bends – especially constant radius bends – the camera begins to roll in the same direction, and this had me stumped for a while. I thought it might just be settings in software, but not being sure I decided to sleep on it.

In the end I think it’s to do with the fact that ‘verticle’ changes when the bike is in equilibrium in a turn (the whole ‘leaning’ thing) and this tricks the sensor into believing that ‘up’ and ‘down’ have moved – so the camera begins to tilt into the turn. Anyway I hope you enjoyed watching some or all of the video as much as I did filming it!

12/03/2014

Feedback please ……

... will I dream? (SAL9000 - 2010) Moto-abruzzo has undergone quite a change in the background, somewhere deep in the bowels of the code lots of little ‘0’ and ‘1’s have been fiddled with …… and so I’d like to ask your assistance in flagging up any links, pages etc. that don’t work properly so I can fix them, or sob quietly in the corner (my choice!).

The idea is to hopefully get website content distributed to you a little quicker and so ANY feedback is greatly appreciated. Either leave a comment on the particular page/post or contact me through the contact page. Cheers!

12/02/2014

Tax-idermy … the art of being stuffed

UK tax disks Let me tell you a little story …. Back in 06 I bought an ST1300 and a couple of weeks later while out with students, I got pulled over by Mr Grumpy the police officer with a charisma bypass. It seemed that his ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) had flagged my bike as not having a valid tax disk. So I pointed it out to him – nice and readable on the front fork leg. He wasn’t interested because “The computer says ………”

The nice lady at the DVLA office (now closed) in Oxford verified it was genuine and that it was all just a silly computer error – that cost me time and fuel to go and sort out, not to mention the embarrassment of being pulled over in front of paying students!

Now the same government will be doing away with the printed tax disk in October, no doubt sucking up the extra millions it saves on printing and distribution. Oh of course we’ll get a receipt when we pay, one that we now have to print out ourselves at our own expense and presumably carry around with us just in case we come across ANPR wielding cyber-cop again …. and would he believe you anyway, because “The computer says ……..”

And let’s not forget one thing, this is the very same government department that shoved its collective fingers in its ears and hummed the la-la song in total denial that they were losing the motorcycle entitlement off licenses being returned for address changes etc. Only when this involved some folks with impeccable and verifiable backgrounds (police/paramedic & motorcycle instructors) were they shoved far enough into a corner to have to admit (begrudgingly) that maybe, possibly they were in the wrong …. but “The computer says …….”

So next time you get pulled by an ANPR wielding digital-do-gooder it’s you against the creaky-leaky government database and you know who’s side Robocop is on.

“The computer says ……”

02/02/2014

Multitec, Neotec … what the heck!

After 8 years the Shoei Multitec is no-more …. Well in truth, more like eased out to pasture rather than to the knacker’s yard. I could wax lyrical all day about how good this helmet is, but what for? Rave reviews and testimonials abound on the internet.

Back in 2006 after an abysmal acquaintance with a Shuberth C1-Concept, the Multitec was a breath of fresh air and for the first few years it was in constant use as my No1 motorcycle-Instructing helmet, fitted of course with the ubiquitous Autocom noise-cancelling headset that matched perfectly. By my Excel spreadsheet (diary), since then we’ve covered a little over 150k+ miles together – and that’s not a bad life-span for a lid! Ok it’s collected a couple of scratches along the way, mostly around the shield release button, but it still fits well enough and a new whisper-kit and visor from Jim at AMI will have it looking as good as new again as it takes on its new part-time role of GoPro camera mount!

Neotec But the fact of the matter is, it has now been replaced …… by a Shoei Neotec. This is a wonderful gift from my loving wife Janet for my 51^st birthday and I’m as pleased as punch, its brilliant – Cheers Jan!!! The experience of the Multitec meant that its replacement would inevitably be a Shoei; the decision was whether it would be a direct replacement with another Multitec or go for the ‘new’ Neotec. In the end, trying to find a Multitec in the right colour/size proved too problematic*, plus they would probably be old stock by now and as such may have a shorter warranty – Shoei say 7 years from date of manufacture or 5 from date of purchase whichever is the shorter. So after scouring the internet for New-Year bargains, a Neotec in white/medium was ordered from automotoracing.com. From order to delivery in Italy was only 4 days – excellent price & service. Unfortunately the dismal weather we’re having has made it hard to get a good ride-out with it! Having said that, even the few short rides tell me that it was the right choice – think of it this way, rather than a new piece of kit, more an old friend with an impressive make-over!

Now if the incessant rain, land-slides and generally dismal start to 2014 would just toddle off for a bit ……………

*Although shown on the European website, the Multitec is not in the 2014 Shoei catalogue.

15/01/201416/01/2014

Lights, camera …….. action!

Video on bikes ……. Nothing new of course, it’s been going on for ages. But for what it’s worth, here’s a potted history of moto-abruzzo’s fumbling’s as a videographer.

This pic is probably where it all began, back in 1992 on a hot day in Italy when I was bored. I strapped my analog camcorder to the cylinder head of the 1500 Goldwing and had a fun afternoon playing. The low perspective added drama to the shots and I could watch the front end working in corners …. Well as much as you can corner on a Goldwing! But of course the kit was bulky and not waterproof in the slightest, Sony Video Walkman GD-V800 so once I’d had a play I never touched it again – especially in the rain soaked confines of the UK.

It was 2001 before I used video again. Now working as a full time Motorcycle Instructor I could see the value of using video as a training aid, so I fitted my Triumph Trophy 1200 with two 720×520 colour bullet cams (front & rear) and used a Sony Video Walkman GD-V800 deck to record. The cameras were interchangeable with PIP (Picture in Picture) so one image was primary while the other was a thumbnail in the corner. It all worked very well and I learned a great deal about camera placement, lens choice, filming and editing video from those days. Sadly, when the Trophy was written off in 2005 the video gear just sat in a corner of the workshop and never got fitted permanently again – mainly because no bike stayed long enough until I got the Caponord!

GoPro Hero 3+ Black And that brings me up to date I guess. 2014, a new year and all that jazz, will see moto-abruzzo once again playing with video. Hopefully this time it will add a new perspective to the website and move things in a slightly different direction. After a few weeks of internet-homework, weighing up the pros and cons of some amazing kit, I’ve chosen the GoPro Hero 3+ Black as the camera platform to use. I’m not going to bang on about the camera as a zillion websites and YouTube videos are available to review this kit, it’s enough to say that in comparison to previous kit I’ve used it look fantastic, is a magnitude more advanced and ……. well lets just say I can’t wait to get filming!

24/12/201328/12/2013

Santa and his sack of Capo goodies

Ho, ho, ho ... dashboard inlay for MrB!!!!! I’ll start off by wishing you all a hearty Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year wherever you are on this wonderful globe of ours. For the Capo and I, it’s proving to be an extra special one this year, with Santa dropping off a few extra goodies for the riding-year ahead.

The dashboard has been especially good, and so merits the star prize of a new OEM quality inlay with all the new graphics in place. So as I write, the old one is on its way to Lockwood International Ltd in the UK to act as a template, meanwhile the plastic chassis has been cleaned and preped ready for the big day. Like a kid on Christmas morning, I’m all on edge – and I’ve got to wait at least three or four more weeks yet before it’s installed!!

Probably the most needed bits are for the (very) overdue service. Yes folks, I’m hanging my head in shame as I admit that the Capo’s mileage overran a tad ……. a couple of thousand tads give-or-take! Now I’m waiting for a few packages to arrive for this truly international service to take place – Hiflo HF564 oil filters and ‘O’ rings from the UK, Hotcams valve shims from the USA, Athena air filters from Germany and 15w50 engine oil from Italy. Cosmopolitan or what!

That just leaves the parcels snuggling together under the tree …… a Shoi Neotec or a pair of socks? Slippers or a slipper clutch? Hmmm ….. roll on tomorrow!! 😉