General waffle | Moto-Abruzzo

11/11/201307/09/2017

Olive oil 2013

Olivel For us the olive picking season is over. Picked, pressed and the deliciously aromatic end product, our liquid gold, is safely stored in stainless steel tanks. A good job really, as last week’s balmy 20-25c has given way to ‘cyclone Venus’ as I write this post. Temps down to 7-8c and gale force winds are busy stripping the land of anything not nailed down. This however is nothing in comparison to the devastation that has recently befallen the Phillipines ……..

So while I reflect on our soggy situation, I’ve put together a few photos of our past olive exploits. Some were on my old website back on 09-10 and I think they deserve another outing.

Oh and what’s with the Thunderbird 2 pic? Click on it and have a look! I just think the similarity is absolutely amazing. You’ve just got to love nature!

So here are those extra pictures, some taken at the Loreto Aprutino olive oil museum …. once a working mill itself until the 1920’s, it was then occupied by German forces during WWII. Thankfully they left the old machinery intact. Here’s a link to another blog ….. I think he puts it across much better than I could!

07/09/2013

Happy Birthday to you ………

What is it they say about best laid plans? I wrote this piece on the 3rd September ready to post it on the 5th. Unfortunately, a complete loss of phone and internet in our area for three days screwed this plan up nicely. Anyway better late than never I guess …. here it is.

The ‘Certificate of Origin’ for my Rally-Raid says that it was manufactured in 2002. This is quite odd as every removable plastic part with a date on it has a moulded stamp dated sometime in early 2003. So when are our bikes actually ‘manufactured’? Is it the date the frame was made and given a chassis number or when a completed bike roles off the production line? My guess is the former.

I suppose I’ll never really know the answer, so I decided to give it a birthday like the Queen, you know, the ceremonial one rather than the official one. As the date of first registration is known and on the V5 (Registration Document), I thought this was the most appropriate date to use.

So that makes today, the 5^th of September 2013 the 10^th Birthday of my Rally-Raid!

Exactly how do you give a 250Kg motorbike the bumps! At least it’s a fine excuse for jelly, ice cream and lashings and lashings of beer! And afterwards ……. presents!!!!!! 😀

06/09/201326/05/2016

That time of year again

Fresh back from another whirlwind trip the Capo and I are quietly recovering at home and taking stock of the events over the last two weeks.

2,931 miles in total
Average fuel – 48.6mpg ( 5.98l/100km) with a best of 53.5 mpg (5.19l/100km) and a worst of 43mpg (6.22l/100km)

Throughout the Rally-Raid behaved impeccably, doing exactly what it was designed to do. Not once did the over inflated media fragility give me any concern, no pyrotechnics under the fuel tank or gushing fountains of fuel anywhere, hell even the wheel bearing didn’t disintegrate into pixie dust. It seems as though the only victims of this trip have been the Anakee 2 tyres ……… now squared off at the rear and cupped at the front, although still legal (UK) with 2.2mm/2.3mm tread still remaining – and now with a total of 14,762 miles under their belt! Will these things ever die?

The trip itself had highs and lows ….. after 13 years I’ve decided to walk away from motorcycle training, at least for the moment. That bulky laminated card issued by the DSA (Driving Standards Agency) has lived in my various jackets an awful long time and I somehow feel naked now that it has gone. And of course I feel a little sad at giving up something that has given me immense enjoyment over the years. But it had to happen.

On a brighter note though, I got to meet up once again with Andy (Beasthonda on the AF1 forum), this time at the Oxford Hein Gerricke store. We had a great chat about all things Caponord (especially electronics and dashboards! 😉 ) and a fine cup of tea while ogling a wide variety of bikes as they came and went. Sadly for both of us, time was short so we couldn’t put any miles under the wheels together, but next time……………

Many years ago I used to love reading the American ‘Flying’ magazine, especially a column entitled, ‘I learned about flying from that’ – tales of near disaster and mortal mistakes etc. So here’s my bike rider version.

I LEARNED ABOUT RIDING FROM THAT

Never pass a viable fuel station with a reserve light on, even if you know by experience that you’ll reach the next (and better in your eyes) station with ease – just because you’ve done it before a hundred times. Big mistake, because today you’re going to get bitten.

So I’m heading North past Colmar in France with 20-30km to go before the Aire du Haut Koenigbourg services …… except at 5Km the traffic suddenly slows and bunches up. Our two lanes are being merged into one. Now I’m almost at the services with a solid concrete wall either side funnelling us onward and no sign of the exit for the services. Then I see it, walled off, bright red and white barriers cheerfully letting me know that the North bound traffic can just jog on by, no exit for fuel for you lot. Oh bloody wonderful!

And so I ride on in this concrete funnel trying to juggle my options. What bloody options! Best I can hope for is not to conk out in this one-lane hell hole. After another 10km (eternity!) we spew out again into two lanes, except now I’ve got to ride in Über-economy mode to stretch out whatever vapour I’m running on. This whole landscape is fields either side for pretty much as far as you can see, but finally the GPS pipes up and offers me a way out, at lest I’ll be off the fast duel lane and on quieter country roads.

Fuel at last ....... and a fine patch of diesel to park on! After another 15 minutes of lefts/rights, bends and roundabouts I spot the fuel station ahead …….. and it’s one of those 24hr unmanned jobs. The Capo rolls to the pump with 263.7 miles on the trip. 1st card goes in (UK) …. we don’t accept it. 2nd card (UK)…. nope, we don’t like that one either. 3rd one (Italian) …. Wahay thank God!!!!! I swear the French still have a grudge with us Brits you know. The pump clicked off after 22.27 litres and I think that’s about as close as I ever want to get to pushing a Caponord home! Lesson learned ….. until next time! 😉

23/05/201328/11/2017

A trundle up to Silverstone

Force_India 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.

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

So that makes today, the 5th of September 2013 the 10th Birthday of my Rally-Raid!

So that makes today, the 5^th of September 2013 the 10^th Birthday of my Rally-Raid!