mount | Moto-Abruzzo

21/11/202021/11/2020

V990 workshop engine mount

It seems that over the years several Caponord and other bike/car related websites have ported themselves over to Facebook – such that I eventually capitulated and joined, albeit in a totally locked down way. And of course over those years I’ve been inundated with zillions of worthless adverts ….. until now. One has proved very worthwhile indeed!

More specifically – JB Fabrications – who were advertising an engine mount adapter specifically for the V990 engine. At £48.45 including postage I was in. Working on a lump like the V990 on a workbench (or the floor!) is a real pain -literally! I’ve spent more time than I care to recollect having to drop tools mid-job simply because my back has tweaked up because of the awkward position I’m working in. This adapter will apparently work with Clarke and Sealy engine mount stands – I chose the Clarke CE340, which can handle engines up to 340Kg (V990 = 65Kg). This stand allows the engine to be rotated 360º and locked off at 45º increments.

The adapter only took a few days to arrive. It was well packaged and the paint finish and welding all appear to be decent quality. The engine stand took a few days longer to arrive, but to be fair it was ordered later! Assembly took about 30 minutes with a crafty tea-break thrown in. This of course, is all well and good …. however the engine has to be lifted about 1.5m into the air to get it into the adapter, and that’s no easy task at nearly 70Kg.

Thank goodness there is an electric workshop hoist to hand – rated at 150Kg/300Kg capacity. This is mounted to a cross-beam in the workshop and is more than capable of lifting the engine nicely into place, especially when using the 300Kg setting as this reduces the raise/lower speed by half – handy when trying to jiggle a bolt into position. Of course It also comes in rather useful for doing other bike related tasks as well!

20/05/2018

Time at the bar(-end) gentlemen please!

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid bar-end weight mount stainless steel As Guinness said, “Good things come to those who wait” …… and boy have I waited! When the new grips went on in late November, they were accompanied by the 3D printed temporary bar-end mounts. The clock was ticking, I had to get the grown-up adult versions (stainless steel!) made up asap as I’d no idea how long these things would hold up. In early January someone stepped in to do the deed.

Unfortunately, they never appeared no matter how much cajoling and nudging I tried. Finally, after 4 months I was out of time and the Capo had to return from Italy sporting the plastic 3D printed ones. I shouldn’t have worried though, they held up just fine!

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid bar-end weight mount stainless steel So just when I was giving up on ever seeing a set, a mate offered to help, and in the blink of an eye made these beauties! They fit perfectly and the finish is brilliant – what more can I ask for? So a huge ‘Thank you’ goes out to Jason – stand up, take a bow, don’t be shy fella! The eagle-eyed will notice a change from the rendering (and drawing) in that the flats (for socket or spanner) were left off. This was to reduce machining time and also because they only really need to pinch up – I’m not torquing the nuts off an axle here!

Of course, once these were in the pipeline, I told the other guy ……… who then got all stroppy saying the material had been ordered …… this is after 5 months of waiting! Sheesh some folks. 🙄 Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid bar-end weight mount stainless steel

28/06/201703/05/2019

They call it mellow jello ……

Now that I’ve finished running the C5 camera on the rear, I figured it was finally time to get around to making a more permanent mount for the rear K1 camera, rather than the piece of scrap steel strip that has done the job so far. Although it felt quite rigid, the fact is the video image would suffer with a bit of ‘jello’ above 6,000rpm – an annoying vibration in the image that makes it look slightly wobbly!

So after a couple of test runs to make sure dimensions were ‘ish’, it was a 6 hour slog-athon until the Robox printer produced this little puppy. It uses the same two M5 bolts as the steel strip, along with two more M4 mounting points to add a little extra rigidity. The camera now mounts (like the front) using all three 1/4-20 UNC points. I’m happy to say the image is lovely and stable, no more wibbly-wobbly video when the throttle gets lovingly caressed!

18/12/2016

Feeling a little bunged up

The Capo now has 3D printed bungs in the swing arm pivot and the ends of the crash-bar mounts. They’re held in by 43-39-2, 14-10-2 and BS011 ‘O’-rings. And yes, the BS011 rings are the very same as those used on the fuel lines. So one day if the old girl springs a leak and needs a new fuel line ‘O’-ring by the roadside – no problem, whip out a crash-bar bung and pinch the ring! Next ….. front and rear axles then the engine mounts above the swing-arm pivot .

16/10/2015

Review – Motrag Garmin 590LM GPS mount

For the past six months the eight year old Garmin 2820 has steadily slid its digital cheese off its cracker, forgetting the date and time and generally making a meal of locating satellites. Add to that an annoying habit of swapping screens at random and it’s easy to see why it’s not my best-buddy it once was! Nope …. time for a change.

Which ties in very nicely with Manuel at Motrag.com loaning me a Capo-specific mount for the Garmin 590LM to try out. Unlike the Mad-Maxesque contraptions that Touratech supply, the Motrag unit is clean and simple …. and pretty uncomplicated. The mount consists of two parts, the ‘Base Mount‘ that bolts to the handlebar clamp (all bolts and spacers supplied) and the ‘Micro Mount’ of choice based on the GPS unit to be fitted. This is attached to the Base Mount via four rubber anti-vibration mounts, again with stainless steel screws supplied.

The 590LM comes with its own bracket for powering the unit and locking it in place, this simply bolts to the Micro Mount which provides the extra support for use in rougher terrain. When the GPS is tucked away in a bag and the ‘Zumo’ cover fitted, the mount is much less in-your-face unlike the Touratech one ……. plus a lot less angular, aggressive and sharp-edged, which is no bad thing.

First impressions are excellent, it holds the GPS perfectly and vibration is virtually none existent, the whole thing is unobtrusive and the powder coating looks like it’ll outlive the Capo. The laser cut ‘Rally-Raid’ is a nice touch and just so no-one feels left out – the mount is available with ‘Caponord’ as well! As always, where possible Manuel supplies stainless steel fasteners that match the look of the OEM Aprilia fasteners – a nice touch. Currently Motrag have Micro Mounts for the Garmin 340/350/390 and 590LM with one in development for the TomTom Rider. Base Mounts are also available for the Multistrada (2012-14) and Hypermotard (2014 on). The cost is €38.95 for the Base Mount and €63.95 for the Micro Mount. The Micro mount in supplied with a plate and clamp so it can also be fitted to a cross-bar or a Ram Mount, in which case you don’t need to buy the Base Mount. GPS-bar-clamp At the time of writing, I’ve done about 450 miles with the mount fitted, some on VERY poor mountain roads and everything is fine. The dashboard is still clearly visible (rider 182cm / 5ft 11inch) and the mount angle goes a long way to limiting screen-glare. I look forward to reviewing the mount along with the Motrag fog-lamp brackets in six months time when the Capo has a good few more miles and a winter under its belt.

31/05/201508/06/2015

Just in the nick of time ……

Just when I’m done-and-dusted, the tools put away and the pannier-packing well underway with only 12hrs before leaving – Manuel’s (Motrag.com) parcel arrives with more goodies for the Capo! I really didn’t think it would be here in time, so I’d planned to fit the box-contents on my return …. but they’re here now so what the hell!

First off, a nice new left-hand lamp bracket and stronger angle-bracket with a funky new fastener – all to mount the GoPro tripod mount base. As usual, beautifully finished and perfect fit. Thanks very much for this Manuel, let’s see what the GoPro makes of it!

Next, one of Motrag’s new GPS mounts for the Rally-Raid. This one is for the Garmin 590LM and can be fitted directly to the supplied bracket or direct to the Accosoto cross-brace where the existing Touratech Garmin 2820 mount sits. Neat and unobtrusive (unlike an empty Touratech mount) it’s functional, yet simple. I’m really looking forward to trying this out (and the 590LM) in the coming weeks as the poor old 2820 has most definitely got a touch of dementia these days – it frequently forgets what day it is, or what country it’s in, bless it! More on this bracket in a later post.

20150508_180804 And lastly, the replacement rear sprocket and DID drive chain. A nice slotted-steel sprocket from ‘France Equipement’ in black. I must admit to having never heard of them before, but fit is fine and the finish seems solid enough, so we’ll see what the miles make of it. The ZVM-X (in Gold/Gold) chain is the replacement for the ZVM² that has been on for a staggering 53,400 miles ….. yes one chain, one rear sprocket and three front sprockets for over 53K miles, I’ve never had one last like this before. The only thing negative I can muster against it, is that all the Gold wore off years ago – nowadays it’s just a plain old silver chain!

That’s it for the new stuff but Manuel had one more nugget tucked away in the box for me – a very clean and crack-free pair of inlet rubbers! After reading my post from a few days ago he decided to slip a pair in the box to replenish the MA spares stock – cheers Manuel you are a start indeed!

I’ll end by saying that while some of these items are product testing or favours between friends, I have to make it clear that the chain and sprocket were purchased from Motrag just as anyone else can. The price is extremely competitive and shipping very quick – so next time you’re in need of bits for your bike (not just Caponords), consider having a look at Motrag.com or emailing Manuel to see if a fellow owner/rider/engineer can help you out, I know I’d rather put a few Euro’s his way than in the pocket of some faceless multi-corporation any day of the week.