Happy New Year Caponauts!

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid - Engine protection/sump guard mounts & radiator bottom mountsWeather wise Christmas was pretty good really, 12-15c and sunny most days – but all good things have to come to an end I suppose. Throughout the morning, sunshine had given way to low cloud racing across the heavens pushed by the ever more aggressive wind. As I finished torqueing up the last of the engine protection bar bolts, it was easily up around 15-20mph and gusting a fair bit more as the temperature slowly slid below 10c and kept up its relentless trudge towards zero. Time then to slip on the Halvarssons and head out for a ride!

The truth is I’d seen the forecast. This was going to be the last opportunity of 2014 for a ride on the Capo. The wind and rain were set to get worse overnight (and it did!), then a few hours respite after which the wind would be back …. This time with three days of snow as its best mate.

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid. Easy in ..... fast out!But strangely all this pales into insignificance against the ride-out. Have you ever had one of those rides where everything seems perfect ….. your road position, your gear selection, every bend you hit right on the nail, every overtake is exquisitely timed and executed – no matter what you do, it’s RIGHT, first time, every time. It’s like someone else is riding the bike, because I sure as hell don’t ride like that normally! Sadly it was only an hour, a run around the block, but I think it left me in a happier frame of mind than I’ve been in for a while.

Abruzzo snowNow as I write this the Capo is tucked up in the barn, the battery quietly sipping from the Optimate trickle charger while I put the kettle on again and look out the window. The first flakes will be here soon and it’ll be time to batten down the hatches for a while. Time then to reflect on the old year fast fading and the hopes and aspirations of the new year to come ………

……… I hope 2015 is good to you all, your Capo’s are reliable, the adventures are fun, but most of all, that we are all healthy and fit enough to have them – Happy New Year from Abruzzo Italia!

Drifts on the ridge - Abruzzo

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 Finished inlay templatecleaned 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!! 😉