Hepco Becker pannier latch replaced

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid Hepco Becker 700101 00 01 pannier latchJust got around to fixing my ‘breakdown’ – the new latch (Hepco Becker Part No: 700101 00 01) arrived today and after a hearty breakfast I set about changing out the broken one. The kit is a ‘universal’ one for all HB panniers and so a whole bunch of the bits supplied are immediately resigned to the waste bin …….. I’d have been happier with just the latch and a few quid off to be honest!

So out with the foam liner, off with the bottle rack and remove the five countersunk Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid Hepco Becker 700101 00 01 pannier latchbolts/washers/nuts and pull the aluminium box away from the frame. Next, drill the heads off the four solid rivets using a drill bit approx 6mm or slightly larger. Then lever the old latch away and separate it from the spacer. Job done …… now for the rebuild!

The latch as supplied comes with 3mm rivets and is drilled to suit, unfortunately the Alu Exclusive luggage was  put together with 4mm solid rivets because of clearance between frame and case. No worries, down to the hardware store and a bag of 4mm Dia 10mm long stainless rivets are on hand to do the business. Once in, the heads are ground down a smidgen with the Dremel to achieve the same clearance without compromising shear strength.

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid Hepco Becker 700101 00 01 pannier latchRebuild is a straight reversal of strip-down, but  everything gets a thorough clean, grease and general pampering to make it feel good. The pannier is now solid once again and if I get 13 years out of this lock and rivets like the last set, I’ll be a happy bunny.

Thanks go to Griff at hepco-and-becker-luggage.co.uk (web face of moto bins) who chased up key numbers with me and made sure the latch was on the doorstep in Oxford the next day – excellent service.

 

(UK) Replacement seals for Capo/Futura clutch system

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid & RST Futura clutch system master & slave sealsRecently while visiting the AF1 Futura forum, I saw an interesting thread about replacement clutch master / slave seals (common to both Futura & Caponord) sourced in the UK at a very good price and thought the information well worth sharing here.

The thread was started by a UK owner – Corsehf (Andy) in which he quotes replacements for all the  master / slave cylinder seals from one supplier. Seal details and individual prices are:

  • Master Cylinder Seal – Lever End: SU12-6.9-4DE-EP-S-DK101 – £2.50
  • Master Cylinder Seal – Spring End: SU12-5.2-3.8-EP-S-DK106 – £2.50
  • Clutch Slave Cylinder Main Seal: SU112078-018DE-EP-S-DK101 – £2.79
  • Clutch Slave Cylinder Piston Pushrod Seal: SS8-16-7-SC – £1.60

That’s a total of £9.39 + Vat = £11.27 plus package & post. So for somewhere around the cost of one genuine slave cylinder seal, we can buy ALL the seals needed for a full clutch system rebuild. Not bad in my books! If you’re interested, call Rebecca Pattinson at FPE Seals on 01325 282732 or email: [email protected]  If you do decide this is for you, then please drop by the thread and offer Andy your thanks …. he’s just saved you a pocket full of money!

So I’ll end with a big thank-you to Andy, then get a set on order and nip into the barn to dig out that old master cylinder and finally get it re-coated and re-sealed, then swap it for the brake fluid damaged one on the Raid ….. oh happy days! That things been bugging me for years.

First ‘breakdown’ in ages

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid broken Hepco Becker Alu Exclusive pannier latchRemoved the right pannier the other day while changing out the rear brake pads (makes life a bit easier!) but couldn’t get the latch to close properly when refitting it …… turns out the latch has broken on one side of the pivot. It looks like it’s just fatigue over the years of bouncing (over) loaded boxes across the continent. So a new latch (Hepco Becker part no: 700.101.00.01) has been ordered from http://www.hepco-and-becker-luggage.co.uk a spin-off company of Moto-Bins. Cost should be £22.80 but they’re knocking 15% off at the moment, so it cost £19.38 delivered. I can live with that!

The latch comes complete with new lock, keys and pop-rivets to fit it. However the original is installed with solid rivets, so this is what I’ll use as well. This of course means stripping the liner out and unbolting the aluminium box from the chrome/steel frame, but it’s only a 10-15 minute job and a good excuse to give everything a damn good clean and polish at the same time. 😀

Clutching at straws …..

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid DOT5.1 clutch & brake fluidClutch slave cylinders/seals and brake fluid can be almost as emotive as good old engine oil, everyone has an opinion. Well I’ve just changed brake/clutch fluid after about 15 months, usually I’d do it every 6 months or so, but somehow I’ve ended up getting a bit lax and let it slide. So for what it’s worth, here’s how things have worked out on my own Capo over the years.

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid clutch master cylinder DOT5.1 fluidI think everyone will agree that it’s the clutch fluid that takes the most punishment, followed by the rear brake. So here’s a couple of photographs of the inside of the master cylinder straight after opening it and a comparison of the fluid drawn off, with straw colour of new fresh oil from a sealed container. No black residue in the master cylinder and only a slight colour change in the oil with almost no cloudiness. The fluid drained from both front and rear brakes was almost like new, but it’s nice to keep the fluid fresh anyway.

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid DOT5.1 brake & clutch fluid In comparison the oil I used to drain at 6-12 month intervals from the clutch was cloudy with black residue in the master cylinder and the rear brake was frequently amber in colour, only the front brakes seemed to show little degradation – all this was while using DOT4!

Todays oil is DOT 5.1 and has done 27,143 miles over 15 months

I’ve been using DOT5.1 now for the past five years and the first (10 year 44K miles) clutch slave seal was replaced in late 2013, not because it failed, but because it seemed to be letting a little air back into the system after long (24Hr+) runs – enough to give an extra 4-5mm or so of free play at the ball end of the lever otherwise it seemed fine in normal day-to-day use. Seal replacement was purely precautionary. The replacement seal has been used with DOT5.1 its entire life (2½ years 45K miles) and is showing no sign of leakage or air ingress. So to date it’s cost me one seal (€17) versus going out and buying a €90 aftermarket cylinder … I know which mast I’m nailing my colours to!

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid clutch master cylinder window bubbleAnd finally ….. always ALWAYS make sure the level of fluid in the reservoir is right. It is so damn easy to overfill this one. My prefered method is to drain off most of the reservoir fluid once the system is bled (don’t expose the ports) then refit the rubber bellows and use a syringe to inject fluid back in while watching the bubble. Leave quite a big bubble showing, because when you screw down the cap the volume (and bubble) shrink a little.

Slowly, slowly ……

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid frame / chassis in Solidworks 3DWith the weather hitting an unseasonaly warm 20c (but high winds!) it’s been a fine opportunity for running around on the Capo, but when she’s all tucked up nice and cosy in the barn, it’s been time to work on the stable-mate, NK03 …… or more specifically the chassis! Slowly but surely it’s being measured and drawn up in CAD and some other parts drawn up last year added into the mix. One day a complete digital Capo will exist! 😀

Refering back to the weather …….. here’s a couple of pics taken on the mobile at the end of the day when walking the dog. As the sun sets behind the Gran Sasso mountains it seems to save the best lighting until last.

Gran Sasso sunset January 2016Gran Sasso sunset January 2016

 

Busy, busy and busier still!

Calais docks ...... a bit quiter than the war-zone approach roads!3,000 miles, six days, one exam and enough fog to last a lifetime ….. Yes, the last run of 2015 to the UK and back is over! The return bought with it oodles of goodies and an unwanted guest, the dreaded UK winter cold that then turns into bronchitis, oh what fun.
After getting back and between snuffling, shivering and coughing up gunk thick enough to glue shelves up with I managed to give the new Capo Rally-Raid frame a damn good de-grease and inspection. It all looks good and other than the usual wear and tear befitting a 12 year old part (in UK weather!) it’ll be a fine starting point for the bikes rebuild. It also gave me the opportunity to look at the differences between the standard and Rally-Raid frames. Does it really justify a new part number just because of a fresh run of serial numbers? Or is the difference more involved?

In fact it turns out the Raid frame is quite different. All the modifications are around the swing-arm pivot points and cross brace/suspension mount. Five reinforcement plates in all …. Making the difference in frame prices work out at roughly £50 per modification! Mind you, that’s chicken feed when compared to the list price – £3,193 (Std) / £3,440 (R-Raid)! 😯
Advanced! The RSGB Full Licence Manual

Oh and the exam ….. Well I took the Advanced (full) Amateur Radio Licence – the last of the three levels in the UK. Thankfully the head-cold wasn’t an issue, it would be a further 12hrs before that little puppy made itself known. So six months of preparation and study boiled down to two hours of pen-pushing on a Monday evening. FACT – did you know tummy-rumbling is catching, just like yawning … I know, I was there!  😳 Anyway, did I do all that studying  justice? Is it an early Christmas present or a can of Gold Label and a cry behind the bike sheds ……..

…….. well say helloooo to the new full licence callsign:

M0ZRX

Unfortunately ‘ETV’ had gone, but to stick with the bike theme I chose my old Kawasaki ZRX1200 Eddie Lawson rep instead! Next stop – let’s see if the Italians will give me a reciprocal licence as well, it would be very kind of them! 😀

Review – Motrag Garmin 590LM GPS mount

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid with Motrag.com base & micro mount for Garmin GPSFor 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 Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid with Motrag.com base & micro mount for Garmin GPSTouratech 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.

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid with Motrag.com base & micro mount for Garmin GPSFirst 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-clampAt 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.

Another bike ….. It was inevitable I guess

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid frame number 075Say hello to Rally-Raid number 075! Yes a little lightweight I grant you …. one or two parts do appear to be missing, but a fully registered bona-fide ETV1000 Rally-Raid none the less. So in anticipation of building up a second Raid, I’ve decided to start a dedicated website …. www.etv1000.eu …. But it’ll be a slow-burner for sure while the bits are sourced! 😕

Fuse box panel

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid AP8178418 fuse box covering panelOn the Mark 1 Capo there’s a screw-on cover, on the Mark 2 a panel held on by 4 screws but on the Raid it’s just waving in the wind …. staring at you with those half-inch high letters screaming “FUSE”. Quite why Aprilia felt the Raid needed an uncovered fuse box below the dashboard is anyones guess …….. it’s not like I need millisecond fuse changes!

Besides it’s always niggled me that one sunny Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid AP8168770 panelday some light-fingered arse would think it a jolly wheeze to pull all the fuses out when it’s parked up. To remove the temptation I’d been keeping an eye open for a replacement panel for a while. Recently when a panel from an 05 came up on Ebay I was in-like-Flynn and the Capo got a nice little upgrade. I think it looks much better now. 😀

All teeth aren’t equal!

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid Sunstar 16T front sprocketA good few year back when I had a Triumph Trophy 1200, I had an issue of excessive noise from the chain/sprockets – especially on the over-run. They were almost new and as far as I could tell, it was correctly tensioned. It drove me mad for a week or so, until I decided to try changing out the front sprocket, why I can’t remember, but it worked.

Now the same issue has raised its head on the Capo. The Sunstar front sprocket was fitted at the same time as the chain/rear sprocket, so about 3,500 miles ago give or take. Gradually I began to get a noise – mostly on the over-run that progressively got louder as the miles piled up. Once again, chain tension was fine, the slipper block in perfect condition – no obvious reason for the noise. What had changed?

Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid front sprocket - Renthal & SunstarThe only difference I could think of is the make of sprocket. I’ve always used Renthal since I got the Capo, so the Sunstar was a step away from what I know and trust. Back to a Renthal 407-525-16P it is then.

And …….. all the noise has gone! Yes a good run around yesterday afternoon including annoying the hell out of an R1200GS rider desperate to give me the slip, proved once and for all that the Sunstar was the culprit. It certainly makes me think that the profile of the teeth may well have something to do with it, maybe that’s the reason Aprilia fitted a sprocket with cush-rubbers?