Aprilia Caponord

This entry is part 14 of 21 in the series Adventure Rider Issue #13

Aprilia is a company that prides itself on building high-perfor-mance sports bikes. The list of World Superbike championships and MotoGP involvement figures highly in all its company material. And justifiably so.

But what happens when a company with that kind of focus and heritage decides to enter the adventure market?

The Caponord Rally happens. It’s a beautiful mix of today’s current thinking combined with Italian styling and some very high-performance innovation.

Looking good

There’s no doubting the Caponord is some-thing different. Just looking at the bike makes a rider start thinking, “Whoa! What have we got here?”

What we have is an 1197cc, liquid-cooled, DOHC, four-valves-per-cylinder, 90-degree V-twin in a very sleek and sexy package. The bike looks good in a stylish and understated way, and has performance to match.

In excess of 100hp seems to be mandatory in the big bikes these days, and Aprilia ensured the Caponord matches up.

The spec sheet gives the bike 125hp, which is impressive, and claims a dry mass of 247kg, which is about normal in this class of bike.

Triumph’s Explorer comes in at just under 260kg dry and BMW’s GSA around 260kg fuelled. KTM’s 1190 manages a svelte 210kg or so.

The electronics are well up to par as well, with ride-by-wire throttle, cruise control, three levels of traction control plus ‘Off’, three rider maps – Tour, Sport and Rain – switchable ABS and a very interesting suspension set-up that we’ll present more fully elsewhere.

On a less mystical level the Caponord feels slim and very comfortable. There’s a bare and naked look to the cockpit that belies all the technology making things happen, and that seamless, uncluttered feel extends throughout the whole bike. It appears a beautifully simple, elegant machine with smooth curves, and the seating is clearly designed for covering long distances and feeling great about it.

All up, the Caponord feels like it’s built to let the rider enjoy the ride without having to cope with intrusion of high-tech gadgets and flashy gewgaws…even though it’s at the leading edge of current bike technology.

It’s a beautifully presented bike, top to bottom.

Ride away

Snicking into gear and heading off into traffic was, we have to say, a little disappointing. The bike was smooth and easy, geared fairly tall, and although it felt great to be on a bike that looked so good, we were kind of hoping for a little of that Tuono or RSV sting to be in evidence. Instead, throttle response was very controlled.

Then we realised we were in ‘Touring’ mode. Obviously we wanted to experience ‘Sport’.

Unfortunately, trying to remember all the instructions on which knob related to which menu was beyond us as we dealt with the city traffic. We left the map in Touring and headed for the Pacific Highway.

Once we’d settled in and had a few minutes to think about things, we began working our way through the menus and instructions. With a little use it all became second nature.

Changing maps only takes a few seconds.

On the freeway the Caponord is every bit as good as it looks.

The cruise control is a gift, the adjustable windscreen offers good protection for riders of average height, and the seat, ’pegs and ’bars combine to give a superb ride.

Speaking of the footpegs, the rubber inserts are quite large. They’re probably something like 7mm thick. Taller riders will notice a surprising difference in legroom if they undo the two small nuts and remove the pad from each side.

Naturally, we removed the rubber inserts before going off-road. We’re yet to find a pair that will offer any traction to a boot once they have any moisture at all on them. But for road riding, or riding in the seated position generally, they’re a good insulator from any vibration that may be lurking about.

Careful

As we settled in to the long, boring run up the coast, we couldn’t help but notice there’s a real feeling of individuality about the Caponord. The Touring mode only overides a rider’s enthusiasm in the first three gears, so cruising along in top, or changing down a gear for overtaking, means the motor’s working without interference, and we loved it!

It has a throaty V-twin growl that gets the blood pumping, and there’s no lack of smooth, solid drive. Without the maniac slingshot effect of a transverse four, the Aprilia still surges forward with an impressive and stirring thrust that makes a rider feel like a king. And without being indiscreet, we’re talking about the way the bike pulls away from speeds of, say, 140kph.

200kph comes around in such an effortless burst of growling velocity that it’s easy to not realise just what kind of fine is being racked up.

It’s not only the motor that encourages that kind of riding. The handling, geometry and suspension seem to settle in and crave those kinds of speeds. And yet, the bike feels calm and stable and doesn’t seem to be trying.

We imagine we could get into a lot of trouble on the Caponord.

If we did, it’d be worth it.

Braking on the front is excellent, and the ABS setting allows some fairly aggressive stopping. The rear is a touch short of strength compared to the front. We didn’t think this was such a bad thing. With the traction control off it’d be all too easy to get into crazy rear-end lock-ups. The rear brake works well, but doesn’t lock up suddenly.

It takes a definite move from the rider to get it happening.

Space

The Rally also has a pair of very neat and functional hard panniers. They fit close to the bike, and have those fabulous double-action lids. Each lid can open as a single unit that splits the box or, with the flip of two nylon fasteners, opens only half the top, allowing tight access through the top of the pannier. Fitting and removing the panniers is as easy as it should be on every bike. We found ourselves very quickly in the habit of flipping the key, grabbing the panniers and dropping them in the shed each night.

Too easy.

The whole bike seems uncluttered and spare. The payback is some of the switches have two functions. The red starter button starts the motor. Once the motor’s running, that same button then becomes the selector for the rider modes.

It’s just so damn elegant!

The panniers can be used in two different configurations. They snug in tight to the bike.

Set and forget

The single feature of the Caponord that’ll excite the most discussion is its suspension.

It allows some very tight, fast cornering on and off the tarmac. You can read the bits and pieces elsewhere on these pages, but where preload can be set manually at the touch of a button, the Aprilia has an ‘Auto’ setting. With this feature engaged the bike constantly reads what’s going on and makes adjustments to suspension in real time.

Aprilia Dynamic Damping

Aprilia Dynamic Damping (AAD) is a dynamic, semi-active suspension system developed by Aprilia and protected by four patents. The AAD system measures the energy transmitted by bumps on the road surface to the bike and adjusts the hydraulic fork calibration and shock in real time.

In addition to comfort, rideability is also enhanced and safety is increased thanks to further software strategies tied directly to the rider’s actions. The system recognises the riding phases (acceleration, throttle release, braking, constant throttle) and adjusts the basic fork and shock settings thanks to a patent which allows specific hydraulic calibration curves to be defined within the adjustment range.

The high precision of the system is entrusted to a selection of sensors that allow the fork and shock extension speed to be measured with maximum accuracy.

In the Aprilia AAD dynamic semi-active suspension system all the rider has to do is ride without any concerns of selecting one setting or another.

At the rear a built-in piggyback shock is electrically adjustable in spring preload to four predefined positions, indicated by specific icons on the digital instrument panel: rider only, rider with passenger, only rider with panniers and rider and passenger with panniers. Then there’s the automatic preload control mode for the spring. Once this option is selected the system is able to detect the bike’s load by itself – weight of the fuel, rider,passenger, luggage, and so forth – and automatically adjust preload to the optimum value for correct balancing of the bike.

That’s it. In real time

We’re not big fans of messing about with suspension unless things get extreme, and for us, this feature was brilliant. We wouldn’t run it any other way. We were actually left scratching our heads wondering why the Auto setting is a choice. The bike should just be in that mode all the time. Then we realised we hadn’t really expected it to work so well. We tried the various settings first, and they were fine. But leaving the choice on Auto means hopping back and forth from road to dirt, with or with-out panniers, grabbing a pillion or whatever, doesn’t require any changes to suspension settings for best performance. The bike reads the situations and adjusts accordingly. In an especially nice touch, a patient observer can watch the preload collar moving on the very visible shock.

The suspension suits the bike’s intended use.

We didn’t have any trouble bottoming out the rear or making the front complain, but that was only because we were looking for the limits. Riding the bike sensibly around the dirt roads and potholed backroads was very pleasant. On the road the thing carves some very impressive tight lines and begs a rider to try harder if he dares.

Feeling good

After several days and all sorts of terrain, the thing that sticks in our mind most about the Caponord is that it gives such incredibly good feedback to the rider. It doesn’t do anything unexpected, and it lets the rider know what’s going on all the time. It doesn’t suddenly jump sideways on corrugations or kick the rear end away under heavy braking or run wide on corners. It makes even the most ordinary rider feel he’s well in control of this 125hp, 250kg tourer.

The next thing that sticks in our mind, and makes us grin like lunatics, is just how wonderfully this bike performs. Turn all the electronics off, select ‘Sport’, and cut loose.

If you can handle this wild Italian, it delivers in every department. Keep the engine spinning above about 4000rpm, brake late, carry as much corner speed as you dare and crack that throttle open as soon as you can. This bike will show its heritage with smooth, fast lines that’ll have other riders wondering what the hell just happened. We especially loved when it exited corners and the ’bars began to just ever-so-slightly fall away as the front wheel must’ve been just a millimetre or two off the road.

Did we have MotoGP dreams or what!

‘Glorious’ is the way we feel about the Caponord.

Aprilia Caponord Rally

Web: www.aprilia.com.au.
RRP: $23,000 ride away

Engine type: Aprilia, liquid-cooled, 12-valve, DOHC, four-valves-per-cylinder, 90-degree V-twin
Capacity: 1197cc
Bore/stroke: 106mm x 67.8mm
Compression ratio: 12.0:1
Rated output: 125hp (92kW) at 8000rpm
Maximum torque: 115Nm at 6800rpm
System: Integrated engine-management system. Two injectors per cylinder and ride-by-wire throttle control with three-way
mapping: (S) Sport, (T) Touring and (R) Rain
Rider assist: Aprilia Traction Control (ATC). Three levels plus deactivation
Ignition: Marelli 7SM ECU. Twin spark plugs per cylinder. Integrated with engine management system
Starter: Electric
Exhaust: Stainless steel 2-in-1, with integrated catalytic converter and twin oxygen sensor
Lubrication: Wet sump
Gearbox: Six-speed
Final drive: Chain. Ratio 17/42
Front suspension: Sachs 43mm upside-down forks. Hydraulic rebound and compression damping electronically managed with ADD (Aprilia Dynamic Damping)
Rear suspension: Sachs dynamic monoshock with spring preload and hydraulic rebound and compression damping electronically managed with ADD (Aprilia Dynamic Damping)
Brakes front: Dual 320mm stainless steel floating discs. Four-spot Brembo monoblock radial calipers, stainless steel braided lines
Brakes rear: Single stainless steel 240mm disc. Single-piston, Brembo caliper. Metal braided hose
ABS: Continental two-channel ABS system
Wheel rims: Lightweight aluminium alloy with three split spokes
Tyres: Radial tubeless tyres. Front 120/70-R19. Rear 170/60-R17
Fuel tank capacity: 24 litres (including five-litre reserve)
Transmission: Six-speed
Frame: Tubular steel trellis
Swingarm: Aluminium alloy
Maximum length: 2280mm
Maximum height: 1475mm
Seat height: 840mm
Wheelbase: 1575mm
Dry weight: 247kg