2013 Capnord

[Hambonee]

Damn..I like this bike more and more.....

Need to move to a taller bike with less bend on the knees..wonder what the ergos are like..they look good...

Either way it would keep my business with Moto International so like that Something to ponder in the future..only thing that scares me is maintenance cost never having owned that brand. Guzzi is generally pretty dang cheap..

edit..

dang...just did a comparison vs my Norge and I would loose 11 degrees in knee bend and all the forward lean. Much better for me..time to start saving!!!

[Sport-Touring]

[Croak]

Heh, yeah, you won't be adjusting valves with a screwdriver and hammer like the Guzzi.  But that V90 has so far proven fairly reliable.  Problem is, it's only been used in the Dorsoduro, a bike people don't rack up a lot of long miles on (though they do rack up HARD miles).  So no real indication of how often the valves go out of spec, TB's need balanced, long-term oil consumption, etc.  That said, that 1200cc motor is seriously under-stressed at 125-130 HP.

Reviews are starting to show up in English:

When I first saw the Caponord at the EICMA show, I quickly dismissed it as a smart, full-dress evolution of the Aprilia Dorsoduro, a bike conceived to snatch a slice of the growing adventure-touring pie from the iconic BMW R1200GS. However, after riding the Aprilia Caponord 1200 on some secluded and twisty roads on Sardinia, I must apologize to the Aprilia technical team: The new Caponord is actually a smartly conceived and very efficient street-biased adventure-tourer that only looks inspired by the Dorsoduro when seen from afar.

http://www.cycleworld.com/2013/03/20/2014-aprilia-caponord-1200-first-ride/

[Croak]

Tor Sagen's full review is out:

http://ultimatemotorcycling.com/2013-aprilia-caponord-1200-review/

This bit is interesting:

The 2013 Aprilia Caponord 1200 is truly a technologically tour de force. In the high tech area, Aprilia has even managed to bang the Ducati Multistrada down into the ground for now.

[SalsaShark]

You're killin me 'smalls!

The more I read/see about this bike, the more excited I get to kick one around in person... Too bad every U.S. dealer I've spoken to doesn't know when they'll show up.

[Croak]

Bikes are already for sale in Italy, rolling out to the rest of Europe and Australia, and even India in a few weeks.  Sadly, according to Ed at AF1, last report was Q1 2014 for North America.  

So nine months to a year, which is par for the course for Piaggio these days, if you recall how long we had to wait for the RSV4, Tuono V4, Stelvio NTX, etc after the rest of the world got them.  I blame the EPA and especially CARB for most of that delay myself.

Good news is, that lets the rest of the world work out the kinks first.  And there's always a chance it'll be out sooner, though I'm not holding my breath.

[Croak]

Here's a dyno run of one of the first retail units in the wild in Italy.  Nice soundtrack, though short.



113hp and 78 ft/lbs at the rear wheel pretty much matches 125 crank hp/85 ft lbs torque  numbers Aprilia claims.

EDIT:  Interesting to watch what the suspension is doing when it the motor loads and unloads it.

[Hambonee]

Here's a dyno run of one of the first retail units in the wild in Italy.  Nice soundtrack, though short.



113hp and 78 ft/lbs at the rear wheel pretty much matches 125 crank hp/85 ft lbs torque  numbers Aprilia claims.

EDIT:  Interesting to watch what the suspension is doing when it the motor loads and unloads it.

 

wow...deep and throaty...nice...

[Croak]

Motorcycle Daily's first ride impressions are up:

“Balanced” is a good word to describe the Caponord 1200.  It is not the lightest or most athletic member of the category, but it combines competent handling with comfort and wind protection suitable for long distances with both a passenger and luggage aboard...

http://www.motorcycledaily.com/2013/03/md-first-ride-2014-aprilia-caponord-1200/

[Hickey]

That bike has some nice equipment and options. It is good looking too. I like it. Top of the list to me for sporty, road focused adventure tourers.

What a pity it is an Aprilia, given the lack of dealer support for those of us who aren't near the few famously competent dealers for the brand in North America.

[Hickey]

If I'm reading this right and if the author is correct, then the new Caponord isn't all that heavy.

"The Caponord 1200s we tested were fitted with the Travel Pack, which includes 7.7-gallon panniers, a centerstand and extra electronics (ADD cabling alone weighs 2.2 lbs). Its dry weight is claimed to be 503 lbs, which is 31 lbs more than the standard model."  http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/aprilia/2013-aprilia-caponord-1200-review-91546.html

The dry weight of 503 includes the Travel Pack options of luggage, etc. So the true wet weight of one set up for sport touring might end up around 550. Which is actually lighter than some of the other members of that class like the Explorer and Tenere.

[Hambonee]

That bike has some nice equipment and options. It is good looking too. I like it. Top of the list to me for sporty, road focused adventure tourers.

What a pity it is an Aprilia, given the lack of dealer support for those of us who aren't near the few famously competent dealers for the brand in North America.

yeah

I'm lucky enough to have MI about 15 minutes down the road. The other bike I was looking at was the KTM SMT. That, however, has a smaller dealership network it seems if that is even possible.

n the bright side Dave from MI thinks the 17K estimated price tag is a bit inflated.

[expatbrit]

yeah

I'm lucky enough to have MI about 15 minutes down the road. The other bike I was looking at was the KTM SMT. That, however, has a smaller dealership network it seems if that is even possible.

n the bright side Dave from MI thinks the 17K estimated price tag is a bit inflated.

Wow. With all the electronics, I was sure this would be squarely in MTS1200S territory, price-wise. Interesting.

[Hambonee]

Wow. With all the electronics, I was sure this would be squarely in MTS1200S territory, price-wise. Interesting.

Totally agree..

But hey, if Dave is right, bonus for the riders!

[Hickey]

I'm lucky enough to have MI about 15 minutes down the road. The other bike I was looking at was the KTM SMT. That, however, has a smaller dealership network it seems if that is even possible.

I've got the opposite issue. I have a good KTM dealer nearby but no Aprilia dealers in the whole state and questionable dealers in adjacent states. Ironically the local Vespa dealer tried to carry Aprilia too, but that didn't work out. Aprilia really screwed their dealer network up in the last few years.

[Croak]

If I'm reading this right and if the author is correct, then the new Caponord isn't all that heavy.

"The Caponord 1200s we tested were fitted with the Travel Pack, which includes 7.7-gallon panniers, a centerstand and extra electronics (ADD cabling alone weighs 2.2 lbs). Its dry weight is claimed to be 503 lbs, which is 31 lbs more than the standard model."  http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/aprilia/2013-aprilia-caponord-1200-review-91546.html

The dry weight of 503 includes the Travel Pack options of luggage, etc. So the true wet weight of one set up for sport touring might end up around 550. Which is actually lighter than some of the other members of that class like the Explorer and Tenere.

It's 503 dry for the standard, 538 dry for the Travel Pack.  With a full 24 liter tank, oil and battery, it's going to be close to 570.  Which is still lighter than the Explorer or Tenere, but keep in mind this bike is NOT in that class, at all.  It's a road bike with no off-road pretensions; it doesn't come with boxy panniers, tall skinny tires, or the near-mandatory shaft drive either.  Simply put (and thank god) it's not an ADV bike.

It's competing with the Multistrada 1200 on the high end, Tiger Sport 1050 and Versys 1000 on the low end.  The base 1190 Adventure, and to a lesser extent the new GS could also be added to the list, for potential buyers of those that know they're not really going offroad and can live with the loss of macho Dakar image.

To put that 570ish pound wet weight in perspective, a wet Sprint ST 1050 ABS with panniers weighed that much, as did the Futura, the VFR800 with panniers, the Ducati ST series, the Tiger 1050 ABS with panniers, etc.  But this bike has more torque than any of them, more power than most, a more advanced suspension, and a lot more safety aids.

[Hickey]

Ah, so the journalist got the weights wrong. Bummer.

I'm not an off road rider at all, so I'm probably in their target demographic. I like the newest Tiger quite a bit, but it won't be coming Stateside. I don't much like the styling of the Multistrada and its beak. The KTM is tolerable looking and light and I've got a good dealer nearby. The new Capo looks nice and is really well equipped but heavyish, to me, given its height.

I dunno. I'll stay tuned, I guess.

[Croak]

Yeah, if you're of a body type that actually fits on a tiny Street Triple and doesn't look silly, the Caponord may well be a bit on the large side for you.  

But then again, so would the Tiger Sport, which is just as heavy with panniers and a full tank.  For that matter, the Multistrada with DSS and panniers is only about 10-20 pounds lighter at best  (Ducati official figures are very misleading, bordering on dishonest,  the dry weight they give is sans pannier mounts, sans ABS, sans DSS, etc, and any wet weight figure isn't with a full tank of fuel).  

The new KTM 1190 is right about the same weight as the Multi without panniers too, but it's also sporting a "skinny" 170 rear tire and a 19" front, both of which are spoked, which pretty much rules it out from being anything I'd ever want to own.

[bubba zanetti]

Placed your order yet Croak?  I have forwarded your post to Aprilia as some of the best advertising they could buy.

[Croak]

Heh, you should see me on ADVRider talking about it.  Some epic posts in the "Beasts" section.  

The gnarly off-road lovers over there hate it (and the Multistrada, for that matter).

[Hickey]

Yeah, if you're of a body type that actually fits on a tiny Street Triple and doesn't look silly, the Caponord may well be a bit on the large side for you.  

5'10" and about 165. So I'm not of an ideal scale for heavy adventure tourers.