Aprilia Demo tour at Rockridge Two Wheels

[dublindara]

When: Thursday 10.30 am - 5 pm
Where: Rockridge Two Wheels
Address: 5291 College Ave, Oakland, CA 94618

The Aprilia Demo truck will be here tomorrow loaded with Aprilia Caponords and goodies!!

"Take the opportunity to join other riders in your community as you see the Caponord 1200 in person. Meet with product specialists to learn about this amazing machine. And, don't forget to bring your riding gear as we will be offering demo rides all day long. Riding, giveaways, and fun at Aprilia Caponord Days of Summer!"

And the best part.. it's FREE..

hope some of you can make it..

 

[flying_hun]

Dara! Welcome back. Sounds like a lot of fun.

 

[JMardy]

Dorsos?

 

[SupaSig]

I think they are supposed to be at Scudaria on Friday here in SF!

 

[VicTim]

Too bad it's a work day.

 

[flying_hun]

FWIW, I've ridden the new Capo, and it's a really impressive bike. Amazing suspension. :thumbup

 

[SupaSig]

Too bad it's a work day.

I think a long lunch is in order Friday. :ride

 

[Surj]

FWIW, I've ridden the new Capo, and it's a really impressive bike. Amazing suspension. :thumbup

Me too. Did close to a 1,000 mile weekend on it—check out the July issue of CityBike for my full review.

But I'll say this—I wasn't in love with the active suspension. It was great for smooth, fast stuff, but felt like a handful in rougher stuff. I gave it a couple hundred miles in ADD mode but ended up enjoying the bike much more in "old school" non-dynamic mode.

Killer motor, though. Had a hard time keeping speeds anywhere close to legal. :ride

 

[flying_hun]

Me too. Did close to a 1,000 mile weekend on it—check out the July issue of CityBike for my full review.

But I'll say this—I wasn't in love with the active suspension. It was great for smooth, fast stuff, but felt like a handful in rougher stuff. I gave it a couple hundred miles in ADD mode but ended up enjoying the bike much more in "old school" non-dynamic mode.

Killer motor, though. Had a hard time keeping speeds anywhere close to legal. :ride

That's funny. We had the exact opposite take. I liked it on crappy surfaces. :dunno

 

[JMardy]

That's funny. We had the exact opposite take. I liked it on crappy surfaces. :dunno

This from a guy who knows crappy surfaces! :ride

 

[Surj]

That's funny. We had the exact opposite take. I liked it on crappy surfaces. :dunno

Interesting. I dug the technology—really cool stuff—but couldn't get used to it. Now, this isn't necessarily the bike being bad—it could be me not being able to come to terms with the suspension changing on the fly. Felt unpredictable to me. Very cool bike, though.

 

[OldMadBrit]

I saw this posted at 1:00pm and took off to check it out. :thumbup :teeth

I had the pleasure of parking my Mk1 Caponord behind a new one :teeth

First impressions were "wow this thing looks waaaayy better in person than it does in the photos. Bloody gorgeous is one way to put it. :thumbup

I arrived just in time to sign up get a briefing and set off with another ex-Brit who had arrived at the same time. :thumbup Game on then :teeth :ride

He wasn't familiar with the area so I towed him on a figure of 8 loop up 24 to FRR, over Grizzly peak and down through Tilden to San Pablo Dam Rd. Then over Bear Creek rd, left on Alhambra, left on Castro Ranch and left on San Pablo Dam Rd back through Orinda to 24 and back to Rockridge Ape.

A good mix of Hwy and various degrees of twisty to "ahem" explore the new bike's performance envelope. :teeth

I was really impressed with the new Capo :thumbup

The motor is superb oceans of grunt from 2,000 rpm to the soft rev limit (no idea I wasn't looking). The box is also very good.

It would take a few days to explore all the electronics but they are impressive. Engine mapping, traction control, ABS and suspension are all adjustable at the push of a button. Engine mapping and suspension are adjustable on the fly.

Lots of massive improvements over the Mk1 (which should be expected). The suspension lives up to the claims. It handles the bumps on the fast sweepers on Bear Creek Rd superbly. These kick me off my R1 and even unsettle my Capo. It feels narrow light and nimble. Turn in is quick and it settles into bumpy corners as if you are on a smoothe racetrack. Its easy to use the throttle to adjust your lines post apex.

Its street oriented so I'd be reluctant to take the new one up the trails that I happily take my Mk1. This is more of a MultiStrada than a KTM 990 whereas the Mk 1 is biased more towards the KTM end of the equation.

The optional Top Box has a decent backrest and the rear seat is much more suited to 2 up touring than the Mk1.

I only found a couple of niggles: 1) it needs a smaller front sprocket (1st is too high with the stock sprocket) and 2) the bars are about 2" too wide. Both could be "fixed" in 1hr at minimal cost.

I want one :teeth :ride

Thanks to Rockridge two Wheels for hosting :thumbup

 

[flying_hun]

Your assessment pretty much matches mine. We even rode the same roads for the most part, but I fit in Old Tunnel Road and Upper Happy Valley. It deals with the Bear Creek bumps very well. :ride

 

[OldMadBrit]

Your assessment pretty much matches mine. We even rode the same roads for the most part, but I fit in Old Tunnel Road and Upper Happy Valley. It deals with the Bear Creek bumps very well. :ride

Shockingly well :thumbup It could ruin your day to transition off one of these after a few thousand miles to a lesser bike.

 

[flying_hun]

Interesting. I dug the technology—really cool stuff—but couldn't get used to it. Now, this isn't necessarily the bike being bad—it could be me not being able to come to terms with the suspension changing on the fly. Felt unpredictable to me. Very cool bike, though.

FWIW, I left it in auto the whole time, and rode it both solo and two-up. I might have had a different opinion had I messed with the settings, but I found the bike remained really composed on poor surfaces. Bear Creek isn't an awful surface, but it's pretty lumpy, and upsets lots of bikes. Not the Capo. Old Tunnel and Upper Happy Valley have the crappiest surfaces for nearby twisties that I could get to, and it did fine there too. Where the suspension gave me doubts was on faster sweepers when pushing on a bit. I would have liked a bit more rear ride height (very personal preference) and I wasn't sure what changes would be available given the electronic controls of the suspension. Not really a knock, but more something I wasn't sure how to change. Maybe someone else does.

Shockingly well :thumbup It could ruin your day to transition off one of these after a few thousand miles to a lesser bike.

I really like the 07 Multistrada I bought, and it's suspension is pretty decent for stock suspension of that era, but it feels decidedly backward compared to the Capo.

One other note, while the engine is great, smooth, easy to use, and powerful, it has nowhere near the OMG!!!! effect that the 1200 MTS or 1190 KTM have. More of a gentleman's express than that.

 

[auditude]

Feck! How did I miss this?!?!? And I highly doubt I can make Scuds or SJ BMW's demo either!!!!

At least I rode my Ape to work yesterday and today...better I didn't ride sumfin' new; odds are I'd have to pick one up.

Ride reports would be great to read from any/all who're lucky enough to attend.

'tude

 

[Surj]

FWIW, I left it in auto the whole time, and rode it both solo and two-up. I might have had a different opinion had I messed with the settings, but I found the bike remained really composed on poor surfaces. Bear Creek isn't an awful surface, but it's pretty lumpy, and upsets lots of bikes. Not the Capo. Old Tunnel and Upper Happy Valley have the crappiest surfaces for nearby twisties that I could get to, and it did fine there too. Where the suspension gave me doubts was on faster sweepers when pushing on a bit. I would have liked a bit more rear ride height (very personal preference) and I wasn't sure what changes would be available given the electronic controls of the suspension. Not really a knock, but more something I wasn't sure how to change. Maybe someone else does.

I really like the 07 Multistrada I bought, and it's suspension is pretty decent for stock suspension of that era, but it feels decidedly backward compared to the Capo.

One other note, while the engine is great, smooth, easy to use, and powerful, it has nowhere near the OMG!!!! effect that the 1200 MTS or 1190 KTM have. More of a gentleman's express than that.

I don't want to give away the entire review I wrote, but I really like the Capo on fast sweepers—it didn't feel odd to me at all in that kind of riding. Did a photo shoot with it on a closed pass in the Eastern Sierras and we were hauling ass on closed roads—felt excellent.

I haven't ridden the new gen Multistradas, but have spent a fair amount of time on the 1190. The KTM is obviously faster, but I actually felt like that one was more subtle and gentlemanly with its speed. The Capo felt like it had more of a snarl to it, where the KTM was more businesslike.

That's not a dig—I'm seriously thinking an 1190 is my next bike.