2015 Aprilia Caponord 1200 Rally
Saw reviews of this online and really liked the look of it. Love the way that everything seems to 'flow' and fit together well.
Friday, 3 October 2014
Friday bike
Saw reviews of this online and really liked the look of it. Love the way that everything seems to 'flow' and fit together well.
Friday, 19 September 2014
Friday bike
Thursday, 18 September 2014
....and you can tour on small scooters
Found this on the Web. Sorry, don't know who the author is, if anyone does please let me know.
I don't own a car but my wife and I ride Suzuki AN 125 Scooters . We live
in Durban and we have been to the Cape and back. Last December we went
to Mozambique and back. We love camping and fishing we carry a double dome tent, double bed blow up mattress, 2 sleeping bags , our feather pillows, 2
chairs, Poetjie , braai , charcoal , food .clothing , a boat (Marina 3
inflatable ) battery engine, battery , fishing rods, tackle and more on
our scooters . Everything you carry on your bukkie and trailer we have .
People cant believe it . We are really having fun and saving loads of
money
Poetjie = cooking pot, and braai = barbeque grill. Not sure what 'bukkie' means, but you get the idea. Carrying an inflatable boat? That is superb!
Friday, 12 September 2014
Friday bike
You're going to have to raid the piggy bank to buy one of these!
First bike for a very long time from Hesketh of F1 Racing car and exotic and expensive V twin motorcycle fame.
Powered by a 1950cc S&S X-Wedge engine, the 24 is so named as there will be only 24 of them built. This probably means that they will go into collections and never be ridden on the road.
Whether this signals the start of bike production by Hesketh or not remains to be seen, but at £35,000 each (44,000 Euros, US$57,000) it's a bike only for the well heeled.
Technical stuff:
Spec sheet
More reading: here, company website here.
Hesketh 24
First bike for a very long time from Hesketh of F1 Racing car and exotic and expensive V twin motorcycle fame.
Technical stuff:
Spec sheet
| Engine | Air-cooled, 1950cc, V-twin |
| Ignition/ Start | Digital / Electric |
| Security | Keyless ignition & immobiliser |
| Exhaust | Two into one into two – stainless steel & carbon fibre |
| Frame | Chrome-moly tube cradle frame |
| Swing Arm | Steel box section with integral oil tank |
| Front & Rear wheel | 17” BST Blackstone carbon fibre |
| Front & Rear tyre | 120/70/ZR17, 190/70/ZR17 |
| Handlebars | Renthal tubular tapered steel Fatbars (UK made) |
| Fuel tank capacity | 19 litres |
| Seat height | 820mm |
| Wheelbase | 1550mm |
| Gearbox | Baker 5-speed with overdrive |
| Clutch | Baker wet multi-plate KingKong clutch cable actuation |
| Front suspension | 43mm Öhlins USD forks, adjustable preload, compression & rebound damping, fully machined billet yokes |
| Rear suspension | Öhlins reservoir-style twin shocks, adjustable ride height, preload, compression & rebound |
| Power | 125PS @ 6000RPM |
| Torque | 196Nm @ 3000RPM |
| Front brakes | Beringer 300mm floating discs, 4 piston Beringer Aerotech caliper, Stainless steel braided hoses |
| Rear brakes | Single Beringer 250mm disc, 4 piston Beringer Aerotech caliper, Stainless steel braided hoses |
More reading: here, company website here.
Friday, 5 September 2014
Friday bike
Following on from last week's 'Friday bike', I was still looking for a replacement for my BMW. Another bike I seriously thought about was:
As a tourer the GT had a lot going for it: sensible riding position, shaft drive (was thought important then), big (22 litre) fuel tank, and low exhaust that allowed panniers to be easily fitted.
A very popular bike at the time with many racking up huge mileages at the hands of couriers.
My plan would have been to fit panniers and a screen/small fairing, and use it as a general runaround/commuter that I could also use for European trips.
When I was looking on the Internet for pictures of a GT550, I came across this example. You can't deny its got a lot of luggage carrying ability!
Kawasaki GT550
As a tourer the GT had a lot going for it: sensible riding position, shaft drive (was thought important then), big (22 litre) fuel tank, and low exhaust that allowed panniers to be easily fitted.
My plan would have been to fit panniers and a screen/small fairing, and use it as a general runaround/commuter that I could also use for European trips.
When I was looking on the Internet for pictures of a GT550, I came across this example. You can't deny its got a lot of luggage carrying ability!
Sunday, 31 August 2014
Friday bike
Another 'bike I nearly bought', but this time it I didn't buy it due to the seller.
On my regular commute back in the 80s, I used to see a white Honda VT250F fitted with Krauser panniers, then one weekend saw it for sale in a local bike shop. I knew one of the guys in the shop and he told me that the customer had bought it from them new, had it regularly serviced, and had only used it for commuting into the city centre. My BMW was getting a bit 'tired' at this point and I was looking for something smaller and more modern, so the Honda potentially filled the bill.
Never a common bike in Britain, it had lots of typically 80s features - hydraulic clutch, anti dive forks, watercooling, 4 valve heads, plus some that weren't so cool like Comstar wheels and enclosed disc.
I'd been offered £515 by a friend of a friend for the BMW, and as the Honda was priced at £599, it looked like a deal was on the cards. I told the shop owner that I was interested, and he arranged to move the bike nearer the door so I could take it out for a test ride the following weekend (the shop was quite small and the Honda was near the back).
The following week arrived and I noticed that the panniers and frames were missing and the price tag now read £699. I questioned the shop owner about this and he said that the panniers weren't part of the deal and it had always been priced at £699. Meanwhile, I could see my friend that worked there shaking his head and mouthing 'no' over his shoulder! I told him to forget it, and walked out. The bike was probably worth £699 even without the panniers, but I wasn't going to be taken in by a blatent con like that.
Shame really as I always thought it a really pretty bike (in an 80s sort of way), and it probably would have been a fun bike to own.
On my regular commute back in the 80s, I used to see a white Honda VT250F fitted with Krauser panniers, then one weekend saw it for sale in a local bike shop. I knew one of the guys in the shop and he told me that the customer had bought it from them new, had it regularly serviced, and had only used it for commuting into the city centre. My BMW was getting a bit 'tired' at this point and I was looking for something smaller and more modern, so the Honda potentially filled the bill.
The following week arrived and I noticed that the panniers and frames were missing and the price tag now read £699. I questioned the shop owner about this and he said that the panniers weren't part of the deal and it had always been priced at £699. Meanwhile, I could see my friend that worked there shaking his head and mouthing 'no' over his shoulder! I told him to forget it, and walked out. The bike was probably worth £699 even without the panniers, but I wasn't going to be taken in by a blatent con like that.
Shame really as I always thought it a really pretty bike (in an 80s sort of way), and it probably would have been a fun bike to own.
Specifications
| Engine | Two-cylinder 90° V Twin, Four-stroke |
| Displacement | 248 cc |
| Bore & Stroke | 60 mm x 44 mm |
| Valvetrain | DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder |
| Compression ratio | 11:1 |
| Maximum power | 26.1 kW (35 hp) @ 11,000 rpm |
| Maximum torque | 21.5 N·m (15.9 lb·ft) @ 10,000 rpm |
| Starter | Electric |
| Cooling system | Water-cooled |
| Transmission | Six speed |
| Drivetrain | Chain |
| Seat Height | 780 mm (30.7 inch) |
| Fuel capacity | 12 litres |
| Brakes | Front: single inboard disc Rear: drum |
| Dry weight | 149 kg (328.5 lb) |
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