Caponord Modifications and Maintenance

During a long winter of finishing up a room addition on my house, I have been collecting parts for my bike with plans to install them in the spring when my unheated garage was warm enough.  I found myself with a free weekend that turned out to be comfortable and rainy - a perfect weekend to work on the bike.

I started out by stripping the body panels and the fuel tank from the bike.



My first task is to install an auxiliary fuse panel from Blue Sea Systems. I've installed the same fuse panel on my 2001 VFR800.  There is a perfect spot for it in the tail and under the seat.



The fuse panel will be live only when the ignition is switched on, so I wired it up using a waterproof relay from Aerostich Rider Warehouse.  I ran a fused wire from the positive battery post to the relay, and a trigger wire that is tapped into the wire for license plate light.



With a good power source now installed, I move on to a set of Symtec grip heaters.  I've installed these on my previous two bikes as well as my friends KLR650.  These simple heating elements work great and are cheap.  They are also wonderful to have when the weather turns cool.  I wonder how I ever rode in the cold without them....



To start the installation, I sprayed WD40 under my grips and worked them loose.  The throttle tube on my Aprilia is ribbed, so I trimmed off the ribs to provide a smooth surface for the heating element to stick to.  The clutch side is a piece of cake as it is the smooth metal of the handlebar.



The heating elements simply peel and stick, and the grips slip on over them.  My method of choice is to use hairspray to lube the inside of the grips so that they slide on easily.  Once dry, the hairspray stays tacky enough that I've never had issues with my grips moving.

Here you can see the wire from the grip heater exiting under the grip.  I ran the wire along the original wires and up behind the dashboard.  The grips are BMW Sport Grips - my personal favorite.  The BMW part numbers are 32721458396 and 32721458395.



Using a spade bit in my drill, I bored a hole in my dash and snapped the switch in for a test fit.



Wiring comes next.  I ran a positive and negative wire from my new fuse panel along the left side of the frame and up behind the dash.  The grip heaters come with a detailed schematic showing that the blue wires are for the low heat side of the switch, the white wires are for the high heat side of the switch, and the red wires go to ground.  My power lead from my fuse panel went to the middle terminal of the switch and the negative wire from the fuse panel was soldered to the ground wires from the grips.



With the grip heaters wired in and installed, I began installing the Powerlet dash socket that will power my GPS unit.  Installation was very straightforward. I drilled a hole in my dash to mount the socket and then I mounted the socket in the hole.



Wiring was as simple as running wires from the new fuse panel and up to the dash, and using the supplied terminals and connector to make the connection.  Later, I will measure and order a Powerlet cable to connect my GPS device.


Mynext task was to wire in a set of LED lights from BikeViz.  I read a review of these LEDs and while they are not intended to illuminate the road, they are bright enough that they should get noticed by drivers out in traffic.  They consume a a tiny amount of power, which is a good thing when it comes to a Caponord.  Installation was simple; I zip tied them to a crossbar between my crash bars, and ran the power up to the same feed as my Powerlet socket. 



I'll live with them for a while and decide if I like them or not....



With my electrical work finished, I spend some time tidying up the new wiring and zip tying it all together.



It was now time to start putting the bike back together.  First, a new air filter replaced the old one.



I replaced the engine coolant with Pro Honda premixed coolant, and I replaced the engine oil with NAPA 15W50 full synthetic that I bought on sale for less than $3 a quart.  New Bel Ray DOT 4 brake fluid went into my front brake system, which is a job made much easier by using my Mighty Vac to suck the old fluid out.

One issue that I have always had with the Caponord is wind buffeting from the windshield.  Previously I custom fit a tall windshield from a Suzuki Burgman, which works great in cooler weather or when on long trips.  I decided to take the plunge and cut down the OEM Aprilia windshield, which will put my helmet in clean air rather than in turbulent, noisy air.

I decided to start by cutting 3" off from the top of the shield.  I measured at various points along the shield and used masking tape to lay out the shape.   Cutting was done using a band saw with a wood cutting blade, and it cut like butter.  I used a belt sander to fine tune the shape and put a nice square edge on the screen, and then I sanded my hand to finish the edge.





I'm very happy with the shape of the modified windshield, and expect much quieter riding from it as the weather warms up....