Launch: 2015 Aprilia Caponord 1200 Rally

It's a big year for Aprilia, with the latest iterations of the company's sports and nakedbike tackle about to go on sale in Australia (HERE), and the extension of its adventure bike range is now giving prospective customers more choice than ever.

The Caponord remains the company's adventure bike staple, but for 2015 the 1200 Touring has been joined by two siblings: the street-focused 1200 Strada and the harder-edged 1200 Rally.
The Strada, which comes sans panniers, is the entry-level Caponord and retails for $20,000 rideaway. The Rally, meanwhile, gets a larger 19-inch front wheel, spoked rims, aluminium panniers, hand guards, engine protection guards, LED driving lights and an oversize screen for $24,000 rideaway. That leaves the Caponord 1200 Touring as the mid-range entry, with colour-matched panniers for $23,000 rideaway. And as a sweetener for buying the Caponord Touring, for a limited time Aprilia is throwing in a colour-matched top box and free heated handgrips — the latter a surprising omission in standard trim. Heated grips are also an accessory on the Rally.

2015 CAPONORD 1200 RANGE

Each version of the Caponord is powered by the same free-revving, 1197cc, 90-degree V-twin that pumps out 125hp (92kW) and 115Nm, while the Strada has conventional suspension rather than the Aprilia Dynamic Damping (ADD) semi-active setup found on the Touring and Rally, which adjusts the damping in real time depending on the riding style, condition of the road and the load.

Aprilia Australia — part of the Sydney-based John Sample Automotive group which also has Moto Guzzi on its books — recently invited journalists to sample all three Caponords with a return trip from Sydney to Mudgee, which included a dirt component on the first leg. Aprilia also had a specced-up Rally to sample, which included a number of accessories including a 52-litre aluminium top box, off-road footpegs, a sidestand, base plate and gel seat.

CAPONORD ACCESSORIES

We'll mainly focus on the Rally in this yarn, as it's cut from a different cloth to the Strada and Touring, and it's the model attempting to curry favour with Aussie riders as it takes on the likes of the BMW R 1200 GS, Yamaha Super Tenere and Triumph Explorer in the harder-edged adventure bike stakes.

The first Caponord I rode out of Sydney wasn't a Rally but instead the Touring. However, I wasn't fussed: reuniting with the wonderfully gruff and grunty V-twin was a great feeling, and it was wonderful to know that I wouldn't be losing that sensation for the while two days, irrespective of what Caponord I was on. The engine is really is one of the best in the business, with strong acceleration and good urge throughout the rev range before it signs off at 9000rpm. It sounds superb too; the angular muffler belting out a great note — it’s certainly beautiful for a stock system. The gearbox is also a jewel.

The ride-by-wire throttle on the Caponords allows three engine maps to be changed on the fly: Touring, Sport and Rain. Touring and Sport produce the full power experience (125hp), but Touring has a softer throttle response rather than the more hair trigger bite of Sport mode. That's why Touring is a much better option in start-stop traffic, or even Rain with its 100hp ceiling.

As the dense traffic gave way to the highway, the Touring was also happy to lope along at a leisurely 3600rpm at 100km/h in top gear, with just a small amount of vibration sneaking into the handlebar. At the first break, I also jotted into my notebook that the screen could be bigger — granted, it is a little wider on the Rally — and its manual adjustment is a little fiddly.

I also noted how impressive the engine is, although the gearing is quite tall. You can drop to about 2000rpm before the engine starts showing any signs of strain, but if you're after a real counter-punch from that region it's best to drop a cog to fifth gear to fast-track your way to some serious torque.

The engine really takes off from about 6000rpm, and that's where you'll be playing around on twisty roads. The Touring and Strada, with their 17-inch front wheels and trellis steel frames, can particularly hunker down for some serious fun. The Touring and Strada have Dunlop Sportmax Qualifier rubber, with the rear a 180/55-17 and the front a 120/70-17. The Rally, on the other hand, has Metzeler Tourance hoops with a 120/70-19 front and 170/60-17 rear.

I also tinkered with the cruise control while we were tracking at a relaxed pace, and it's not as sophisticated as some other systems. It doesn't have the ability to accelerate or decelerate, while there's no throttle sensor to disengage it — only braking (or turning the whole system off) performs that function.

The Caponords also have three levels of traction control, which can also be changed on the fly and also switched off if the mood suits. The least intrusive setting is one, which I used for the whole journey except for a stint on the dirt when I was aboard the Rally. There's no 'off-road' traction control setting per se, but setting one does allow some level of freedom.

Another source of early intrigue was the ADD, developed in-house by Aprilia. The system uses a patented “comfort-oriented" algorithm. At the rear a built-in piggyback shock absorber is used, electrically adjustable in spring preload to four predefined positions (solo, solo with luggage, two-up, two-up with luggage), indicated by specific icons on the digital instrument panel. There's also an automatic preload control mode. Once the preload setting is selected (or left in auto), the system then adjusts rebound and compression to the prevailing road conditions.

Initially, I set ADD to auto, and then started to play more with the tailored settings on the Touring and Rally (the Strada doesn't have it, remember) as the conditions changed and we moved onto twisty roads and then dirt.  It's a clever system, and adds another layer of practicality to the Touring and Rally — and performance as well, as I felt far more assured and sharper with the ADD bikes than the Strada with the standard Sachs shock.

Comfort-wise, the three Caponords have a relaxed, upright riding position, with the broad handlebars conveying a sense of control. On the go they feel lighter than its specs suggest, being both nimble and easy to handle at low speeds.

At 840mm the seat is actually fairly low for an adventure bike, while it narrows towards the tank which makes it even easier to get a foot down. There's a lower seat is available as an accessory, if required.

The afternoon of day one saw some dirt roads beckon; a mix of open and tight. I was on the Rally for the first section, and disengaged both the anti-lock braking and traction control. As it turned out, both could have remained on as it was quite a hard-packed surface and loss of traction not a major issue. I also set the ADD to one helmet.

The Rally is a hoot in the dirt! For the most part I was in the third gear, at about 4000rpm, which provided the best drive while also keeping the whole bike feeling rock solid. The tubeless 19-inch front tyre obviously helps in an off-road environment, it turns well, and even when I was too hot into a few corners I was able to bring the Rally back into line.

It's a comfortable bike to stand up on as well, knees firmly wedged into the tank. Some bars risers would be a handy addition if dirt roads become a staple on the Rally, just to add a little more leverage through the arms and torso. And off-road footpegs would help, especially if tracking along muddy roads.

The stones guards across the rear wheels are a great feature in the dirt, especially if you're enjoying play time with another rider. I wish I'd had them on past adventure bike launches, where a number of radiators would have been spared…

The Brembo brakes are very powerful, and modulated nicely for off-road riding. There's not a massive initial hit before coming on strong. The rear brake, which has quite a 'wooden' feeling on the road, is also a generous tool in the dirt, more as a stabilising agent to keep the Rally on a composed footing.

I also tried the Strada in the dirt — but with some trepidation, as it meant a return to road tyres and a 17-inch front wheel. The anxiety was unfounded, as it felt safe and assured. The dry and smooth-ish conditions were conducive, of course, but potential customers shouldn't have any concerns in taking the Strada off-road for the odd blast. Don't be too hard on the cast aluminium-alloy wheels though, as it doesn't take too many hard hits to cause them harm.

As far as accommodation is concerned, the aluminium panniers on the Rally are not only strong and sturdy, but they have a convenient flip-top lid to grab smaller items rather than having to open up the whole case — and risk stuff falling out in the process.

Day two of the launch saw some twisty roads followed by highway haulage back into Sydney — a great time to crystallise some earlier thoughts about all three models. The Touring was an excellent choice for the twisties, and the more I played with the ADD suspension the better it felt.

I then rode the specced-up Rally into Sydney, and the gel seat was welcome. There's not an instant feeling of the gel seat being more sumptuous than the traditional foam units, but over the long haul it does make a difference in reducing fatigue.

Aprilia has also fitted its multimedia platform to the specced-up Rally, set up via an iPhone. The phone not only remains charged, but the system displays a suite of extra data not available via the LCD screen on the bike, such as lean angles, and there's also a navigation function. For more information on the multimedia platform, click HERE.

There's a deep sense of satisfaction by riding the new range-topping Caponord Rally. It maintains the 'thoroughbred' attributes of the Strada and Touring, and then adds the extra appeal to take on Australia’s never-ending network of sealed roads, bumpy roads and dirt roads. In the large capacity adventure stakes, it sits somewhere in between a Ducati Multistrada and R 1200 GS — not too hard but not too soft.

Performance, comfort and practicality — the Rally obliges in every way.

PERFORMANCE
Claimed maximum power: 125hp (91.9 kW) at 8250rpm
Claimed maximum torque: 115Nm at 6800rpm

TRANSMISSION
Type: Six speed
Final drive: Chain
Clutch: Wet, hydraulic

CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR
Frame: Modular tubular steel frame fastened to aluminium side plates by high strength bolts. Removable steel rear subframe
Front suspension: 43mm Sachs upside-down fork, rebound and compression electronically managed with Aprilia Dynamic Damping
Rear suspension: Sachs monoshock, with spring preload, rebound and compression electronically managed with Aprilia Dynamic Damping
Front brakes: Dual 320mm stainless steel discs with Brembo monobloc four-piston radial calipers.
Rear brake: 240mm steel disc with single-piston Brembo caliper
Wheels: Spoked — front: 3.00 x 19, rear 4.50 x 17
Tyres: Metzeler Tourance — front 120/70-19, rear 180/55-17

OTHER STUFF
Price: $24,000 rideaway
Test bike supplied by: John Sample Automotive, aprilia.com.au

Warranty: 24 months, unlimited kilometres