Aprilia ETV1000 Caponord (2001-2004)

No bike is perfect, so is Caponord. If you own one long enough (or me since 2002) you start to get to know the beast. All electrical complaints (charging, starter motor & selenoid, dashes, etc.) sources down to the underrated regulator/rectifier (RR) aprilia choose for this bike. The alternator produces 470 watts, but the RR is only good for half of this. So change the bloody thing with a better unit before any problems arise, you'll have no further electrical problems. Then you can add heated grips, fog lights etc. without worries, there is plenty of juice for all of them. If the front forks are too soft for your taste, just put 5cm spacers on top of the springs for more compression. No need to buy costly aftermarket springs. If your rear brake boils too easily it means you don't know how to use the front ones.

The Capo is great to ride, comfortable, good flexible engine. It is let down on a few fronts however; the quality of components is depressingly bad, the front springs are woefully weak and the brakes are just not good enough. I had my Capo for a couple of years, in that time the starter motor failed (replaced), the starter solenoid failed (replaced), two of the four coils failed (replaced), the clutch slave seals failed (replaced) and the clocks failed (replaced), the petrol tank connector snapped (replaced), spokes have broken and the output from the alternator is barely enough to charge the battery. It certainly won't maintain heated grips as well. There are numerous websites that detail the Capo's shortcomings and the Aprilia rep in the UK acknowledged that there are serious quality issues, but will they do anything about it? As soon as your bike is 1 year and a day old, forget any chance of help. The engine is great though, but then I believe it's a Rotax, and they're Austrian. Also delivery time for parts is measured in weeks... My local dealer (Rocket, Blackburn) will not reset the service indicator as this can blow the clocks (£500). These bikes are cheap, second hand, and rightly so as they are built down to a price. Buy one with your credit card ready to pay for repairs. And have a spare bike too. I've spoken with a couple of Capo owners and they've both had problems so it ain't just me.

I had my Capo for about a year - which as you know is an age for most of us! It is fast, silky smooth & kind of the motorcycle equivalent of a Mercedes Sprinter van... I fitted mine with a massive suzuki Burgman screen which was fab for fast riding - the stock screen gave me the worst wind blast I've vere had to put up with (I'm 6'2). It's also very top heavy - I challenge anyone to do a stress-free U-turn on a side road with a full tank...I managed to drop it with the wife on the back just before we pulled out of a side road with a weird camber on it - it really doesn't take much to tip it on its side. The engine is very smooth, sounds good but I found it to be a bit unreliable and it needs decent dealer servicing. Check you have a fulkl service history (from Aprilia) and check all the relevant engine checks have been done or you'll be facing a big bill. I would like to receommend it - you certainly enjoy it - but you really need to save up & get a GS or a KTM. The Capo will be a false economy.... Good for pillions though - it's my wife's definate favourite - she fell asleep quite a few times...

Purchased in 2005, covered 10700 miles and toured europe 3 times on it.First job on the bike was a taller screen followed by: center stand, touring scotty, givi luggage, radio/mp3 bike2bike, gps (ive no sence of direction) braided hoses. The rear brake boils too easily due to the location of the reservior. The oe tyres are not good so get Battlewings fitted with ultraseal....bloody hell these are great. The front forks are very soft so had the springs/oil changed at 6000 miles. Adjusted the rear preload to suit and now she flys thru the corners. Very comfortable, exellent headlights and i get 140 miles before the reserve light comes on-passing traffic on a fast A road (steady 85)is great fun on my commute due to the torque of the motor at 4300revs. Replaced battery once and i'm on my second set of battlewings. Parts from an Aprilia agent has been bloody usleless- this is exasabated by the customer service. Instead i use a small bike shop who gets oe spares within days. Bike tells you when a service is due. I'm so happy with it i bought my own number plate.

Bought as a replacement to a Fazer and I love it. It looks better than any other bike in the big touring trailie class. It handles well enough and can be improved very easily if you want to. Engine is a stonker. Loads of low down pull. Build quality on the later ones is very good. Excellent forum as well at AF1. Capo is highly recommended.

I've used this bike for 2 tours abroad and its been fantastic. It will keep up with most bikes on normal roads only losing out on top end speeds and yet comfy enough for day long trips. Seems to handle just as well whether 1 up or 2 up with luggage. Good spec as standard, 12 volt socket and easy to adjust suspension etc. Mine has never let me down in nearly 3 years of ownership .

Great bike for our crap roads!!!Handles well and the unstressed Mille lump has plenty of pull. Great bike in traffic making it a useful and interesting commuter..well equipped with Brembo's and Trailwings..Totally under rated..get one and Enjoy!

Comfortable, fast, good handling, quality build, reliable and such great value. Will cruise at very high speeds sitting comfortably; great on our potholed roads and quick cross country on roads that tie my Fireblade in knots. Ride it like a sports bike and the soft forks will annoy but ride smooth and it is a joy. Good tank range and handles two up riding well. There are great newsgroups and only a few known minor faults that are generally cheap to fix. Having said that mine has been 100% reliable (tempting fate here) Has some great detail touches with power socket and solo seat option converting to a bigger load area etc. If only Aprilia UK and the factory gave it the support it deserves it would sell by the shed load.

A good all-round bike that can be raised to "very good" status, in my opinion, by the addition of the a few simple modifications, i.e. stiffer fork springs(~£60) for the earlier models, a taller Givi screen(for taller riders) & better front brake pads-EBC-HH, etc. It's a little top-heavy and care is needed when manoeuvring at slow speeds, especially with a passenger and a full tank, but apart from that it’s a great all-round bike that handles twisting roads and long distances with ease(better than a VFR-800 one road tester stated). Reliability has been great also, with only a front brake micro-switch failing in 5 years. There are some real bargains to be had in the UK and they can now be purchased NEW for less that what I paid for mine 5 years ago. But would I sell mine? No way!