pe n to like the Ca po nor d's bluff-fronted visage ), but in dyn amic te rms, it's
very hard to p ick holes in a pa cka ge
d is pl a ying such an overall s e ns e of
refi nement, and minute attention to
d eta il. Oh - I thought of something :
th e y should have pu t a compartment
in th e dash fo r freeway t ic ke ts a nd
loose cha nge . And - e r, um...
So, instead of requiring the portable
s te p la d d e r th at even a s ix-foo te r is
bette r off ca rrying in or der to cli m b
abo ard suc h ludicro us ly ta ll du alspo rte rs a s th e Cag iva Na vigato r or
G u zzi Quota , t h e Cap on ord show s
e ve ry s ig n of hav ing been des igned
b y so me o ne wh o actua lly rid es a
motor c ycle , and apprecia tes com bining a ratio na l sea t height with a d e q ua t e g ro u nd clearance. T h e d ry sump de si g n of Apr ilia ' s V-twi n
e ng ine he lps here , with the o il tank
m o u n t e d o n t he left si d e of th e
crankc a s es, same as o n other models
in t h e ra n ge - b u t t he result is a
superb riding positio n with what fee ls
lik e an even lower sea t hei g ht than
t h e C a p o n o rd ' s cla im ed 820 m m
s ta nce , which is al ready the lowe st in
the class.
C lim b ing aboard is eas y with th e
b ike le a n in g on it s k ic kst a n d - no
stock c enterstand be caus e it severely
comprom ises ground cl e a ra nc e on
The Caponord was available In Europe this year a nd
will be coming States-side In 2002.
(Right) No need to get out the wrenches to a djust the
Sachs sh ock's preload be cause there is an ea sily
accessible kn ob poking out of th e sid e cove r. Note
the ac ce ssory outlet j ust in front of the shock
adj uster - el e cbic -vest owners w ill be happy.
c
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