It may seem like a dream come true, but sometimes having too many bikes to ride creates headaches. With all the new bike launches we’ve been attending, our Aprilia Caponord 1200 Rally has not been receiving the Long Termer love it deserves, and I have missed riding it. Midway through the East Coast low I’d had enough of shit weather and was itching for a ride on the Rally, so I slipped into my rain gear and hit the road for a first-hand look at the huge swell.

I ‘d ridden the Caponord 1200 Touring in the pouring rain previously and found that bike to be a confidence-inspiring machine in the wet. I wondered if the 19-inch spoked front wheel and deep treaded dual-purpose Pirelli tyres would provide the same connected feeling. The answer was a resounding yes. Despite copious amounts of standing water on the road, the thought of slipping the three-level adjustable riding modes into Rain setting didn’t enter my mind. I left the bike in the middle Touring mode, comfortable and confident in the knowledge there was still ample traction control on guard. In the dry I ride with the Aprilia Dynamic Damping (ADD) in Automatic mode, allowing the electronically assisted suspension to adjust itself on the run, but with the roads wet I wanted to make sure the damping was locked to one of the five levels, so I switched it to single rider mode.  From there it was simply a case of enjoying the ride.

The Caponord Rally 1200 may look and sound like a beast – and it can be if that’s what you want – but it can also be a pussycat in tough conditions.