Capo.

[utopia]

With great sadness I have to report that I have received news that Capo has passed away.
He finally succumbed to deteriorating health and died peacefully at home on thursday morning.
I know that there are many in the club who will miss him.
At this point I have no details of any arrangements but will publish these in due course.

I first met Stewart at the last UKMOC trackday at Mallory Park in 2011.
He had run out of cigarettes and I spent the afternoon making roll-ups for him.
We became friends very easily and remained so for the following decade.

I'll not pull any punches here .. Stewart could be a cantankerous old bugger at times and he certainly didn't suffer fools gladly but those who knew him will know that he had an inner warmth and generosity of spirit which was both infectious and endearing.
His technical knowledge was extensive and he would willingly share this with anyone who shared his enthusiasm for motorcycles in general and Ducati in particular.
At times the sincerity of his friendship could be quite staggering.
So long, mate.
Thank you for being my friend.
I will miss you greatly.

[Doggy]

R. I. P. I met him a couple of times in passing but didn't really know him. A sad loss to the Ducati community.

[Kato]

Miserable cantankerous old git, even more grumpy than me .... I will miss him dearly
RIP my friend

[Mr Gazza]

Well done Jeff I know that wasn't an easy post for you to make.

Capo made an awful cup of coffee. He always kept a tin of condensed milk in, as he used to use it when he was based in the Desert.
He would always be able to surprise and impress me with a new story, not least being steam catapulted in an aircraft, from an aircraft carrier.
Most of all I loved to steer him towards his stories of Barry Sheene, whom he grew up with. Being terrified driving with him in snow as Barry executed many handbrake turns across the Fens, with all those dykes!

Capo's S4R is awesome and an inspiration to me. Hard to follow across the Fens sometimes too!

He has always supported and encouraged the Norfolk area meets, often coming many miles in foul weather to attend. He has also donated a large red gazebo for club use out of his own pocket, which we have successfully campaigned at shows recently.

He was sent home from hospital earlier this year with instructions to get his affairs in order. Grumpy and I made a cheeky early lockdown visit to see him and helped him do some heavy lifting on a project he was still working on undeterred, and with a conviction to "beat this thing".

Fully agree with Jeff's appraisal of being cantankerous, but his generosity was always overwhelming.

I'm missing him already... Always the Boss of all the Bosses.

[Albie]

That's a sad piece of news. He always had a good word to say to me. Nice guy sad to hear.

[Grumpy]

Jeff was kind enough to call me with the news before posting on the forum. Thank you.

I was lucky to call Stuart a friend for over ten years. A friendship which started over a weekender which was held at Arrow Mill.
Capos bike would not fire up after spending a day at the Prescott Hill Climb. I kept him company whilst another member headed to the Mill, picked up his van and came to collect the bike. Over a cup of coffee we became friends.
Capo could ride like he stole it! We spent many hours out on the bikes going to and from various events just enjoying the journey.
His attention to detail was staggering, those of you who met him and the rather special S4r he modified would agree it is a work of art.
Yes, as mentioned, Capo could be cantankerous, but once you became a friend, he was one of the most generous and interesting people you could meet.
Two conversations come to mind which make me smile, over a cuppa on one occasion, Capo started talking about the team he funded which raced TZ250/350's at the TT in the '70's, but my favourite is of the time he and a group of friends tried water sking whilst being towed by a helicopter!!

Rest in peace , I feel honoured to have called you a friend.

Just picked up this thread,very sad, had a good old chat with him at east Kirby last year, sadly never did get to go on one of his world Ducati week trips, he will be missed.

R.I.P. Stewart

[dacs]

Sad news indeed, Norfolk meetings were enlivened by his visits. Thanks Jeff for posting.
RIP

[chris yeatman]

R.I.P Capo keep riding up there bro.

[slob]

RIP Stewart

[yellowfever]

Sad news, RIP capo.

[crust]

That's lowered the IQ of the forum a few points

A very knowlegible bloke with an incredible eye for details, his bike is both a work of engineering art and obsession. On the few occasions we met he was allways welcoming and ready for a chin wag.

RIP Capo

[Stuart42]

I had so many great times with Stewart. Despite his somewhat terrifying demeanour, to some, he was one of the soundest guys I've had the honour to call a friend.
No matter whether it was a problem with a bike, or life, Stewart was there to help me through it.

I can't remember all the great stories he told, but told him he should've written a book about his life.

Even in the years I've known him he was still adding to these stories.

Those that were there, will remember the look on his face at Milan airport, where the security guard threatened to throw his new sprocket in the rubbish bin before we boarded a flight.

The picture that was posted with him and Alex was the last trip I went on with him to Italy. It turned out that just the two of us went in the end, and I had a ball. We had three sat navs on the go, which he just told me to follow, and each one was telling me something different.

The brand new van we hired came complete with a no smoking sticker, but that had been ignored by the time he'd picked me up at Folkestone, probably before he'd left the yard.

In Switzerland we stopped at a motorway services, where Stewart refused to pay a Euro for a wee, so went in a cup he took from the cafe. It was only as we were setting off he remembered he'd forgot to pay for the diesel, again with me driving.

The greatest honour was when we were with Alex and he let me ride his Monster. I will never forget that just as I was letting the clutch out he told me to watch the front brakes as they were quite sharp. This as I set off with four mad Italians for a ride on local roads.

Fun times indeed.

Stewart, you will be sadly missed, but I'm so pleased that I knew you.

Ciao Capo, Keep 'er lit

Sad news.... RIP

[uksurfer]

Sorry to hear this news today

RIP Capo