Subject: Re: WHAT'S THAT CLUNKING SOUND???
Author: Alan Dunphy
Date: Aug 20, 2002, 7:45 PM
Post ID: 1710847178
Bob,
I have heard clunking on two Eldos. A '72 that we never figured out
but thinking back it may have been in the forks. That one had a Wixom
fairing with a radio and speakers mounted in it. A lot of extra weight on
the front. Thinking back it may have been in the forks, I don't recall any
cracks in the fender when we had it off. The second was my current Eldo, a
'74 with a disc and a Wixom fairing. It turned out to be a slightly loose
bracket on the fairing that chattered when a bump was hit. The chatter was
amplified by the fairing and really sounded bad.
I have had three Eldos and Ambos and worked on several others and
have never seen a cracked fender except for the bracket on one I saw in a
picture and that was a '74 with a disc. If there are cracks in the fender
the would most likely be in the brackets that hooks to the fork with two
bolts on each side. If so the bracket would fall off when the fender was
removed. If the fender is properly installed then there is very little
stress if any on the sheet metal. However the fender can be installed wrong.
A shop in Virginia put mine on crooked once, two bolts properly on one side
and only one bolt engaged on the other side. Found out as soon as I got home
and saw the paint scraped off one side of the fender from hitting the fork
covers. I corrected the problem before any cracks had a chance.
If the fender is OK and all the bolts are correctly installed and
properly tightened then I doubt that the fender is the problem. If you have
a fairing or windshield make sure that all the mounts and brackets are
tight. Also check for tight triple clamp bolts and any thing that is mounted
to the front of the bike is tight. The fender is rather heavy and removing
it could lighten the unsprung weight in the front enough to cause the noise
to disappear with out actually causing the noise. I don't recall the year of
your bike but the earlier Eldos and Ambos relied on the weight of the oil in
the fork to provide what little damping is available. If you fork oil is to
light it could aggravate the problem. If all else fails I guess you are down
to pulling the forks and checking them. A broken or weak spring can make
noise as well.
The Key is to check the easiest to repair things first and then move
on to the harder things. That way you don't have the forks rebuilt only to
find a loose bolt while reinstalling the forks.
Alan
'74 Eldorado LAPD (w/ the burnt clutch)
MGNOC 4352
Alan R. Dunphy
adun-@midmaine.com
Pittsfield, ME 04967-1426
P.S. How much do you have to get for your fairing and are the mounts with
it?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert Hawkes" <3haw-@bluefrognet.net>
To: <Loopfram-@topica.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 20, 2002 9:49 PM
Subject: Re: WHAT'S THAT CLUNKING SOUND???
| Alan, When I take my fender off the front the noise stops. One guy here |
| it may be a crack in the sheet metal. I never would have thought of that. bob ----- Original Message ----- From: Allan Bagley <bagpe-@earthlink.net> To: <Loopfram-@topica.com> Sent: Tuesday, August 20, 2002 1:40 AM Subject: RE: WHAT'S THAT CLUNKING SOUND???
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