Topica Loopframe_Guzzi Archive


Subject: RE: WHAT'S THAT CLUNKING SOUND???

Author: Keith Ruff

Date: Aug 21, 2002, 5:55 AM

Post ID: 1710849663


Alan wrote: "earlier Eldos and Ambos relied on the weight of the oil in
the fork to provide what little damping is available."

Does this mean that later Eldo's had some other type of damping system
in the forks? I thought all loop forks were the same? If not, that
explains why Cam's 74 Eldo seemed so much better up front than my 71
Ambo.

Keith Ruff
71 Police Ambassador - NJ

Alan Dunphy wrote:
 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
mentioned
 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???


 

<<<<Now I have a clunking sound.>>>

Once upon a time (about 12 years back) my then new to me 69 Ambo
developed
 a
 clunking sound in the front end. After much deliberation I pulled the
forks
 off and found that the left fork rattled when shaken. With GREAT
difficulty
 I pulled apart the fork to find that the "follower" had unscrewed from
the
 
 bottom of the damping rod and was bouncing around in the bottom of the
fork!
 I have been told this is very unusual. Hope your solution is easier.

Allan Bagley

69 Ambo (in many pieces)
75 850T (I pick it up today!!!!!)

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