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

Author: Robert Hawkes

Date: Aug 21, 2002, 5:29 PM

Post ID: 1710854411

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,

'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

A shop in Virginia put mine on crooked once, two bolts properly on one

and only one bolt engaged on the other side. Found out as soon as I got

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

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

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

to disappear with out actually causing the noise. I don't recall the year

your bike but the earlier Eldos and Ambos relied on the weight of the oil

the fork to provide what little damping is available. If you fork oil is

light it could aggravate the problem. If all else fails I guess you are

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

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

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!!!!!)