Forum - View topic - A DAMPER FOR BELLA

Forum - View topic - A DAMPER FOR BELLA
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A DAMPER FOR BELLA
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3 posts • Page 1 of 1
A DAMPER FOR BELLA
by delburnman » Fri Nov 13, 2009 4:34 am
My Bellagios handling is mostly bellisimo. But sometimes,In a few road situations, I've felt slightly nervous, on edge, as though
dealing with a highly strung Italian woman. Gravel and sand in particular has the front wheel feeling twitchy. Potholes on a gravel
road more so. Repairs in the bitumin surface likewise, especially in a corner. Crosswind can be stressful. Water on a shiny surface
recently had me aquaplaning, tank slapping and sliding with expensive results. The last episode has me riding a little slower but
still wondering if a horizontal incident could happen again. Moto Guzzi put steering dampers on bikes with fairings and
windshields, the engineers possibly thought a damper unnecessary on the naked cruiser style.....or the finance department had it
removed? I ride on all types of road, an aversion to gravel rash (and death) led to a desire for a damper.
There's a surprising amount of choice in dampers out there, I chose the Matris M102 simply because it is intended for the Cali
which has a very similar frame to the Bellagio. At $330 US plus $53 for UPS Freight it's cheaper than some but expensive enough
that one would hope that it works...it has: exceeding expectations.
Brad (the Bike Boy) provided an opportunity for a trial fit of the Cali damper mounting brackets, they came close but the resultant
angle of the damper didn't quite work on the Bellagio (possibly because Cali's have wider forks?). The Cali brackets also needed
to be backordered from the factory, which would have meant a fair wait after I received the damper so decision made to fabricate
my own brackets. It's satisfying when a project comes together.
First step was to have the 6mm thread in the lower fork yoke helicoiled (still M6) as a precaution against pulling out: a lot more
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Forum - View topic - A DAMPER FOR BELLA
http://forum.guzzitech.com/forum/topic.html?f=163&t=3584...
forces on the little screw from the damper compared to a brake line clamp!
The Cali front damper bracket is pressed steel, clearly shaped to resist the forces applied. I fabricated a simple right angled
bracket from Stainless Steel Angle (1" x 1" x 1"x 3mm) . Stainless is stronger than mild steel, corrosion resistant, can be worked
with the usual tools and polished up to add a bit of BLING! Bracket's held in place with a screw 1/4 inch longer than the original
clamp screw.
A little more polishing is needed but bracket works well. Note that holes are slightly offset, this was to avoid the end of the damper
fouling the head of the mounting screw and to slightly limit the stroke of the damper rod.
Front damper bracket prototype.
The "L shaped" rear damper bracket on the Cali is also pressed steel, shaped to locate over the tank mounting bracket (which is
"U" shaped channel), and mount via the tank mounting rubber screw. The Bellagio tank is already a tight fit on the rubbers so I
chose instead to drill two 6.5mm moles under the rubber bufffer and fit a 1" x 1" x 4mm keeper plate into the inside of the channel.
This gives good location, two holes are tapped M6 to take the mounting screws. To allow easy access to the screws I also ground
a flat on the bottom of the rubber buffer.
By adjusting the damper fixing bracket to maximum length I was able to fit the damper to a simple right angled bracket made from
3" x 2" x 1" x 4mm stainless steel flat bar. The damper mounting hole is 2 1/2" from the vertical section and is tapped M6, it is
offset toward the front to match the damper eye. The two mounting holes are 6.5mm. Bend was made by holding the bar in the
vice and using a length of pipe for leverage followed by a few whacks from a heavy hammer to neaten the fold. Prototype is shown
below. Bracket, tank bracket and keeper plate form a sandwich, held in place with two 1" M6 screws screwed into the keeper
plate. I may add a couple of nylock lock-nuts and loctite after the final polishing of the bracket.
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Forum - View topic - A DAMPER FOR BELLA
http://forum.guzzitech.com/forum/topic.html?f=163&t=3584...
Rear Damper Bracket and Keeper Plate
Once brackets fitted, damper mounted up nicely, clears all the bodywork, shaft clears the leads and hoses on top of head,
adjustment knob accessible on the move ...even with gloves!
Damper has exceeded expectations. Bella's steadier, riding more relaxed. handling on loose surfaces and cross winds far less
stressful. Still experimenting with the knob to find the optimal position .
Conclusion...I love it! The damper's made a great bike even greater. Pity Moto Guzzi chose not to include as standard or at least
as an option.
So there's every smiley face I can find!
I'm not sure yet if the bike is handling better or just feels like it's handling better! I do know I feel more comfortable, more relaxed
and more confident.
JobsDone.jpg
Job's done!
(62.83 KiB) Not downloaded yet
Attachments
Modified Tank Bracket
Last edited by delburnman on Fri Nov 13, 2009 1:35 pm, edited 2 times in total.
delburnman
Tuned & synch'ed.
Posts: 66
Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2009 9:17 pm
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Re: A DAMPER FOR BELLA
by GT-Rx » Fri Nov 13, 2009 8:20 am
Nice job on the install! I've fixed your article above. Send me the pics full res to my e-mail address; Todd at GuzziTech.com
If anyone is interested, I offer the HyperPro units (shown below) for ~$350. Contact me direct for details.
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Forum - View topic - A DAMPER FOR BELLA
http://forum.guzzitech.com/forum/topic.html?f=163&t=3584...
Todd at
GuzziTech.com
SoCal GuzziTech Power Since 2001!
GT-Rx
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Posts: 2638
Joined: Wed Jul 01, 2009 4:29 pm
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Re: A DAMPER FOR BELLA
by Moz » Sat Nov 14, 2009 11:00 pm
well done Graeme & thanks for the excellent job description... now to my own conversion
'08 '940S'
'82 LM III
cogito ergo zoom
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Forum - View topic - A DAMPER FOR BELLA
http://forum.guzzitech.com/forum/topic.html?f=163&t=3584...
Moz
Tuned & synch'ed.
Posts: 105
Joined: Tue Oct 28, 2008 10:00 pm
Location: Land of Oz
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