It's a rather paradoxical situation but it would seem at first glance that the first photo of Ducati's Mass Damper, a sort of Arlesienne that we've been talking about for years without ever having seen it, is not due to one of the many photographers professionals who cover the Grands Prix, but to a simple enthusiast who was in the right place at the right time… or not!
What do we really see in the photos?
— Harjo Kiel (@Hgkiel46) October 24, 2022
In the first photo, which is due to Vaclav Duska Jr and was published on the site mcnews.com.au (find it here in large size), we can see the back of the gutted saddle of a Ducati from the Gresini Racing team at Sepang. We can therefore deduce that it is the Ducati GP 21 of which Fabio DiGiannantonio lost control during FP3.
In addition to electrical connections, an accelerometer (metallic blue) and undoubtedly the motor controlling the exhaust valve, we can especially see the two masses added under the backsplash.
– The top one, made up of two rectangular parts connected by double-sided adhesive, is legally mandatory to compensate for the additional weight of the TV module placed on certain motorcycles by Dorna Sports so as not to harm anyone…
– The bottom one, visibly machined from the mass and equipped with a chamfer in its upper part, inevitably brings to mind a simple weight, as has been used for a long time to empirically combat Chattering and/or increase traction in the event of weak adhesion. In general, we put between 500 grams and 2 kilos, which would tend to suggest that, in this case, it is not necessarily aluminum.
We will also notice the very corroded side of the plate which supports these two masses...
The second picture (visible in large size here) is more intriguing, if only because its author is not clearly identified, just as the place and date where it was taken are not.
Here again, it is a motorcycle from the Gresini Racing team, but it is not the same motorcycle, since, this time, the Dorna Sports TV module is present. There we find the electrical connections, the valve motor and the accelerometer… and the famous Mass Damper. Or at least what looks like a Mass Damper, with a mass stuck between two springs, but which also looks like a Malaguti shock absorber from the 70s: disappointment! Disappointment, because we could have expected something more sophisticated!
Its far end appears to be attached to a machined aluminum part that also features a Unibal ball joint, like on the suspension travel sensors. The machined aluminum part, of solid design, seems to be able to rotate around a vertical axis located to the right of the motorcycle and connected to the plate which supports the TV module.
To the left of the bike, the end closest to the Mass Damper seems fixed on a rather shapeless support and surrounded by a sort of carbon sock, a support which has been torn off, just like the Dorna Sports camera/antenna support is broken .
As becomes evident with the shape of the saddle, the Mass Damper therefore seems positioned horizontally and reduces the “duck tail flapping” of the mobile assembly, in order to be most efficient when the motorcycle is at its maximum angle. . Interesting !
This photo is therefore interesting and allows us to put forward hypotheses regarding the operation of the Ducati Mass Damper.
However, for lack of other documents, it is still a little early to confirm them or to state that the turntable / TV box assembly is directly connected to the machined part which allows the rotation, or even to exclude that it is not a simple schoolboy joke intended to intrigue journalists and/or the competition…
Clearly, 5 years after its supposed appearance, Luigi Dall'Igna's Mass Damper still retains many mysteries...
