my front end clunks on bumps, help

hi everyone, my 2004 abs FJR front end makes a clunk noise over bumps.

i am almost positive its the rotors. they are loose on their mounts. they have a back /forward play of about 40-60 thousandths of an inch. they are tight where they mount to the wheel but the disc carrier to rotor itself is loose. you can move them with your hand and replicate the noise, but to a lesser degree.

if you slightly apply the brakes over bumps the noise is gone. again, i have already checked and verified the neck bearings and fork legs.

has any one had the rotors replaced under warranty. my yes runs out in july.

any help or comments welcome, thanks in advance.

tbwrench

tbwrench said:

hi everyone, my 2004 abs FJR front end makes a clunk noise over bumps.
i am almost positive its the rotors. they are loose on their mounts. they have a back /forward play of about 40-60 thousandths of an inch. they are tight where they mount to the wheel but the disc carrier to rotor itself is loose. you can move them with your hand and replicate the noise, but to a lesser degree.

if you slightly apply the brakes over bumps the noise is gone. again, i have already checked and verified the neck bearings and fork legs.

has any one had the rotors replaced under warranty. my yes runs out in july.

any help or comments welcome, thanks in advance.

tbwrench

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I too have a clunking noise over bumps on my '06. For me though, it seems to be comming from around the triple tree area. I haven't checked my rotors, but I will now. Everything else seems tight, but it makes me a bit uneasy to say the least.

tbwrench, I had the loose rotors replaced on my `07 last fall. One side was worse than the other...no problem with yammi canada while under warranty.

Re-Tork the Stem Nut to Spec. Undo the top pinch bolts on the forks and then tighten the Stem Nut to Spec.....I think 85 FT/LBS. Then re-tork the pinch bolts to Spec.

I had this problem and this fixed it.

Hope it works for you like it did for me.

If you need the tork specs, let me know by PM. I will look them up in the manual for you.

raclow said:

Re-Tork the Stem Nut to Spec. Undo the top pinch bolts on the forks and then tighten the Stem Nut to Spec.....I think 85 FT/LBS. Then re-tork the pinch bolts to Spec.
I had this problem and this fixed it.

Hope it works for you like it did for me.

If you need the tork specs, let me know by PM. I will look them up in the manual for you.

Click to expand...

What size is the stem nut?

36MM Socket will get it done. Tork to 85 FT/LBS.

Tork the Upper Bracket Pinch Bolts to 24 FT/LBS.

Good Luck

Yeah but the steering head bearing bits are under the tripple clamp I would check them too! That top nut doesn't torque the steering head bearings. You torque the bottom one to 30ish pounds and then back it off and re-torque it to 13 pounds them tighten down the top steering bearing but untill the slots line up and then replace the lock ring washer.

Then do your tripple clamp punch bolts and then finally the 36 mm nut.

Also I would go ahead and yet to get the rotors replaced under warrantee, I know some others here have had it done, as it is a safety issue!

Your description exact same as my 04 FJR. Yamaha replaced both rotors, no charge. It was judged to be a safety issue as the bolts can fracture if loose and you do hard braking. The head mechanic would not ride my bike until the rotors were replaced. No noise since the rotors were replaced.

Longrider

shuswaper said:

tbwrench, I had the loose rotors replaced on my `07 last fall. One side was worse than the other...no problem with yammi canada while under warranty.

Click to expand...

my YES runs out in july, my local dealer, appleton powersports said they called yamaha and its not a warranty item.

any where to turn now?

also, our local yamaha dealer has always sucked and they are 1st class little to no help. they didnt even know about the fj specific final drive oil and tried to sell me something for friction clutches???? no wonder i have had harleys for 25 years, at least i can get some help there...........

Call Yamaha yourself! I bet they authorize it.

i called yamaha today and spoke with someone and then they had a "specialist" call me back. she didn't know what a brake rotor even was. she said they dont cover any brake related items. even though i have the YES warranty. i explained that they weren't worn out just faulty. no luck. i can get 2 new rotors and all 12 bolts for about 200.00. i get a dealer discount from a nearby dealer. yamaha really doesn't seem to care much when you have a problem. they were nice but no help. i have a law firm in mind that specializes in motorcycle accidents maybe they would pursue it, but i think 200.00 is the easy way out.

the really crummy thing here is these new rotors will probably be junk also in 33k miles and i will have to spend another 200.00 again. anyone know of something better out there?

thanks, tbwrench

I put on my new rotors today. the bolts are made out of some weird material that easily strips when you try to loosen it with the 6mm allen, but is very hard to drill also. the first two original bolts i had to beat out with a cold chisel. the rest i heated the heck out of with my torch and they came out very easily with a 6mm T handle wrench. i am glad i ordered 12 new bolts with the new rotors.

after a test ride there is NO noise any more. i tried and tried looking for any kind of bump to get that clunk but it was silent.

my steering neck was just fine with no adjustment needed.

if you are trying to get your rotor bolts out go for the torch right away, you will be glad you did.

thanks to all for the help. :yahoo:

-tbwrench.

My 07 rattles over bumps and it is the front brake pads. The dealer told me it was the pads but I called BS on that, however, when the mechanic reached down and rattled them with his finger I had to agree that was the sound I was hearing. So, I took it on a test ride and rode it over a series of close center line marker dots; when it rattled I applied the front brakes and the noise immediately went away. Obviously they were right about the noise being the pads. I can't believe that Yamaha would build a brake system that rattled over bumps. Oh well at least now I know know it is just an annoying problem not a dangerous problem.

qualt said:

My 07 rattles over bumps and it is the front brake pads. The dealer told me it was the pads but I called BS on that, however, when the mechanic reached down and rattled them with his finger I had to agree that was the sound I was hearing. So, I took it on a test ride and rode it over a series of close center line marker dots; when it rattled I applied the front brakes and the noise immediately went away. Obviously they were right about the noise being the pads. I can't believe that Yamaha would build a brake system that rattled over bumps. Oh well at least now I know know it is just an annoying problem not a dangerous problem.

Click to expand...

I thought I had steering head bearing issues because I was getting the "clunk" on my new (300 mile 08'). Did the steering check per the manual - all OK. Then I checked triple clamp pinch bolts which were about half spec torque on top, and steering stem nut below spec as well. I then checked the axle pinch bolts which were also below spec, as well as the forks not being properly aligned with the axle - this all seemed to help some, but was still present and then I read here about the linked brakes and sure enough it clunked with just front brake 3 pads, but silent with rear and all 4 pads working.

Needless to say I'm going over every bolt/nut on the bike to check torques. Another reason to do it yourself if you want it done right.

Great tips! Thanks!

I finally ordered and received a 36mm socket so I did the head nut retorque last weekend (did not touch the bearings). Now my front end clunk is gone. B)

DailyCommuter said:

Yeah but the steering head bearing bits are under the tripple clamp I would check them too! That top nut doesn't torque the steering head bearings. You torque the bottom one to 30ish pounds and then back it off and re-torque it to 13 pounds them tighten down the top steering bearing but untill the slots line up and then replace the lock ring washer.
Then do your tripple clamp punch bolts and then finally the 36 mm nut.

Also I would go ahead and yet to get the rotors replaced under warrantee, I know some others here have had it done, as it is a safety issue!

Click to expand...

I had the same issue with my 06, It started after I installed my center mount for the ZUMO, I didnt even think to check torque on the stem nut, I just figured it was there to cover the top nut of the steering head bearing, DUH, I was new to wrenching. Eventually I clued in, Torqueing that Center nut on the triple clamp to 85lbs got rid of the clunk.

Rondo777 said:

I had the same issue with my 06, It started after I installed my center mount for the ZUMO, I didnt even think to check torque on the stem nut, I just figured it was there to cover the top nut of the steering head bearing, DUH, I was new to wrenching. Eventually I clued in, Torqueing that Center nut on the triple clamp to 85lbs got rid of the clunk.

Click to expand...

Hmmmmm Actually, the Famous Clunk (aka The Classic Clunk) is caused by too loose a torque on the neck bearing adjustment, which is unaffected by the torque on that top 36mm nut, which just fastens the center of the top tree to the lower tree shaft. To properly quiet the Clunk, the top clamp (tree) needs to be removed, and the bearing preload adjust nut under the clamp needs tightening. That top clamp is also retained by each fork tube, a bow in the clamp could be the result of improper technique in fastening it down. Cracks could develop if too much force was applied to the center while the sides were left unattended to. I suspect this has happened to a couple people unaware of the relationship between the three mounting points for that top clamp.

radman said:

Rondo777 said:

I had the same issue with my 06, It started after I installed my center mount for the ZUMO, I didnt even think to check torque on the stem nut, I just figured it was there to cover the top nut of the steering head bearing, DUH, I was new to wrenching. Eventually I clued in, Torqueing that Center nut on the triple clamp to 85lbs got rid of the clunk.

Click to expand...

Hmmmmm Actually, the Famous Clunk (aka The Classic Clunk) is caused by too loose a torque on the neck bearing adjustment, which is unaffected by the torque on that top 36mm nut, which just fastens the center of the top tree to the lower tree shaft. To properly quiet the Clunk, the top clamp (tree) needs to be removed, and the bearing preload adjust nut under the clamp needs tightening. That top clamp is also retained by each fork tube, a bow in the clamp could be the result of improper technique in fastening it down. Cracks could develop if too much force was applied to the center while the sides were left unattended to. I suspect this has happened to a couple people unaware of the relationship between the three mounting points for that top clamp.

Click to expand...

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Not to dispute the veracity of your expertise, but my brand new '08 had the dreaded clunk, and it was simply the 36mm nut not being torqued down. Got my wrench and put it to it, and VOILA, clunk gone.

I was all set to do the complete bearing tightening procedure but didn't have the spanner so I just tried the stem nut and whaddya know... it worked.

Of course it's highly advised to loosen the fork clamps before re-torquing the stem and then re-tightening them afterward.