Head Knocking

[Kevin Daly]

Spot (haha),

what is the possibility that it is your braking shstem and not your steering column. One of 2 possibilities come to mind. first is that the rings on the discs that hold the disc to the mounting plate are loose and are causing the clunk (I think this is normally considered acceptable) the other is the pads moving in the calipers. I have a similar problem and when I jack the fron end up I cannot reproduce the clunk that I only sometimes notice. Incidently and for what its worth mine started on my last tire change.

EDIT: I see now you are already well into the break discussion sorry for not reading the whole thread I am just too lazy.

 

[Slappy]

Sport I have the same issue and it scared the hell out of me at first. Go to the bike and grab your front rotor. Try moving it forward and backward with the front tire down. It will make a clicking noise. Your hands are muffling it. When you grab the front brake that is the noise you hear. You are not alone with this issue. According the these guys its perfectly safe and a normal characteristic of the bike, you know like the ticking noise or the throttle issue.

 

[chrisflock]

I had a very similar issue on my 07, I really thought the problem was the torque on that front bolt, an incorrect theory which was supported by the fact that the outer 'cap' nut was loose because the dealer that set my bike up didn't tighten it.

On the 2nd trip to the dealer, we (mechanic and I) very carefully inspected everything we could in the front of the bike, tried wiggling things, and everything seemed reasonable. He got on the bike, ran it up to like 30, hauled on the front brakes as hard as he could, and one of the caliper bolts popped out.

I'm not sure if the bolt actually sheared or simply back out (never found it or it's remains), there was no visible damage to the caliper or the mounting hole in the fork, but a new bolt with loc-tite and proper torque made the bike happy.

So, if I were you, I'd take out the bolts on the calipers, one at a time, check to make sure they look fine, re loc-tite as necessary, and torque to the proper amount.

 

[SPORT]

...According the these guys its perfectly safe and a normal characteristic of the bike, you know like the ticking noise or the throttle issue.

Ya! perfectly safe. lol

I did mention that it will also clunk when riding over bumps in the road. Moreover, it seemed more pronounced when the two side and top box are weighing the rear-end down (perhaps lightening the front?).

From all the responses It seems there is rotor trouble. I really don't think it is in the braking system as the sound is Sooooo pronounced in the upper tree clamp area; however, I've been known to be wrong a time or two. It's due for an inspection this month, I'll be sure to point it out and have the mech. take a look.

 

[user 254]

I have the same problem (26K on a 2005) and I haven't figured it our either. I can't imagine it has to do with the front brake since it does it over bumps without the brakes on like you said. I've put in the tapered bearings which didn't seem to help. My suspicions are with the fork internals, maybe the bushings are worn.

 

[r1byker]

Well, if it's any consolation, my '06 makes the same clunking sound on the rebound after I've gotten hard on the brakes. I've gone over the front end checking for sloppiness in the steering head, looseness in calipers and rotors, and haven't found anything. I'm throwing my hat in with those who say it's the rotors, it's normal, and not an issue. I kinda wonder if it's inherent to the ABS system, but that's just an idle thought.

 

[08FJR4ME]

I have the same exact problem. I also did just what Joc discribes in his post. Result was no movement in the forks when the front tire was off the ground.

If it's any consalation the bike was dropped off tonight to have the stearing bearings adjusted. Was checked out by the machanic a couple of weeks ago and he said they were a little loose. The handlebars would move side to side pretty easily. No Resistance. While checking out the front forks i also noticed both brake rotors can be easily moved back and forth witch may account for some of the clunking. But i seem to get it without applying any brakes. When i purchased the bike i was also told that this noise is caused by the springs slapping the sides of the tubes when compressed and is to be expected. I guess if the front wheel doesn't fall off and I can still ride that's all that counts. I will keep my fellow feejr owners posted as to results when the machanic is finished.

That's the story of my new 08.

PS: They are supposed to look into the stalling issues that i have also been having and i also mentioned the shifting is getting noisier and harder to get into first gear.

Other than that I just love this bike :yahoo: :yahoo:

 

[Fred W]

OK,
Went out and played with it a bit. the sound could be coming from the steering head, but I'm also beginning to wonder if it might also be the front suspension. With both wheels down, I roll the bike forward 6" then grab front brakes and compress the forks a bit I can then here a sound (something between a "click click" and a "clunk clunk" (if that makes since)). One sound while compressing the forks and the other sound while extending the forks. If listening carefully I almost hear a double click as it compresses; like one click from each fork???

Again, I can feel it in the handle bars as well.

any thoughts?

Is little nub properly aligned in the ABS sensor ring?

Where is the ABS sensor ring located? and how would I go about aligning it?

It's down on the axle, so a moot question if the sound is up in the steering head for sure, as you said earlier.

 

[Kevin Daly]

I think that since longrider indicated that Yamaha has indicated that this is NOT RIGHT and replaced the rotors no charge, we should try to get some official statement from Yamaha about this and then we should act on that. Perhaps the person that longrider worked with was wrong, most of us have heard that it is no big deal. I am sure the rotor isnt going to come off but if is "not right" it seems to me to be rather common to be "normal wear and tear"

 

[SPORT]

My suspicions are with the fork internals...

This is where I'm leaning with my findings, though not necessarily with worn internals.

Ironically, when I squeeze the front brakes while riding (approx. 40mph) and have my left hand on the left fork and upper triple tree, the sound seemed more muffled. Now the question seems to be whether it is coming from within the forks or if it has something to do with equalizing hand placement on the handle bars. The more I investigate, and read your repsonses, the more I suspect the suspension is the culprit. If so, I won't bother with it until it's ready for rebuild. And with only 9,000 miles on her, I have plenty of life left.

I will continue to investigate and post findings here.

Thanks for all the insights.

 

[Bounce]

sure sounds like you did the factory shb adjustment process right.

https://www.fjr-tips.org/maint/shb/shb.html

i've had fork internals clunk on other bikes when using Progressive (brand) springs.

you wouldn't be the first to have a loose rotor, too.

good luck on zeroing in on the source.

 

[Longrider]

Interesting responses. Dealer that did the work (5 Star) head mechanic said he would not ride the bike until disks were replaced. Replacement disks shipped overnight guaranteed and replaced next morning. Movement of disks was very slight, about 1/4 inch at rim on one side and less on the other.

I guess the final thought was the clunk is gone after the disks were replaced.

Longrider

 

[Slappy]

Sport I dont know about you but I can just grap the front brakes in the garage and rock it back and forth and I get the clunk.

 

[Yamalude]

I had this same issue and it progressively became worse as the miles added up. I have an '06 with 15K miles on it.

I fixed the problem by adjusting the steering steam bearings. Once properly torqued and all components reassembled correctly, I believe this will solve your clunking problem.

 

[BiG DadDy Dan]

man sport didn't know it was that bad.. see if you all had a concours you wouldn't have this problem :yahoo:

 

[Fred W]

man sport didn't know it was that bad.. see if you all had a concours you wouldn't have this problem :yahoo:

Why is that?

Are you saying that the Connies don't have steering head bearings?

They don't wear and increase their tolerance with age and use just like every other steering head bearing ever made?

Hmm?

 

[SPORT]

man sport didn't know it was that bad.. see if you all had a concours you wouldn't have this problem :yahoo:

Why is that?

Are you saying that the Connies don't have steering head bearings?

They don't wear and increase their tolerance with age and use just like every other steering head bearing ever made?

Hmm?

Close, The connie may be fast, but it only goes straight...like a hotwheel. the reason our trip took so long was that at every turn he had to stop, get off, point the connie in the correct direction and continue riding. What a pain that was :lol:

 

[fjrchik]

Sport I dont know about you but I can just grap the front brakes in the garage and rock it back and forth and I get the clunk.

i have the same problem and retorqueing the bearings didn't solve it. So its in the shop right now getting tapered bearings put in. and the forks are getting serviced also. 06 with 19K on it. hopefully this solves it.

 

[BiG DadDy Dan]

man sport didn't know it was that bad.. see if you all had a concours you wouldn't have this problem :yahoo:

Why is that?

Are you saying that the Connies don't have steering head bearings?

They don't wear and increase their tolerance with age and use just like every other steering head bearing ever made?

Hmm?

Close, The connie may be fast, but it only goes straight...like a hotwheel. the reason our trip took so long was that at every turn he had to stop, get off, point the connie in the correct direction and continue riding. What a pain that was :lol:

connies do have head bearing, they're engineered better and don't wear out in 4K. as for you sport even though i have to stop and point the bike in the right direction and go again, you're still watchin my tail light. :lol:

 

[Jetmaker737]

FWIW I have the same issue on my '05. Noticed the brake clunk this season. Noticed the road bump clunk today on a long ride.