Something loose in front end???

[Kamloops]

A friend of mine who is a Mechanic and races dirt bikes, helped me tighten down the steering bearing for me.

Clunk is still there, neither him or I could figure out where it is coming from. If you sit on the bike , hold the front brake down and push forward just a little you hear it. Like something loose. Bike only has 1100km on it and is under warrenty but I have to take it back to usa for that, want to avoid the 4hr trip there if I can.

If you have someone sit on the bike and hold the front brake well you grab the front wheel and pull back and forth you can feel it as well.

Anyone have any ideas?

Its a 2007

 

[sportrider]

did you inspect the steering head bearing? at 1100 km I hardly think the bearing could be bad but you never know.

 

[Kamloops]

No we did not inspect it figured it had to be ok. Just tighten it a little. Bike has never even see rain or a hose. Have not got it dirty yet.

 

[sportrider]

check your calipers, axles, pinch bolts also. is it possible the "clunk" is comming from the rear?

 

[Kamloops]

I just put the bike on the centre stand, zap strapped the front brake down and pulled the front wheel back and forth. The sound is coming from the wheel and seems to be from the clutch side. Near the caliper or wheel bearing. Everything is tight.

 

[wrightme43]

NO things are not right.

The clunk has to be found and eliminated.

Check the wheel bearings. Are you absolutley certain it is not the steering head bearings.

 

[Kamloops]

Certain it is not the steering head bearings. it is coming from down near the wheel hub or caliper on the clutch side of front wheel.

Just got an email from my Local Yamaha dealer. These guys are awesome taking the time to answer my emails. What do you think could this be it?

Mike,


I'm gonna save ya a bit of cash here. I just went over to our showroom
sporty bikes. Sorry no FZ6 but FZ1 and R1 a R6 did the exact same thing as
you described and I'm fairly confident got the same noise. What it is, is
the brake rotors are what is called a full floater type disc. If you look
there are little buttons that hold the disc to the hub carrier what is
happening is with the load of the brakes being applied the disc is moving
on these buttons. Not Yamahas but on certain exotics you can actually grab
the disc and move it about two mils. This is normal, THEY use this
technology 'cause the components are thinner than automotive and it's one of
the tricks to keep the disc from warping. ( heat generated under heavy
braking is intense... enough for a burn to blister if touched ).
Hope this quells that uneasy feeling.

 

[sportrider]

I'll check my R1, somebody else do the same on there FZ6

 

[The Rayman]

I'll check my R1, somebody else do the same on there FZ6

Mine does it. No problem. Now go ride!

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Ever since coming back from my ride down in Southern California, I have noticed a clunk whenever I hit a bump from my front end. Not sure if it's the same noise or feeling that Kamloops has, but I can feel and sometimes hear it coming up through my front forks and handlebars. I can't duplicate it from a standstill, I need to be moving and hit a bump. As everyone has mentioned, I checked all the bolts, brake calipers, steering bolt, etc. Seems everything is tight. But I did notice I was missing a bolt or screw that helps hold one side of the front fender. But I can't imagine that the noise/clunk would be coming from the front fender, I mean that it seems my entire front suspension is loose or broken. I'm wondering if it's the front wheel. Sometimes when I'm riding I'm wondering if my front wheel is going to come off. Something ain't right, that's for sure and I've been taking it relatively easy most of the time.

 

[abner]

Re: Something loose in front end??? steering head bearings??

Did we ever get to the bottom of this? I have looked at my calipers and rotors and don't buy that excuse.

I have an '06. At one time I was experiencing a binding in the steering head while cornering, at that time the bike only had a couple thousand kms. Now with 10,000 kms, that has since subsided. Problem is, now I get that same clunking when I hit a bump. It is more noticable with a passenger on the back or under acceleration when there is less weight on the front end. So noticable that it seems to vibrate when accelerating at higher RPMs. Like the rest of them, I can't duplicate the noise when its on the center stand. I do think I can find a slight bit of play in the head bearings tho. Has the problem gone from being too tight to too loose?

Whats everyones thoughts?

 

[abraxas]

I had the same thing, it turned out the steering head bearing were loose.
Just 1 nut, took just under an hour for the job, fortunately i had a mechanic to help.
If you sit on the bike on the centre stand, and rock the bike forward you'd hear the clunk. Very uncomfortable to ride, although not unsafe as such. It does get worse though. This SHOULD fall under warranty / servicing ... as it is factory tightened, apparently a little too loose.

 

[rvbiker]

Get the front wheel off the ground, grab the forks down near the axel and try to move it, see if you can hear the noise. If you can it’s the fork bearing. If you can’t grab the wheel and move it back and forth (front to back) if you hear the noise it’s the wheel bearings. I could be a loose pinch bolt as sportsrider suggests, or a broken pressure collar(I think that what its called) that holds the wheel bearing tight when the axel is tightened. But if that's the source of the noise remove the front wheel and investigate.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

I just put the bike on the centre stand, zap strapped the front brake down and pulled the front wheel back and forth. The sound is coming from the wheel and seems to be from the clutch side. Near the caliper or wheel bearing. Everything is tight.

My front end has been rattling whenver I hit a bump but could not duplicate it until I followed your advice; putting it on the center stand and rock the bike back and forth, letting the front wheel hit the ground. Bingo, I was able to duplicate the loose feel and noise. Brought it down the the Yamaha dealership and showed them what's wrong. They confirmed that it is my steering wheel bearing, which is loose and may need to be replaced or repacked. They quoted me $90 for tighting the bearing and possible repack. Hope nothing needs to be replaced. They said that this should be checked every 12,000 miles. I will have to double check that.

Thanks

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Just got my bike fixed from the Yamaha dealership today. As some of you had suspected. My Steering Stem Bearing was loose. They quoted me $90 last week during the initial preliminary inspection for tightening the bearing up. Today when I brought the bike in this morning, they were saying $150! I stood firm as I was quoted $90. I ended up paying $89 and change.

So the front end doesn't rattle anymore whenever I hit a bump. But my front end kind of feels very heavy once again. Like a gyroscope effect. Tire pressure if correct, if anything, inflated above what's recommended for my weight and riding style. Oh well...

But when they installed my bars back on the bike, they ended up installing them too far forward. My levers are too far forward. It was very awkward riding my bike. I thought about turning back and have them adjust it, but I'm just going to do it myself. The question here is?? Do I loosen up the handle bar clamps and adjust the bars position? Or adjust the brake and clutch clamps which are attached to the handlebars?

I have had my bike serviced at the sameplace twice, and each time the work has been satisfactory, but I wouldn't consider it good or great. But each time, the price was within reason. Ridenow Motorsports on Sahara for you locals.

 

[Steph]

Thank goodness for the search function! I have been having this problem for a couple weeks now and was trying to explain to my husband that the front end goes "clunk" and feels lose when I hit a bump. I got rolled eyes and told that my bike is just wearing in. Finally today I figured out how to replicate the noise without hitting a bump, I just roll it forward a little and hit the brake when I am in neutral....clunk. I showed him, had him get on the bike and try it...sure 'nuff, now he believes me. We ran it up to Tennysons (where I bought the bike) and had the Yamie mechanic come out and take a peek. He said that it was the steering head bearings and it would only take him an hour or so to fix. I asked hubby if he could do it at home and he said it would be no problem. (I trust him, he's had his Vmax in pieces about 7 times now)
It is now fixed and I feel a little more safe hitting bumps!

 

[abner]

I ended up doing the fix myself as well. :cheer: I am no mechanic but have had my share of toys to work on. Took about an hour and it was mostly tinkering about.

1) support the front of the bike - I blocked under the exhaust pipes

2) mark location of and remove the handle bars - 4 hex screws (very tight)

Make sure you wrap your bars in a towel or rag as to not scatch your fairing. There is not a lot of room to get them out of the way because you do not remove all the components on them.

3) remove the upper triple tree - 1 hex screw on each fork tube - 2 fork tube tops (not very tight) - 1 steering head bolt

Again wrap in towels or rags. The fork tube tops are very lightweight aluminium. I have a feeling they could be easily damaged if your not careful.

4) use a flat head screw driver and hammer to tighten the nuts

Before you tighten the nuts you could remove them and re-lube your upper bearing. When tightening the nuts you will know when you have bottomed out by the feel of the hammer almost bouncing off the screw driver, or the thud it makes. At this point you could remove the blocks temporarily and bounce the front tire a little by rocking the bike on the center stand to make sure everything has sat properly. I have a feeling I could have tightened mine even more... don't be shy. Put the rubber washer back on and them the lock nut. While tightening the lock nut keep pushing the rubber washer back in as it will squeeze out with tightening.

5) re-assemble and re check tightness of nuts and screws after riding a few miles.

:Flip: stealerships.

 

[Kamloops]

Just got my bike fixed from the Yamaha dealership today. As some of you had suspected. My Steering Stem Bearing was loose. They quoted me $90 last week during the initial preliminary inspection for tightening the bearing up. Today when I brought the bike in this morning, they were saying $150! I stood firm as I was quoted $90. I ended up paying $89 and change.

So the front end doesn't rattle anymore whenever I hit a bump. But my front end kind of feels very heavy once again. Like a gyroscope effect. Tire pressure if correct, if anything, inflated above what's recommended for my weight and riding style. Oh well...

But when they installed my bars back on the bike, they ended up installing them too far forward. My levers are too far forward. It was very awkward riding my bike. I thought about turning back and have them adjust it, but I'm just going to do it myself. The question here is?? Do I loosen up the handle bar clamps and adjust the bars position? Or adjust the brake and clutch clamps which are attached to the handlebars?

I have had my bike serviced at the sameplace twice, and each time the work has been satisfactory, but I wouldn't consider it good or great. But each time, the price was within reason. Ridenow Motorsports on Sahara for you locals.

Wow thats a lot to tighten the bearing. For your bars just loosen the 4 bolts then move the bars, in the stock position the clutch fluid resovor will be flat, there is also a little mark on the bars that you line up.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Actually, I just got a small socket and adjusted my levers rather than adjusting the handle bars. I thought it was much quicker and easier.

 

[The Rayman]

4) use a flat head screw driver and hammer to tighten the nuts

You should really use a spanner wrench although a screwdriver and hammer can be made to work.

I have this one: Hand Tools > Wrenches > Spanner Wrenches > Spanner Wrench,6 3/8 L : Grainger Industrial Supply