| Author | Message | ||
     Danger_dave |
I damaged the steering head bearing when I crashed. It was replaced last week and when I got the bike back there is a 'clunk' in the front end. Took it back and the boys reckon the bearing wasn't seated and all's good. Not so. If I sit on it and rock the bike back and forth with the front brake on it still clunks - just enough to feel it through the bars but quite audible. It's most prevalent under brakes at low speed. We'll have another go on Monday, any guesses? Knocking sound 'seems' to be coming from around the headstock area. Wheel bearing seems OK. | ||
| Muppet |
Hopefully you haven't damaged the bearing seats - as in ovalled them out? | ||
| Ratbuell |
Brake rotor? Caliper bolt? If it's a Uly, tightening the head bolt is pretty simple. Loosen the LOWER triple clamp pinch bolts, loosen the pinch bolt at the steering head nut, tighten the steering head nut to <sigh,> I want to say 27 lb-ft but it could be 47. But if a bearing wasn't seated, and now it is, you're going to need to retorque the head nut anyway because your bearing races are now closer together. Once you retorque the cap nut, the pinch bolts all go to 25 IIRC. When they reckoned the bearing wasn't seated and now all's good...did they retorque? Or just pronounce it "OK"? | ||
| Danger_dave |
I think the put a new bearing in. Thanks, I'll check. It's still an insurance job so I'll let the shop swing the spanners - pointing them somewhere would be handy though. (Message edited by danger_dave on July 11, 2008) | ||
| Bigkuri |
Even though they seem ok - my bet would be the wheel bearings (or their seats...  ) I hate noises like that - i've had one similar by my right foot for ages, which i just cannot figure out.... | ||
| Teddagreek |
You said bearing. They did replace both? Did they install them correctly with the special tool and like some one else said are things torqued down to spec | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Does it only do it when you have the brakes on? Can you see any deflection of the forks while you are hearing the clunk? Could it be a rotor carrier bolt? Could there be a missing anti-rattle clip? | ||
| Danger_dave |
Yeah - bearing's'. It turned badly at low speed with no klunken when I got back from the crash. Thought it was the tyre spent causing the bad steering. Jacked it up to change the front tyre and discovered the steering was indeed tight and notchy. Wasn't before the crash - I was pleasure riding when I binned it. So made a further insurance claim and the steering head bearings were replaced. Get it back and it's had the klunk in the front end installed with the new bearings. Took it back and they stuck new ones in all over again yesterday. Picked it up this morning. If anything it's worse. Or maybe it's the same and I'm just shittier. Bearings improperly seated and tensioned twice seems unlikely - but not impossible. Caliper seems firm - hard to check on my own and its pi**ing down rain at the moment. I *think* it does it with the back brake on too. I need another body to be sure. | ||
| Buelet |
For what it's worth, it sounds like I have the same "problem" too. Didn't notice the noise until I removed the front wheel / tire and had a new tire put on. Upon replacing the wheel / new tire, the noise appeared. You can feel it through the frame. Seems to be coming from the front steering head / fork area. Rode it over 1700miles to Homecoming & back without any issues. Don't know if it still does it... | ||
| Hooper |
Ummmm, me too. I ran over a curb one night (long story) on my H-D FXDB Street Bob. I dented the hell out of my rim, which was replaced along with the tire. However, ever since then, I've noticed a "click" (not quite a "clunk") that feels like the front end endured a serious impact that still hasn't been worked out - it feels like the bearings in the triple-tree. So glad people are talking about this... | ||
| Ratbuell |
If it's doing it with front *or* rear brake, check your front isolator. You could have whacked hard enough during the initial whoopsie to have jarred it loose, and any kind of chassis lock against a running engine can shift it around. Remember, the rear brake is bolted to the swingarm, which is bolted to the engine.... | ||
| Jlnance |
DD - I think I've had this "problem" before. Did the front wheel recently get cleaned? The front end will click as you describe when the floating rotor hits the stops. You don't normally notice it because as soon as you get brake dust in there, it won't make the metal-on-metal sound any more. I noticed it after I changed the wheel (giving it a good scrubbing in the process) and thought my steering head bearings were gone. Dealer told me it was just the rotor banging the stop and it would go away when they got dirty. I was skeptical, but they were right. | ||
| Xcephasx |
i don't know the nature of your accident, but is it possible that the tire is "bonking" your chin spoiler due to bent forks? take a look for tire scuffs.x | ||
| Bosh |
Funny this popped up. I just started having the same noise coming from the front end. It's not the head bearing. It feels like it's coming from inside the fork tubes. I checked the brake pads, thought they might be hitting the calipers but that isn't the case. Checking the brake rotor when I get home today (Good thought Jlnance). Hoping it's not a broken fork spring. | ||
| Treadmarks |
Mine does this too. For me it is the rotor and it's attaching bolts. I noticed it when I put on the new wave rotor. | ||
| Sarodude |
I've seen badly jacked up front wheel bearings cause this same sorta clunk. -Saro | ||
| Sparky |
I started noticing a clunk noise too from the front end on my Thunderbolt when rolling the bike around. Investigating further, it would make the noise by spinning the front wheel with the wheel raised off the ground. It seemed to be coming from the left wheel bearing or speedo drive unit. But if I pushed the front brake pads away from the rotor so they did not drag on the rotor, the noise did not appear. And when I squeezed the lever to activate the brake, the noise would reappear. So, I don't get the connection with slight brake drag and noise from the wheel bearing area. The bike recently had a new front tire installed by a shop but I had R&R'd the wheel. So, thinking I didn't install the wheel correctly, I redid the axle tightening procedure per the manual noting it says to tighten the axle first, then bounce the front end up and down to center things and ensure there's no binding, then tighten the 4 small pinch screws. After doing this, there was no noise when spinning the wheel with the wheel off the ground. But when rolling the bike around, there was some clunk noise but not as much as before retightening the axle. If a wheel bearing was bad, would it always make noise when the wheel was spun whether unloaded or with the bike's weight? | ||
| Junglestud |
Mine did this from new. Drove me crazy. I took it back to the dealer, who couldn't hear anything. I though it might be one of the heavy electrical connectors behind the fairing, I took the fairing off, rode it through the fields and it had stopped! So - I wire tied EVERYTHING, put it back together, still clunked. So, I tried bending the horn back away from the fairing. Problem solved. It has never clunked again. | ||
| Bosh |
Danger_dave Did you get this sorted yet?? Curious as to what you found. I still have the same issue with my bike. I think it IS the headset bearings now. The bars turn smoothly, but I can hear noise from [I think] from the headset bearings. | ||
| Treadmarks |
After washing my Uly on Monday, I noticed a popping noise when I pushed it in the garage.  I thought maybe I washed some small rocks into the belt, but removal of all the guards and inspection revealed nothing. It sounds like it is coming from the front wheel bearings, but while spinning the wheel unloaded there is not noise. I will change the wheel bearings just to be safe. I found about 20 sets of FAG made in Germany 6006 2RSR.T.C3 bearings that should work in the rear. All my local vendors indicated that new bearings are made in Argentina, and since my stealer is a washout the search is on for some 6005s for the front. (not trying to change this to another wheel bearing thread, just trying to find out what the snap crackle pop is)  | ||
| Danger_dave |
Nah - I've been slack. Hasn't been riding weather down here. I'm getting a new test bike tomorrow or Friday so I'll get it back to the shop then. | ||
| Bosh |
Guess I'll be changing the headset bearings as soon as I get some time. The forks are due for service anyway. |
