Loud "clunk" rattle when going over bumps

[yaminator]

Not from way down below, but seems to come from somewhere near the upper fairing area or directly beneath handlebars. Wonder if anyone ever had this type of clunk? It only makes noise over road bumps, any speed. Bars don't wobble or feel loose when the clunk happens, but I can feel it a little too. Checked fairing pieces for tightness or moving excessively. Tried moving forks to and fro with front wheel up, they seem to be ok. Checked instrument cluster for rattles, even wrapped some of the wires that run along the sides of the inner fairing pieces in foam. A real mystery. Did I miss something to check for tightness? Sounds loud enough to be in my face even with helmet on. Hmmm

 

[FIZZER6]

Sounds suspiciously like steering head bearings to me. Put the bike on the center stand, have someone push down on the passenger seat to get the front wheel off the ground, grap both front forks as close to the axle as you can and pull back and forth rapidly, do you hear or feel any play or sound? If they are not tight as can be you need new steering head bearings, they are known to go bad on these bikes.

 

[FinalImpact]

Sounds suspiciously like steering head bearings to me. Put the bike on the center stand, have someone push down on the passenger seat to get the front wheel off the ground, grap both front forks as close to the axle as you can and pull back and forth rapidly, do you hear or feel any play or sound? If they are not tight as can be you need new steering head bearings, they are known to go bad on these bikes.

Agreed! Although it didn't show in your first test, it seems likely these are at fault. In addition, I'd loosen the TOP pinch bolts and then confirm the NUT to the top triple clamp to stem is tight. Refasten the outer pinch bolts.

Sometimes it pays just to take stuff apart!
i.e. pull the fairing and go for a short spin.
- remove inner fairing
- unplug LS harness
- remove 2 12mm bolts at steering head and walk away w/fairing.
- On the S2's its a 15" job.
** it might show an error code when the gauge is reconnected (fairing installed) but it will go away.

Then lift the tank and make sure your battery is secure too.

FWIW: On three different bikes I've found the top shock bolt loose. Wrong end of the bike ( I KNOW ), but you might check it. Most folks didn't notice it while riding so I find it unlikely this is your problem.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Sounds suspiciously like steering head bearings to me. Put the bike on the center stand, have someone push down on the passenger seat to get the front wheel off the ground, grap both front forks as close to the axle as you can and pull back and forth rapidly, do you hear or feel any play or sound? If they are not tight as can be you need new steering head bearings, they are known to go bad on these bikes.

Just to add to the above, when you grab the lower forks by the axle, you want to push and pull them forward and back. If the bearings are loose/worn, you'll get more play in that direction. You can also simply put a sizzor jack under the header with a 2x4 for a very sturdy platform.

+1 on the main, center triple clamp nut tightness.

You also mentined "feeling" it. Was that thru the handle bars or an "overall" feeling?

How many miles on the bike BTW?

 

[yaminator]

I will check for play in the steering head bearings again, and very thorough this time. About 42,000 mi on bike. I'll wrench that center triple tree bolt too. If this does'nt fix it, I will remove complete fairing and go for a test. I seem to feel whatever is clunking through the bars, but it could also partly be the jolt from the bump that's causing the clunk. Even if it takes a little while I'll report back with results. Thx

 

[greg]

I had this, for me I had taken the brake pad shims out as I thought they were making the pads stick. They made the pads a lot freer, but they rattled about when going over bumps. I cleaned up the dirt and refitted them.

I also noticed the steel brake lines were moving around a bit too much as the suspension moved around, so I re-adjusted them. The net result was no more clunking over bumps.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I will check for play in the steering head bearings again, and very thorough this time. About 42,000 mi on bike. I'll wrench that center triple tree bolt too. If this does'nt fix it, I will remove complete fairing and go for a test. I seem to feel whatever is clunking through the bars, but it could also partly be the jolt from the bump that's causing the clunk. Even if it takes a little while I'll report back with results. Thx

With that mileage, do you know if the steering bearings were ever serviced, or adjusted? With wear and tear(mileage), they will loosen up. If you can feel it thru the bars, I strongly suspect thats the issue..

Part #4 (two nuts) are what tighten down the lower triple to the head bearings. The upper nut locks down the lower nut. I couldn't fnd any spec's in the shop manual, but slightly snug (NO binding) should be fine. Of course the upper main nut must be loosened up before adjusting/checking nuts #4... The main nut (#8 is 80 ft lbs)

 

[yaminator]

Well the steering head bearings have had no service since I owned the bike, that's for the past 10,000 or so miles, so they could likely be a cause. I'm going to look for even the slightest back-and-forth movement when I hoist it up. The pic helps visualize what needs the wrench. Anyway I'll check everything else if I don't get any bearing play, including the brakes, shims, lines. Clunk sounds pretty high up tho.

 

[Wildcat_drvr]

I had a "clunck" rattle!Easy check,
Grab the front of your fairing.
Pullup.Shouldn't move much(is rubber bushing mounted).
If it moves to much,check the bolts holding stay to frame.
Probably ought to check anyway.
Wish I had!
Couldn't find where "clunk" rattle was coming from.
Waited to long and stay broke.
Have a S-1 stay I got here on the forum for $5.00 (my bike is S2).
Cutting both apart.
Then welding good parts together to make one.
Good Luck!
Rich

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

They do have a hook like spanner (with a 3/8" square for a rachet). I forgot if its on this bike on my old KLR but there was a similar tool in the tool kit(often used for adjusting the rear shock pre-load).

In a pinch, you can use use a small punch or screwdriver to the notches in those nuts to loosen tighten.

Again, make sure the top MAIN nut is loose and part #6 (locking tab) is opened up..

 

[The_Paragon]

This might sound dumb.. but one day i kept getting this clunking sound from my bike... checked everything out over and over again. Swore to god it was coming from the forks, but could never pin point it.
Couple days later I was trying out my friends Arai helmet.. no more clunking! Turns out theres a peice of broken plastic floating around in my HJC helmet!. Just the sound it makes, seems like theres a clunk coming from the bike!

 

[greg]

if one of the vents on my arai helmet catches the wind just right, then it sounds like a police siren at highway speeds. Very disconcerting

 

[FinalImpact]

FWIW: if you end up messing with the tension on the head bearings, you can pull the top triple in a matter of minutes.

- undo the cable bracket (10mm from the bottom, painful but possible).
- loosen stem nut while bars are attached 1-1/16" socket or metric equiv.
- loosen top pinch bolts
- remove bar clamp
- set bars ahead of triple on a blanket
- remove top triple

 

[yaminator]

Interesting about the fairing stay, because the sound seems from right there too, so I will pull up and try to see. But so far, I did find a little back-and-forth play in the forks, just the slightest bit. It almost does'nt seem like so little play could cause such a clunk but I will now check and tighten the bearing nuts first. And yeah hoping my shock absorber adj wrench may come in handy, as long as I don't have to wait for a "$pecial" tool, so thanks for the suggestion. Glad for the quick removal and gas tank can stay on. My helmet doesn't clunk when I'm on my other bike so I can rule it out, but same here it's like a jet turbine if visor is cracked open over 20 mph lol

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Interesting about the fairing stay, because the sound seems from right there too, so I will pull up and try to see. But so far, I did find a little back-and-forth play in the forks, just the slightest bit. It almost does'nt seem like so little play could cause such a clunk but I will now check and tighten the bearing nuts first. And yeah hoping my shock absorber adj wrench may come in handy, as long as I don't have to wait for a "$pecial" tool, so thanks for the suggestion. Glad for the quick removal and gas tank can stay on. My helmet doesn't clunk when I'm on my other bike so I can rule it out, but same here it's like a jet turbine if visor is cracked open over 20 mph lol

It may not move much but you have to remember its supporting 500+ lbs so any play, is going to make some noise/ vibration. Glad you found that.

Also, when you tighten it down some, and assuming its smooth, no binding, etc, pay attention that with the steering STRAIGHT, IT IS not "NOTCHY" when dead centered. If it is, time for new bearings.

When really worn, you'll feel the steering almost click when centered.

 

[FinalImpact]

Agreed! Although it didn't show in your first test, it seems likely these are at fault. In addition, I'd loosen the TOP pinch bolts and then confirm the NUT to the top triple clamp to stem is tight. Refasten the outer pinch bolts.

Sometimes it pays just to take stuff apart!
i.e. pull the fairing and go for a short spin.
- remove inner fairing
- unplug LS harness
- remove 2 12mm bolts at steering head and walk away w/fairing.
- On the S2's its a 15" job.
** it might show an error code when the gauge is reconnected (fairing installed) but it will go away.

Then lift the tank and make sure your battery is secure too.

FWIW: On three different bikes I've found the top shock bolt loose. Wrong end of the bike ( I KNOW ), but you might check it. Most folks didn't notice it while riding so I find it unlikely this is your problem.

^^ IMO drop the fairing and look inside. The first time I had mine apart the mirror had lost a nut. So my annual pre-ride includes fairing removal for inspection. Lets not stop there tho: pretty much every bolt on the bike is important so a bare minimum is to apply some rotation to all of them. Granted I've never done those holding the engine together, but most every other fastener gets inspected. I'm not a fan of loosing parts!

If some of you recall a pre-ride inspection on a Yamaha Demo bike I found the lower triple on the FZ-09 I was about to ride had the bolts completely backed out of the stanchion tube.​

You can have it down to this quickly and then clean and inspect everything....

 

[yaminator]

So it should be snug enough to let forks turn left and right smoothly but quietly, and totally no front-to-back play at all? Cool. Any clicking or ratcheting and the bearings are history. Also, I'm glad to see I can take off the whole main fairing at once from the stay/frame bolts instead of piece by piece. Those pics show well-kept inner bike works. If I can I will also ride it the way it looks in lower pic above from Final Impact. Ultimate clunk test.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

So it should be snug enough to let forks turn left and right smoothly but quietly, and totally no front-to-back play at all? Cool. Any clicking or ratcheting and the bearings are history.

Yep, pretty much.

Sometimes when tightening down the main large nut (atop the upper triple) it sometimes tends to tighten up just a knats hair. Just keep that in mind when adjusting. I'll bet you get close to 1/4 turn on those nuts...

You shouldn't be able to "FEEL" the bearings rolling (thats too tight).., Nice and smooth!

 

[agf]

I seem to remember some posts similar to this a while back and mention was made of the front discs being mounted as "floating" and that this can cause a clunk as well.
Not sure if this is relevant here but.....

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I seem to remember some posts similar to this a while back and mention was made of the front discs being mounted as "floating" and that this can cause a clunk as well.
Not sure if this is relevant here but.....

I remember that post and did some researh into it and checked my own..

The FZ front disc's are not truly floaters (they have alot more play in them) but '"semi-floaters".

If in proper condition, you can just barely rotate each "rivit" (not the correct word). It was / is apparently for better heat dissipation.

Considerably noisier but it also wouldn't be felt thru the bars..