06 front end 'clunk'

[zzkenoman]

Despite the steering head having been done to death, it appears it must be done with every new issue, and every 3 months thereafter... If the head needs retorqueing, you won't neccessarily dignose it in the traditional manner: ie; grasping the forks at the bottom and moving fore and aft looking for play. The clunk felt through the bars has, 99% of the time been the best indicator that the head needs to be adjusted. Play will be felt if way outta wack, but none will be felt yet a clunk persists.

You sure it isn't your jaw dropping to the floor everytime you touch your FJR?.."Clunk"

 

[GAPS]

Despite the steering head having been done to death, it appears it must be done with every new issue, and every 3 months thereafter... If the head needs retorqueing, you won't neccessarily dignose it in the traditional manner: ie; grasping the forks at the bottom and moving fore and aft looking for play. The clunk felt through the bars has, 99% of the time been the best indicator that the head needs to be adjusted. Play will be felt if way outta wack, but none will be felt yet a clunk persists.

Nope, not this time, the head bearings are fine. Someone here suggested bumping front wheel up to a wall and pump suspension up and down...when I did that the 'clunk' was gone, if the bearings had play I would have still heard it.

I believe it is a characteristic of the new 4 pad calipers and every 06 will do it just the same. Also if you roll backwards and grab the front brake you hear a distinct click as the pads seat to the rear and visa versa as you roll forward again.

Sooo.....we be B) in 06ville.

 

[War Machine]

Hey Gaps, thanks for the tip. I'll find out tomorrow if mine has the same "clunk" .

 

[SpikeON]

Hi Guys

I only have 110km on my fantastic new bike. I too have the clunk. Tonight, I had a friend rock the bike with the front brake on and there it was clunk, clunk. If you grab the front rotors on both sides from the front of the bike and try to pull and push up and down as if trying to turn them they will move and you will hear the clunk. It is the floating rotors that are making the sound. Did I say this is a fantastic bike

Dave

 

[Fred H.]

I don't think it is a problem, it is just a noise we will have to get used to. I was going to look at it tonight but ran out of time. I will check it out tomorrow, but I suspect you are correct. I certainly ain't losin any sleep over it.

 

[Centerline]

Dagnab it...an FJR that can be driven in traffic in the heat...and the fuel tank does not heat up......It ain't fair and it ain't right!!

 

[Mole_]

My 05 would clunk under heavy braking or bumps during all of my 1st 4000 miles.. it sounded like the spring was sliding against the inside of the fork tube. I did a 4000 mile interstate trip and it has never clunked again :huh: have almost 10,000 now and still no clunk

 

[Cal24Master]

I just brought home my first FJR!! Took a quick 45 mile shake down run thru some nice backroads and arrived home with that FJR grin I have heard about. This bike is going to be lots of fun, I know this cuz I aint stoopid. What a torque monster of a motor, like a big block muscle car with grunt everywhere. Did not have time for much of a ride but so far it is all Oh yeah, the chassis is pretty dang swweeeeeeet too.

My only concern is this......, in the garage with bike not running I grabbed the front brake to pump the front suspension up and down when I heard a very audible 'clunk' with each change of direction of the suspension...up clunk, down clunk....I believe it may just be the front brake pads clicking back and forth in the calipers....or perhaps suspension internals? Any others experience this sound? Normal? What is it? Damper rods? Brake pads?

It's the brakes. Not only do FJR's do it, ZZR's do it, R1's do it, as far as I know every bike with floating rotors does.

For crying out loud! Why do people worry about this stupid ****? A little noise that is only noticable while bouncing the front end in your garage? I say we all quit playing with our new bikes in the garage and go and ride the damn things.

Next will the crazy thread about not enough grease on the splines from the factory. I can hardly wait...

Tom

 

[GAPS]

'For crying out loud! Why do people worry about this stupid ****? A little noise that is only noticable while bouncing the front end in your garage? I say we all quit playing with our new bikes in the garage and go and ride the damn things.

Next will the crazy thread about not enough grease on the splines from the factory. I can hardly wait...

Tom

Well Tom, you see, its like this....I have been around bikes long enough to know that a sound like this 'clunk' I spoke of can mean real trouble and is not something to be ignored. Had the head bearings been the culprit it would have been a very good idea adjust them to proper specs before tearing off into the sunset.

Yes, as you point out all bikes exhibit a some of this sound......the 06 FJR has it in spades, that is all.

Now let me say this, your response to this post is of little value and your tone is not appropriate.....Im hoping I misinturpreted your intent but I do not think that is the case.....best of luck

Eric

 

[Bustanut joker]

It's the brakes.  Not only do FJR's do it, ZZR's do it, R1's do it, as far as I know every bike with floating rotors does. 
I say we all quit playing with our new bikes in the garage and go and ride the damn things.

Next will the crazy thread about not enough grease on the splines from the factory.  I can hardly wait...     

Tom

+1 on the riding thing tom.

I have to wonder though, how long before this post ends up in the redundant file.

:jester:

 

[FJRulzON]

Just to add -I was with Dave checking his rotors, once we were sure we found the source, we turned to my 2004 FJR and checked it. It has no such movement -thus no clunking.

Dave's 2006 clunked easily by placing a hand firmly gripping the rotor and trying to rotate it back and forth. I would have assumed there may be 'some' play but not this much, this easy. Despite my assumption that there may be 'some' play, we could not get my 2004s to move.

It does not take an engineer to know that the floating calipers are to move left and right but not round and round (at least much or easily).

The questions are, how much movement in this direction is acceptable and is there a saftey issue at a point. Will this excess(?) play snowball into to increased rotor wear and even more play to the point where the owner must pay to replace them?

I would like to hear from others but I am convinced that not all bikes do this (mine doesn't), and that some people have nice snug rotors and a few others loose clunky ones. Do the clunkies have a problem and how serious is it? Should Yam fix under warranty or should the owner ignore it and pay to fix it a few years later if the wear becomes more excessive?

Or maybe Tom's right and all of us with silent snug rotors have the problem. :haha:

 

[FJRulzON]

- - BUMP TO TOP - -

Come on, lets hear from others...

Who has play in their rotors and who doesn't?

Issue or not?

 

[leebunyard]

I had the "clunk" also on my '04 FJR when it only had about 4000 miles on it. Heard the clunk when I went over railroad tracks or hit small bumps. Turned out to be the outer rotor ring on the right front that had become loose and had some forward/backward movement, along with a slight amount of sideways play. The rivets on the outer rotor ring were so loose I could turn them with my finger. The service manager at the Yamaha dealership where I took the bike tried to tell me that slight movement of the rotors was normal, they would tighten up as I put miles on the bike. I said BS, no way were those rivets going to tighten up as I rode. They replaced the rotor under warranty. Then to top it off, they forgot to Lock Tite the caliper unit bolts when they reinstalled everything and a week later, I started hearing a clunk noise again. I discovered that the caliber bolts had backed out about a third of the way and the whole caliper unit was loose. The dealership fixed the problem correctly the second time and all has been well since. Now have nearly 25,000 miles on the bike.

Grab the outer rotor ring of both front brake rotors and see if you have backwards/forward or sideways movement. Also see if you have movement in the caliber units themself. There should be none. The FJR brakes are not full floaters, they are called semi-floaters and there should not be movement in the rotor components.

Lee in the Mountains of Northern California B)

 

[kaitsdad]

Grab the outer rotor ring of both front brake rotors and see if you have backwards/forward or sideways movement.  Also see if you have movement in the caliber units themself.  There should be none.  The FJR brakes are not full floaters, they are called semi-floaters and there should not be movement in the rotor components.  Lee in the Mountains of Northern California  B)

Just checked Wonky - no movement what so ever. Tight. 06A

 

[GAPS]

Just to be clear, when I first posted about the 'clunk' I had not taken time to determine the source the sound. Now I have and found it to be just rattling of the pads in the calipers....each caliper now sports 4 pads and they make quite a 'clunk' if you grab the front brake and pump the front suspension up and down...it is not a problem, sorry I opened the worm can...

Did I say I LOVE MY NEW FJR today?

The fog is just about cleared up and I am heading out to put some miles on her....yeehaaawww

 

[FJRulzON]

Gaps,

Are you sure? We thought it may have been the pads too -it wasn't.

Did you try moving your rotors back and forth around by hand?

 

[GAPS]

FJRulz, nope, no play in the rotors or calipers that I can feel...... but wait, it gets better...what sucks is this, my ABS warning light has come on, I wll be visiting the dealer, let them check for codes, etc....... I dont think the warning light and clunk are related, cant imagine how they would be...Im going to post this abs issue as a seperate topic to try and drum up some info...hope nobody minds.

 

[Fred H.]

I can feel my rotors are a bit on the loose side. I can grasp the rotors and rotate them about 1/16th of an inch, and it creates the exact sound that I hear when I ride.

Whatever you do, if you are checking this, DO NOT put pressure on your rotors from the side, as you can easily bend the soft aluminum rotor carrier, which will result in a brake pulstation. Only check them for looseness by attempting to ROTATE them in the same plane that the wheel rotates in.

I am hopeful that after they go through some more heating and expansion cycles that they will tighten up. It certainly is not a problem, just a nuisance noise.

 

[odot]

Hey, gaps.....I think bustanut stole into your garage in the night and played with your abs system. h34r:

 

[Bustanut joker]

Hey, gaps.....I think bustanut stole into your garage in the night and played with your abs system.  h34r:

Yep! an as soon as I finish this Guinness Extra stout yer next fuker :****:

:jester: