CLONK from front brakes

[sportsguy]

OK, so I've noted this item since I took the bike home. At various times, not every time, but not infrequently, I hear a clonk from the front brakes upon application. Happens at lower speeds, with moderate pressure on the levers. Go easy, nothing. Grab hard, nothing. Normal stop and go traffic, reahcing into 2nd gear-type riding, and it'll happen. But again, not every time.

I commute with the bike daily, so I hear this 2 - 4 times a day, approx.

Doesn't feel like the steering head bearing is loose, but tough to tell from the riding position. The noise does not correspond to any direct "feeling" comign back through the bars, either.

I have listened carfeuly, and it's not a clunk, grind, whir, flutter, whislte, whump or bang. It's a clonk.

Guessing, it's almost like the brake pads themselves are moving a bit in the calipers. Braking performance remains unaffected to date (500 miles).

Figured I'd ask in case others have noticed this.

 

[Bungie]

Figured I'd ask in case others have noticed this.

Normal, but check your steering head bearing nonetheless - if only for peace of mind.

 

[SkooterG]

FJR tends to 'clonk' when braking.

Check head bearings. Check to make sure your rotors aren't loose.

If both the above are ok, don't worry too much. It could be the spring hitting the fork tube.

 

[tbwrench]

My bike had the same situation. The brake discs were loose on the carriers they are attached to. The carriers are attached to the wheel. Make sure your rotors are cool to the touch so you don't get burned and jiggle them. Mine moved a good 5 to 7mm. yamaha extended service and local dealers were a joke to deal with and said it was a wear item that is not covered. 30k on the bike and it was under the yes warranty at the time. I replaced them at my expense and the noise is gone. I mainly heard mine going over bumps at lower speeds and when applying the brakes also.

Note if you replace the rotors replace the bolts also. The bolts are very hard to get out and you will probably ruin them. I used some heat to get them loose after having to drill out the first two. Heat worked very well and I could get out the bolts without stripping the heads out. After heating them i wouldn't trust their integrity so i replaced them all.

best wishes,

TBW

 

[sportsguy]

Thanks gang. With the 600 mile service coming due soon, I'm planning on having them checking the steering head bearing for sure. Ditto on the brake discs. If this is the issue and I catch it early, I expect them to cover this with no drama, but we'll see IF that's the case, HOW it pans out...

duane

 

[RsvlFeej]

...and it'll happen. But again, not every time.
Doesn't feel like the steering head bearing is loose, but tough to tell from the riding position. The noise does not correspond to any direct "feeling" comign back through the bars, either.

I have listened carfeuly, and it's not a clunk, grind, whir, flutter, whislte, whump or bang. It's a clonk.

Telling on myself here - had a front-end clunk that was driving me NUTS for about 2-3 months - Checked steering stem, felt for loose fender and fairing pieces, wiggled and jiggled everything I thought could possibly be making that damnable, irritating noise. Then I needed my pocketknife one day and forgot to put it back in the fairing cubby. Fook. Mystery solved...

 

[Lowcountry Joe]

On mine and some other 08s, and this may be the case with your 09, the front brake pads have no shims...therefore they are a little loose fitting. No functional issues, just a little loose. You can prove this to yourself by curling your fingers behind the caliper and wiggle the brake pad. So don't get paranoid about steering bearings and all that other stuff "it might be" until you prove to yourself that it's something other than the front brake pads that are creating the noise. I bet you will find that this is the "clonk" noise you are hearing. This has been discussed on the forum many times.

 

[r1byker]

Thanks gang. With the 600 mile service coming due soon, I'm planning on having them checking the steering head bearing for sure. Ditto on the brake discs. If this is the issue and I catch it early, I expect them to cover this with no drama, but we'll see IF that's the case, HOW it pans out...
duane

I'd check that steering head bearing nut NOW! If indeed that's the problem, you could damage the bearings with all that pounding. It's a 36mm, at least, on my '06 it is. I noticed a clunking sound when I rode my new bike home and it turns out that the steering head nut was less than half the torque value that it should have been. It turns out that checking that is not on the delaership checklist when putting together the bike from the crate. Funny thing is, the same thing happened from the same dealership with my buddy's R1 a few years ago.

 

[r1byker]

Ignore this one; I accidently hit the submit button twice. How does one delete a post?

 

[hotbike dave]

OK, so I've noted this item since I took the bike home. At various times, not every time, but not infrequently, I hear a clonk from the front brakes upon application. Happens at lower speeds, with moderate pressure on the levers. Go easy, nothing. Grab hard, nothing. Normal stop and go traffic, reahcing into 2nd gear-type riding, and it'll happen. But again, not every time.
I commute with the bike daily, so I hear this 2 - 4 times a day, approx.

Doesn't feel like the steering head bearing is loose, but tough to tell from the riding position. The noise does not correspond to any direct "feeling" comign back through the bars, either.

I have listened carfeuly, and it's not a clunk, grind, whir, flutter, whislte, whump or bang. It's a clonk.

Guessing, it's almost like the brake pads themselves are moving a bit in the calipers. Braking performance remains unaffected to date (500 miles).

Figured I'd ask in case others have noticed this.

found my clunk by first with brk then just lock wheel and move bike / was brk rotor float cause on clunk -new ,no miles bike,called yamaha talked with them said replace and call back , well we did with same results . every fjr i've cked has same thing ( ok no problem just way they designed brk rotors)now for the BAD news! one of my guys did rotor replacement and couldn't get bolts out so heated until he destroyed the sensor ring for my frt wheel! i coulda killed him! anyway the ring isn't avail, have to buy the wheel. After some confusion as to the correct wheel we got it all straight, then same guy taking bike out scratched my left bag! poor ***! warranty paid for rotor replacement as agreed at about half hour as i recall, my tech had to buy wheel and new bag - that job cost him about a grand,WTF! lotta hard fealings but bike was back to new condition(2 wks).

 

[RaYzerman19]

I made sure the steering head bearing was snug, and it may (don't know for sure) have contributed. I did check the rotors and they definitely have a clunk, and I'm told that's the nature of the floating rotor design. Honda has tighter fit, no issues. I've been on a long trip, some rain and dirt... I don't seem to notice the clunk much any more.

 

[GunMD]

Sorta along the lines of what tbwrench was saying, only much worse. Please note that the rotors I had problems with were NOT stock, but this thread may give you some idea of what to look for...

The thread

A quick video of my rotor problem from 2007