That same damn front end clunk question....

[Tanker]

I have not noticed any clunk in my 14ES. The front end is tight and has been since I received it.

I do have a handle bar shimmy that started at 3k miles. Definitely the BT023 Bridgestone on the front, it is scalloped like crazy. Same issues I had on the BT021's from the factory on my 03'.

I run consistently 42psi rear; 39psi front.

I've got some new Michelin's to mount soon, but will mount a used front PR3 I have in garage until the 023 rear is ready to change out.

Iris,

Is the other ES in the garage OK with the front end?

 

[xcsp]

Is it only the FJR that it is recommended (and usually needed) to re-torque the steering head bearings?

I don't recall reading or hearing of other bikes needing this.

 

[mcatrophy]

Is it only the FJR that it is recommended (and usually needed) to re-torque the steering head bearings?
I don't recall reading or hearing of other bikes needing this.

I'm on my third FJR. None has ever needed its steering head re-torquing (outside of normal servicing).

But, then, I don't do wheelies.

 

[Iris]

Hahahahaha That must be it!!! I've been doing too many wheelies LOL.

Jim's bike doesn't seem to have the front end clunck or rather he says he doesn't have it, but then again he is not as susceptible to noticing these things as I am. They just don't bother him as much as they bother me. So, having said that.....we will switch bikes on Saturday and I will see if I hear/feel the same thing on his as I hear/feel on mine.

I have pulled on the front forks and nothing seems to wiggle.

 

[TripperMike]

I have noticed that some on this forum have gone to all balls in the steering head. This gives much better load carrying capacity and since the balls are free, there isn't the tendency to pound indentations into the races, as with the caged bearings.
We did this in the early 70's on our Huskies.

Richard

I don't think the All Balls bearings is the answer. I changed mine out year n a half ago and I still have a very noticeable clunk.

The only time the clunk disappears (temporarliy) is after I re-torque the snot out of the nut. It is very dissapointing to hear that the new '14s are experiencing this problem.

 

[Queensland Ken]

Swapped out to tapered rollers yesterday, superb !

Best $45 AUD I have ever spent.

 

[RichDoyle]

Is it only the FJR that it is recommended (and usually needed) to re-torque the steering head bearings?
I don't recall reading or hearing of other bikes needing this.

It's not uncommon. Many Hondas (I've had a number of them) have procedures to see if this needs to be done, as the load on the bearings damps out head shake. Heck, my airplane has a similar procedure for the nose wheel.

I have a friend who had a '69 CB750. The scuttlebutt was to "tighten the snot" out of the bearings. This produced deformed bearing races and the bike drove me crazy when I had occasion to ride it once.

I have "klunk" as well in my '13, but the bearings are properly torqued and there is no headshake or detectable front-end play. Not sure where it's coming from. I don't obsess over it, but it is a puzzlement.

 

[Zbear]

Some people have found the front brake disks move and "clunk". Grab on to the disks and pull up and down hard and see if there is a noise from the disk moving slightly in the rivets.

 

[Eric L]

well, the retorque of the head bearings has cured my clunk - it's been 2000 miles without a clunk.

 

[Iris]

I re-torqued mine after I was concerned about the clunk early on in my ownership of my new mc. I still heard the clunk after doing that but figured it was nothing to concern myself over. Maybe it's the dics, maybe it's the plastic bumping on something......I still don't know.

So right now my handle bars wiggle at about 40 mph. after I just put on brand new tires (the front only required one weight to balance). The wiggle annoyed me so much that I took the wheel off, re-balanced and saw that it was in perfect balance, so I put it back on the bike.

I thought maybe I should distribute the weight evenly from side to side on the rim so I took the weight off (which was on one side only) and I cut a weight in two, and put a 1/2 on each side of the rim. That didn't help; the handlebars still wiggle.

I torqued the steering head only once (the way it says to do it in the book) so I didn't think that I would need to do that again. Also, I pulled on the front forks and could feel or see no play in the forks.

I still hear the cluck, and my handlebars wiggle. :-(

I guess I have to try re-torque the steering head again?

I was almost thinking of buying a new front tire, because maybe my tire has a lump in it or something. Argh....it's kinda frustrating. Although at 70+ mph, I don't tend to notice any of it ;-)

Maybe I'll get my husband to re-torque it for me....if I ask him nicely

 

[08FJR4ME]

Has anyone thought it might be the inner spring hitting the side of the shock when compressing or rebounding? Might be another possability

Just sayin,

 

[supertankerm60a3]

There is a mention of the windshield trim parts making this noise on another thread. Might try pulling off the shield and taking it for a quick ride over some bumps. There is alot inside the front that could be making noise, come to think about it, a loose battery could do it too.

 

[flyfisher]

Yamaha (2 Brothers in Onalaska) replaced my steering head bearings at 10,600 miles for evil handling characteristics. The clunk is still there. I thought maybe the clunk would disappear but it appears that it is a completely different issue than the steering head bearings. Having a hard time writing this since I had to go back to school and learn to write appropriately after the warning from admin for my truncated speech patterns.

Anyway, the evil handling went away, just have to wear the tires back straight. ff

 

[Bounce]

Having a hard time writing this since I had to go back to school and learn to write appropriately after the warning from admin for my truncated speech patterns.

You REALLY want to do this in public? You were given an ADVISORY (no points) because of the complaints we had about "goofy, hard to read formatting"; not because of "truncated speech".

The advisory was courteous. It was without repercussions. It was a done IN PRIVATE as a response to complaints from other members.

Taking it public and swinging a fictionalized dead cat around to see what you can hit with it doesn't seem the wisest of ways to move forward.

 

[RossKean]

So right now my handle bars wiggle at about 40 mph. after I just put on brand new tires (the front only required one weight to balance). The wiggle annoyed me so much that I took the wheel off, re-balanced and saw that it was in perfect balance, so I put it back on the bike.

...

I still hear the cluck, and my handlebars wiggle. :-(

...

I was almost thinking of buying a new front tire, because maybe my tire has a lump in it or something. Argh....it's kinda frustrating. Although at 70+ mph, I don't tend to notice any of it ;-)

...

My bet is that the new tire is the cause of the wiggle problem, despite the fact that it is properly balanced. (What brand of tire?) It wouldn't be the first time this has happened. As for the clunk, I have no idea beyond what has already been suggested.

 

[flyfisher]

Having a hard time writing this since I had to go back to school and learn to write appropriately after the warning from admin for my truncated speech patterns.

You REALLY want to do this in public? You were given an ADVISORY (no points) because of the complaints we had about "goofy, hard to read formatting"; not because of "truncated speech".

The advisory was courteous. It was without repercussions. It was a done IN PRIVATE as a response to complaints from other members.

Taking it public and swinging a fictionalized dead cat around to see what you can hit with it doesn't seem the wisest of ways to move forward.

Sorry to have this taken in the wrong vein. Was meant to be apologetic. thanks....ff

 

[Fred W]

@Iris,

I just read your posts about your front end wobbling on your new bike, started after you replaced the tire. I think that there is a really good likelihood that the new tire is the problem and not the steering stem torque at all.

I had never experienced any wobbling before on my '05, ever, until I installed a new Continental ContiMotion tire just before our big trip last month. That tire caused a pronounced wobble, and it began within 200 miles of installing it. I took the tire off when I got home and put a half used Bridgestone BT023GT back on and wobbles are completely gone.

What brand of tire did you put on? It wasn't a Continental was it?

A quick test for you would be to swap front wheels with Jim's bike and see if the wobble goes away. If it does, get another new tire.

 

[RossKean]

I had never experienced any wobbling before on my '05, ever, until I installed a new Continental ContiMotion tire just before our big trip last month. That tire caused a pronounced wobble, and it began within 200 miles of installing it. I took the tire off when I got home and put a half used Bridgestone BT023GT back on and wobbles are completely gone.

I also think a tire is the best possibility but I don't share Fred's bad experience with the ContiMotion. I put both F and R on about 6000 miles ago and while I can say they aren't the best tires I have run, I haven't experienced any wobble (price was right, too). I did, however, have issues with a front Pirelli Angel GT after only a few thousand miles. Truth is, any tire can be bad right off the shelf.

 

[Fred W]

True, but I had also heard other accounts of getting the wobbles from the front ContiMotions.

Of course that didn't stop me from buying one when they were available at fire sale prices.

 

[900gc]

True, but I had also heard other accounts of getting the wobbles from the front ContiMotions. Of course that didn't stop me from buying one when they were available at fire sale prices.

That's because they were from the recall batch.

Actually, doesn't appear the 'Motions were on the list but I know they recalled a bunch of fronts for structural issues.