Front End Noise - One Answer
Thread Starter
|
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 2,395
Likes: 153
From: Utah
Front End Noise - One Answer
I put quite a few miles on during a couple of trips and a minor rattle in the front end turned into more than a slight nuisance... I thought:
1. Maybe I need to get those bushings for the rockers...
or
2. It was just those noisy calipers
or
3. My gremlin bell was banging into something
or
4. I didn't get the fork tubes tight enough when I changed the fork oil
or
5. My wheel bearings were going
or
6. My neck bearings were going...
As it turns out #4 was slightly true but made no changes and since I was due for #6 at 25k I had that done (along with front tire special) while on the 2nd trip. Bingo!
The seal was improperly installed at the factory allowing dirt to get into the bearings which meant that they weren't allowing the bearings to roll freely (and the bearing races would have eventually been scored). Neck bearing service was done (not cheap... but I was staying at a beautiful cabin in the mountains) and noise went back to just the standard caliper and rocker arm rattles. A side benefit? The front end always dove to the left in spite of SE Fork Oil... and now the bike stops in a straight line (and here I thought it was just because I was getting old).
There you go you rattle detective wannabes... I would move this into the upper part of the list of candidates if I were you... especially if you also don't like how your front end is handling.
1. Maybe I need to get those bushings for the rockers...
or
2. It was just those noisy calipers
or
3. My gremlin bell was banging into something
or
4. I didn't get the fork tubes tight enough when I changed the fork oil
or
5. My wheel bearings were going
or
6. My neck bearings were going...
As it turns out #4 was slightly true but made no changes and since I was due for #6 at 25k I had that done (along with front tire special) while on the 2nd trip. Bingo!
The seal was improperly installed at the factory allowing dirt to get into the bearings which meant that they weren't allowing the bearings to roll freely (and the bearing races would have eventually been scored). Neck bearing service was done (not cheap... but I was staying at a beautiful cabin in the mountains) and noise went back to just the standard caliper and rocker arm rattles. A side benefit? The front end always dove to the left in spite of SE Fork Oil... and now the bike stops in a straight line (and here I thought it was just because I was getting old).
There you go you rattle detective wannabes... I would move this into the upper part of the list of candidates if I were you... especially if you also don't like how your front end is handling.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
c50plus
Touring Models
61
Oct 29, 2009 09:36 AM
