Small clunk when grabbing the breaks hard and stopping completly, 5th gen.

Hey Guys,

I purchased a 5th gen a few months ago. I have noticed a small clunk when stopping real hard. It doesn't clunk until I have completely stopped.

I believe its maybe a loose steering head or bad bearings...

Could someone explain how to check these? Or how to tighten the steering head?

Thanks!

Mike

 

Hi Mike. Is all the calipers mounting hardware secure? Sometimes I have seen this clunk on cars if the brake pads are too loose in the bracket (i.e. didn't install the clips when replacing pads, etc). Do you hear it if you apply the front brake and try to rock the bike forward and backwards?

I don't know if this helps but here are some pages about the steering head from the honda 'common service manual' at hrca.honda.com

 

thanks a lot for the information! thats great!

I do hear the clunk if I apply the front brake and rock it back and forth hard... but instead of a clunk its more like a click.

 

Sounds good! Maybe with a friend one of you can rock the bike hard to get it clicking while the other tries to figure out where the clicking is coming from? I find a mechanic's stethescope (like $2 at harbor freight) to be very useful for pinpointing these kinds of sounds.

 

Put the bike on the centerstand and prop the front wheel off the ground.
Pull up and down on the forks.
- There should not be any "clicking" or movement

Also try to shift them left to right.
- There should not be any "clicking" or movement

Lightly turn the bars from left to right.
- You are trying to feel if there is a catch in the bearings.

 

Mason,

This will necessarily just tell me if its loose correct? Unless I pull the triple tree and check it and its not loose.. then I will be getting new bearings...

 

The steps I gave you are general methods of determining if your bearings are loose or need to be replaced.

Here is another website that might help:
Shucking the Shakes

 

The clunk is likely the movement of the "secondary master cylinder" that is energizing the rear brake caliper on your linked braking system. Look at your brakes. One is on a pivoting carrier that moves forward when the caliper grips the rotor.