[onesix6]

Hi all,

Does anyone else have a clicking sound in the area around the front forks? I ask because when I’m stopped and I apply the front brakes and push down on the forks there is a pronounced “click” about halfway through the fork’s travel. The click is audible and can be felt in the brake lever. I also get the same click while braking at low speed over bumps / cracks in the road.
Anyone else feeling this?

 

[Vansmack]

Not at all. Unless something it dragging/hitting somewhere on the outside of the forks I'd have that looked at. The forks by themselves should be smooth, there is nothing inside to cause a click like that.

 

[onesix6]

Not at all. Unless something it dragging/hitting somewhere on the outside of the forks I'd have that looked at. The forks by themselves should be smooth, there is nothing inside to cause a click like that.

Thanks for the reply. That was my feeling as well. Dealer is saying it’s because of the floating rotor design, but my 996 has fully floating rotors and the fork action is buttery smooth and quiet. It’s at the dealer now and I’d like to keep the bike but not with this issue and no identified cause and fix. Bummer.

 

[SeptemberToob]

It's probably a brake cable rubbing against one of the trim pieces or even the fork stanchion itself. I've had this happen on several bikes and it manifests exactly as you're describing. I can't think of anything else in a fork that would "click" unless something is majorly broken. The R7 doesn't even have true floating rotors so that doesn't make any sense. True floating rotors are indeed pretty noisy.

 

[onesix6]

It's probably a brake cable rubbing against one of the trim pieces or even the fork stanchion itself. I've had this happen on several bikes and it manifests exactly as you're describing. I can't think of anything else in a fork that would "click" unless something is majorly broken. The R7 doesn't even have true floating rotors so that doesn't make any sense. True floating rotors are indeed pretty noisy.

Thanks for the reply. I checked fender and hose clearance and didn’t see any points of interference. My other bike has true floating rotors and they’re noisy while the bike is rolling along but once they brakes are on the noise goes away and I’ve never felt anything through the brake lever. It’s odd.

 

[SeptemberToob]

Thanks for the reply. I checked fender and hose clearance and didn’t see any points of interference. My other bike has true floating rotors and they’re noisy while the bike is rolling along but once they brakes are on the noise goes away and I’ve never felt anything through the brake lever. It’s odd.

Yeah the floating rotors will click a little with the brakes grabbed and forward/aft movement but not the up/down click you're describing, I agree!

It's hard to troubleshoot the cable rub thing on your own though, since (at least for me) I can't compress the forks while also keeping my head down low enough to see what's going on. Did you recruit someone to help get eyes on everything down there while you compress the forks?

Very odd!

 

[madefrtv]

check your steering head bearing torque. if its loose have the dealer check the races to make sure they aren't dented under warranty.

 

[SeptemberToob]

check your steering head bearing torque. if its loose have the dealer check the races to make sure they aren't dented under warranty.

This is a good call too - but if this is what is wrong you can replicate the clicking noise by holding the brake and pushing the bike back and forth (without bouncing the forks at all) while standing in front of it. So def try that too.

 

[Vansmack]

This is a good call too - but if this is what is wrong you can replicate the clicking noise by holding the brake and pushing the bike back and forth (without bouncing the forks at all) while standing in front of it. So def try that too.

This isn't exactly a typical rider type thing to troubleshoot, or to fix, IMO. You would most likely feel a subtle kick in the bars too,, not just hear a click. That may be what is being felt on the brake lever. I'd be sort of shocked if the steering stem was loose from the factory, certainly not that it would be missed in setup by a dealer though, I always hard it difficult to justify the cost they want for such a crappy job.

I was in a hurry and I left a dealer not too long ago with a new R3 for my daughter, a big, busy, popular dealer. The bike was very sluggish handling but I was in a hurry, and it was just a couple miles to my house. Less than 30 lbs of air in the tires. TOTAL!! 10-15 each. I know some managers and higher ups there, I went back the next day to bitch them out. They sell to a lot of new riders, I do not want to imagine what a new rider would have done if he left there and say hopped on the freeway. Probably crashed. How much was that assembly service? Give me my money back! I hate that place.

Rant over. Hoping its not steering stem and just something touching the out tube.