a front end clunk?

Hello all. Yesterday i took my bike out for a wee spin after having fixed all the faults found at the MOT and now when I go over a bump I get a strange clunk noise from the front end somewhere, tried pushing and pulling the forks and theres no give or freeplay movement so I'm stuck, what else should I do to try and find what it is? and whilst driving along the road the bike feels awfy bouncy, is this normal? Had to do front fork oil seals and I'm thinking I've probly screwed summat up or not tightened something properly. Bearing in mind I'm a bit of a muppet, thanks for any response.

sookie.

[Dave20046]

Not sure if this is the same thing but sv's are renowned for front end clunkiness.

It is a bit strange cos it doesn't effect the handling its just concerning that there may be something wrong and Oh I forgot to say one of the bleeding nipples is leaking, how do I seal it?

Bleed nipples are screwed in so just tighten it up with a spanner, and make sure you have enough brake fluid in the reservoir!

As for clunking, well I've given up trying to figure out what it is on mine (fork internals i assume). I'm hoping some new 15W fork oil might help with what I think is a lack of damping but as Dave20046 said the SV is notorious for clunking at front end..

[Dave20046]

I've put uprated springs and 15w oil in mine, it clunks when I go over a pothole but it doesn't sound out of the ordinary as the front end is rock solid, you kind of expect it. I'm not sure if it's the same clunk you're thinking of though.
Last time I had knocking noise it was the brakes dragging and pulling the floating disc about, might be worth checking that but it's very unlikely you'll be able to hear that with the motor on.

Yeah. I replaced the exhaust with the original one and it seems as loud as it did before, I'm thinking I maybe feel rather than hear the clunk. As for the bleeding nipple I'm terrified I'm gonna strip or snap it as I have previously on a different bike. Is there anything I should be putting on the threads to help? or just tighten it up?

Originally Posted by sookie

Yeah. I replaced the exhaust with the original one and it seems as loud as it did before, I'm thinking I maybe feel rather than hear the clunk. As for the bleeding nipple I'm terrified I'm gonna strip or snap it as I have previously on a different bike. Is there anything I should be putting on the threads to help? or just tighten it up?

hi mate you can get some tape called ptfe tape ( i think ) basically if you take the nipple out, put this tape round the thread and screw it back it, it bassically gives it a bit more of a hold, its used alot on boats and boat engines, i dont think its too expensive and good stuff to keep in the garage when you have something that wont tighten properly put this stuff on and it will tighten.

chompy

[Dave20046]

Originally Posted by sookie

Yeah. I replaced the exhaust with the original one and it seems as loud as it did before, I'm thinking I maybe feel rather than hear the clunk. As for the bleeding nipple I'm terrified I'm gonna strip or snap it as I have previously on a different bike. Is there anything I should be putting on the threads to help? or just tighten it up?

Just nip it and see how it feels.

"ptfe tape"? is that white and quite thin stuff? I've used similar stuff on water/gas pipes before.

[Sid Squid]

Originally Posted by chompy

hi mate you can get some tape called ptfe tape ( i think ) basically if you take the nipple out, put this tape round the thread and screw it back it, it bassically gives it a bit more of a hold, its used alot on boats and boat engines, i dont think its too expensive and good stuff to keep in the garage when you have something that wont tighten properly put this stuff on and it will tighten.

chompy

Don't do this - the seal is achieved by the cone shaped section on the end of the nipple not the thread.

OP: First off are you sure it's leaking? There's often a bit of fluid left in the nipple after bleeding.
If it definitely is, then first loosen it off a quarter turn then nip back up and I really mean nip - it's only supposed to be at 5.5lb-ft, (7.5n-m), which really is a nip - the sort of torque you'll get with a six inch long spanner without pulling too hard.

If it doesn't seal then something is wrong. Don't continue to tighten it.