Front end clunk????

[phatnomad]

I'm sure this has been discussed many times here, but the front end clunk on my 2005 nomad is driving me nuts. It used to do it occasionaly but now it happens on just about every bump in the road. It happens any time I brake hard enough with the front brake to make the nose dive. If I am going 50 mph or just walking it back and forth in the garage. Even if I walk it backward in the garage and hit the front brake hard enough to raise the front end it clunks. If I can get rid of the front end clunk this would be the perfect bike for me. If you frequent the delphi vulcan forum you will notice this same post. Has anyone replaced the front springs with progressive to get rid of the noise.

[Idaho]

What you are hearing may be the brake pads. I do not know how to stop that. You might be able to rule that our or prove it if you can figure out a way to wedge a thin piece of cardboard or paper in behind the brake pads to see if the noise goes away. I would not leave it there, just do it as a test. Who knows if you verify that to be the cause maybe you can come up with some kit to stop the racket. You will be rich.

[audiogooroo]

I would also check the wiring harness in the headlight bucket. Some folks have needed to secure it better.

Brake calipers have little leaf springs (of a sort) in them called "anti-rattle springs" that keep the pads pressed up against the caliper tight, yet still allow a little movement and of course some clearance for pad installation and variations due to manufacturing tolerance. The thing is, these little springs have a life much shorter than the rest of the brake system. They just get tired from flexure and heat and need replacement every few years. Once they go soft, the pads will rattle and clunk, and while it's annoying it's not really dangerous in most cases.

Now if you let them go until one wears completely through, or is otherwise physically damaged, then you might have a problem.

I just looked on the on-line parts diagram for the '04 Nomad rear brake and Kawasaki calls these parts:

92144: SPRING,STOPPER 634548-001 $2.40
92145: SPRING,PAD 1490181-001 $8.05

Those prices are from Bike Bandit, so you can probably get them cheaper if you look around.

('05 and later have slightly different brakes, so check the diagrams thoroughly)

[ells]

Some front end clunking seems to be a standard feature on these bikes. Still a good idea to check out anything too annoying. I padded the connector in the headlight but still get a little I can't isolate. Always been there and not changing.

[chainsaw]

I've also done the headlight thing. Seems to help a lot.

[voyager]

You may have loose neck bearings. Braking with the front brake and making the nose dive, or backing down an incline and braking causing the forks to extend is a good test to see if your neck bearings are loose. Do you have any handling issues, especially if you let go of the handle bars while cruising? This is another , all be it tricky, test for loose neck bearings. Jacking the bike up and grabbing the forks low and pulling up and down is the shop test.

voyager

[redjay]

Hi, I recently upgraded my 05 forks with progressive springs and emulators both made by Race Tech. The front end clunk (in my opinion) is coming from the fork design themselves.
My forks improved quite a bit after the rebuild but some of the clunk is still there. I tried all the usual suggestions first (loose steering head bearings, loose wires in the headlight etc) with no success.

The design of the dampers is definately biased toward highway speeds. I only get any clunking on sharp bumps at low speeds. I think a good part of it is because of a compromise in the cartridge design which promotes good freeway manners at the expense of low speed comfort.

[ells]

Actually, I get something similar on my VN800B. With the discussion on Gaget's page and elsewhere I've just taken it as normal except for what can be done with the headlight connector. Again, this is assuming that something else isn't specifically amiss but not sure how a newer owner could tell about that.

[ianicky]

I to also get the clunk at lower speeds when hitting a bump although Ive never had it happen whilst pushing the bike in or out of my garage. It's driving me nuts Ive also looked at the headlight wiring harness at it made no difference at all. I just wonder if people in the street can also hear it?? I hope not lol

[redjay]

Hi, If you know and good shop over there in blighty than specialises in suspension it might be worth talking to them regarding modifying the forks from the fixed orifice design of the Nomad to a variable orifice emulator made by Race Tech (or others) and different springs. The clunk was driving me nuts too. Now I can live with it.

[ianicky]

Will have a look to see whats about localy i guess that cost big $$$ ? though, was there any other benifits from the mods?

[redjay]

It cost me about 300 quid. It made the front suspension a lot less abrupt when hitting a bump at low speeds. A decent size bump would move you in your seat before the mods. Now the forks soak up the bumps better at all speeds, especially when loaded down with a passenger.