New noise from front wheel

[the Ferret]

Last week I put on a new front tire. I had trouble getting the left front caliper back on and in the process, on one attempt, noticed the clevis for the smc was out of alignment, but eventually got everything lined up and installed. Went for a ride yesterday and noticed a tick tick tick sound when rolling slowly and slow speed braking. Not sure if this is the same noise guys are talking about in the SMC threads or not. It's not loud and you really have to listen to hear it. Brakes seem to work fine. Any ideas? Will it hurt to drive it like this? Should I take the left caliper back off and make sure the rod that the clevis pin is attached to is in right? Suggestions?

 

[Tom Mac 04a]

Jack up the bike front and spin the tire to see if you can hear the sound... if yes , it may help narrow it down.

If not, then I'd personally re do the caliper ( off and clean and check ) to make sure it is assembled right.... better to check your work at home than try to fix it while away ( or worse ).

 

[Gerhard]

I don't know if this would apply to your bike but mine has a ticking sound from the speedometer cable, it has had this noise for a few years now.

Gerhard

 

[Mellow]

I don't know if this would apply to your bike but mine has a ticking sound from the speedometer cable, it has had this noise for a few years now.

Gerhard

Not on a 1300..

I'm thinking maybe one of the brake pads popped loose, and is bouncing a little.

 

[Nevada]

Ya might want to remove the clothespin and playing card from the spokes before ya get too far into taking the ST apart.

I'm just sayin.....

 

[the Ferret]

Tire is good, no stones. Axle is flush with fork leg on left and proper procedure was used for torqing all bolts/nuts in proper sequence according to manual. The only bugaboo in whole procedure was the misalignment/difficulty in getting the left caliper on. Brake pads are OEM new, dealer installed in January when I had the brake/clutch fluids replaced/bled.

I'll dig into it in the next day or so. Looking at the shop manual is says something about holding the SMC at 0-15 degrees from ground level. Something I did not do, I just removed and hung the caliper by a cord out of the way, until I got the wheel back on. Any issue here? or is this only when bleeding the system?

I'm not real mechanically inclined, but I can usually remove and re-install wheels without a problem. Not sure what happened this time.

 

[the Ferret]

Well I did as Tom suggested, spun the wheel by hand and you could definitly hear something. I looked all over with a flashlight and couldn't see anything amiss. Figuring I had the problem with the left caliper install, I removed it first , and inspected the heck out of it. Finding nothing wrong I re-installed it, re-torqued the bolts to 23 ft lbs as per the manual, and spun the wheel. No noise. I dropped it down on it's wheels, rolled it forward and back, no noise. So I took it for a 10 mile test ride and my noise seems to have miraculously vanished. However I did notice on the ride the first time you depress the rear brake pedal it drops about 2". Let it up and depress again and it only goes down maybe an inch. Maybe the system has an air bubble in it? I called the dealer and will be taking the bike in Saturday morning for a re-bleed.

I still have no idea why it was making the noise, but it's gone I guess. Thanks for the help.

 

[Igofar]

If the dealership bled the brakes, there is a chance that they didn't follow the correct procedure and tilt the caliper, or bleed the PCV valve, etc. This would cause air in the system. When you removed the caliper, you could have moved it around enough for the trapped air, to relocate into a position to cause problems. Air in the system can cause your SMC to not work correctly. Also as stated, the proper sequence when putting the front tire back on may have not been done correctly. Tighten left, tighten axle nut, tighten right, loosen left, torque calipers, torque left pinch bolts etc.
And lastly, if you noticed the pivot point out of alignment, this would cause the SMC to bind, and drag the brakes as well.
I'd suggest removing the left caliper, checking the clips, pad alignment, pins, etc. then repack the needle bearings in the pivot point, and check the bushing for scoring. It can be cleaned with a scotchbright pad, use waterproof grease on the bearings, and don't use locktight on the threads of the mounting bolts, put it into the female threads instead, so you don't get it into the bearings.
PM me your phone number if you have any more questions. I'd be glad to offer any assistance I can to help.
Igofar

 

[MATTHEWS]

Hopefully the STealer doesn't want to charge you $300 labor to bleed the brake system. That is what the service dept quoted me when I inquired about the cost at a STealer here in Houston. I was so shocked I did it myself and found that it is not so difficult. The good instructions here https://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?68913-ST1300-Brake-Fluid-Replacement on this site helped out alot.

 

[the Ferret]

Igofar..I appreciate the offer but really this is now beyond my meager capabilities. I can bleed the single disc on my 750 Nighthawk, but bleeding a system with steps and SMCs and pvcs is waaaay beyond anything I want to tackle. I'll see what the dealer has to say Saturday.

 

[Tom Mac 04a]

However I did notice on the ride the first time you depress the rear brake pedal it drops about 2". Let it up and depress again and it only goes down maybe an inch

This will go away IF the brakes are done correctly... I use to have the same pedal till I removed the SMC when called for in the bleed process and FULLY/PROPERLY did the brakes. (used 3 pts of fluid)

The major rear pedal drop went from over an inch to about a 1/4" after and almost no diif on the second press...BTW, all brakes felt much better!

PS.. before you take it in, check to make sure the SMC function properly... Lay on floor and spin rear wheel, simple push in on SMC and the rear should quickly stop, let go and rear whell should spin freely agn ( normal to have slight pad drag, 1-1 1/2 turns on rear with good spin )

 

[the Ferret]

This will go away IF the brakes are done correctly... I use to have the same pedal till I removed the SMC when called for in the bleed process and FULLY/PROPERLY did the brakes. (used 3 pts of fluid)

The major rear pedal drop went from over an inch to about a 1/4" after and almost no diif on the second press...BTW, all brakes felt much better!

PS.. before you take it in, check to make sure the SMC function properly... Lay on floor and spin rear wheel, simple push in on SMC and the rear should quickly stop, let go and rear whell should spin freely agn ( normal to have slight pad drag, 1-1 1/2 turns on rear with good spin )

Tom you can do this test with the caliper on the bike? Or do you have to remove it?

 

[Igofar]

Mr. Weazle, you can perform the SMC test without removing anything. Like Tom said, simply lie on the floor on the left side of the bike, and take your foot and briskly spin the rear wheel, then push the SMC bracket forward (towards the front of the the bike). The rear wheel should lock up instantly. When you release the caliper, you should be able to spin the wheel again. I get 1 1/2 to 2 full turns when I spin my rear wheel. (since I rebuilt the SMC).
This test is not a "know all" test, the SMC can still be damaged, or corroded, and drag the brakes, and still allow the wheel to spin. Other symptoms can be found by using the search mode in these threads.
Some symptoms are 1. The bike will feel heavier to push into the garage. 2. scraping sounds from the rear rotor area.
3. The bike feeling like its on ice or marbles when you slowly pull away (pulsating or grabbing the rotor causes this)
4. Heat. 5. Noise, etc.
I hope you have good luck with the dealership.
Igofar

 

[the Ferret]

Bike feels fine to push around, no unusual rear brake pad drag noise, bike feels fine taking off.

Doing Toms test, wheel spins fine, stops when SMC is applied, spins free immediately upon release.

Only issue I'm having now is the rear pedal dropping when first applied. I'm assuming it's a fluid bleeding issue and hope the dealer will correct that Saturday.

 

[Tom Mac 04a]

I'm assuming it's a fluid bleeding issue and hope the dealer will correct that Saturday

Can't say I came up with it...passing along so to speak; Someone else here put me on to this a long while back when i complained of the same thing... I did a full proper bleed, tilting the caliper assm when called for and 3 pints of fluid ( and bunch of cussing cause it was my first time ) later almost all of the pedal play was gone.

I'll try and find the orig thread.

 

[the Ferret]

Dropped the bike off last night and service mgr felt there may be an air bubble in the line, so they are rebleeding today and sticking some spark plugs in it while the Tupperware is off at my request since my plugs have 26,000 miles on them.

 

[dduelin]

If the brakes are bled properly there is no pedal drop whatsoever in the rear brake. A pedal that drops on first application then pumps up or hardens with a second or third press has air in the circuit and it is most likely in the bore of the SMC.

A check for proper pedal operation is to approach a full stop from about 25 mph and apply the front brake and rear brake lightly together. One press and one pull, no pumping. As the bike slows to about 15 mph release the front brake but keep pressure on the pedal. If there is air in the system this is when the pedal drops. A pump or two hardens it.

 

[the Ferret]

Well as a follow up the dealer re bled the brakes and did in fact find air in the lines. Testing the pedal when I picked it up showed no difference between first push and second and third pushes. I really couldn't test the brakes much on the ride home as it was 50 degrees and raining pretty hard. Hopefully in the next couple of days I'll find a chance to get out and put the bike/brakes thru their paces, but I think the brake issue is now a thing of the past.

Thanks gain o everyone for their help, suggestions and patience.

 

[Tom Mac 04a]

good to hear

 

[Igofar]

Sounds like you made the dealer just do what he told you was done the first time, on the second visit
Glad your bike is running better.
Igofar