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+--- Thread: 2004 Fazer 1000 front end noise (/showthread.php?tid=83800)
2004 Fazer 1000 front end noise - Graham - 15-06-25
I have a 2004 Fazer 1000, bought a year ago. I have a "road noise" emanating up through the front forks/fairing area. Not quite a whirring and not a rattle, but possibly a rotation related sound.
Everything checks out ok, wheel bearings, forks etc. I don't think it's brakes as its still there with a light finger full of brake lever. The Previous owner had looked after it very well and I continue to do the same, but have some concern about this noise (Admittedly I am quite paranoid about odd noises being an air cooled RD owner.)
Does anyone else hear this noise on theirs.? It may be normal noise collecting and transmitting through the opening of the fairing/fork area (first bike I've owned with any sort of fairing). As I've mentioned before it goes well, brakes well and goes round corners well..
Thanks
RE: 2004 Fazer 1000 front end noise - Gaz66 - 17-06-25
(15-06-25, 10:15 PM)Graham Wrote: I have a 2004 Fazer 1000, bought a year ago. I have a "road noise" emanating up through the front forks/fairing area. Not quite a whirring and not a rattle, but possibly a rotation related sound.
Everything checks out ok, wheel bearings, forks etc. I don't think it's brakes as its still there with a light finger full of brake lever. The Previous owner had looked after it very well and I continue to do the same, but have some concern about this noise (Admittedly I am quite paranoid about odd noises being an air cooled RD owner.)
Does anyone else hear this noise on theirs.? It may be normal noise collecting and transmitting through the opening of the fairing/fork area (first bike I've owned with any sort of fairing). As I've mentioned before it goes well, brakes well and goes round corners well..
Thanks
..............................
Hi Graham.
Most likely tyre noise from what u describe.
Any odd wear visible?
What pressure are you running tyres at?
Could also be pad noise on the discs, some aftermarket pads make weird noises, Goldfren Ceramic to name one, make a ton of dust too.
Replacing wheel bearings is a cheap & simple job, they may feel smooth when spun, but under bikes weight & load, may well be noisey.
Fazer 1000's suffer from rattly brake pads, even with genuine pads, the machining clearances within the caliper where the pads sit are far too great & never get any better with hard riding & heat soak/expansion etc.
I could hear my pads clattering with plugs in & lid on & a loudish can with no decible killer, it used to drive me mad it was that loud, so I made up some custom stainless shims from 1mm stainless sheet, totally silent now.
RE: 2004 Fazer 1000 front end noise - Graham - 17-06-25
Thanks gaz66.
I'm running standard tyre pressures, 36 and 39.
You have given me some ideas to look at. Thanks for the information. The sound I'm hearing does seam to alter on different road surfaces. I'll Starr with looking at the pads and wheel bearings.
?
RE: 2004 Fazer 1000 front end noise - Graham - 17-06-25
Update...just checked the front end over again and found the pads rattling about in the calipers. No visible wear to the calipers, time to make a set of shims and go from there. ?
RE: 2004 Fazer 1000 front end noise - NitramA - 20-06-25
If you have a search on the forum you'll see I asked what sounds like the very question some time ago.
It too was driving me mad.
Despite looking at just about everything I came to the conclusion that its tyre noise. I seem to remember it disappeared for a while when I replaced the tyres, only to return some miles later.
Out of interest what tyres do you have? I've been using Metzeler Z6 (I think).
RE: 2004 Fazer 1000 front end noise - unfazed - 20-06-25
Had the same issue, noise was driving me nuts especially with Pilot Road 4, sounded like discs rubbing or something vibrating very lightly. Noise used to change on some surfaces. I changed to Metzler Sportec M9RR no more noise. No noise and great feel and grip and now on my third set. Spiirited riding will have you replacing them after 4000 miles touring 6000miles
RE: 2004 Fazer 1000 front end noise - NitramA - 21-06-25
(17-06-25, 11:17 PM)Graham Wrote: Update...just checked the front end over again and found the pads rattling about in the calipers. No visible wear to the calipers, time to make a set of shims and go from there. ?
Nooo… you've just started me off again!!,
Keep us updated if you do give it a go and make up some shims
RE: 2004 Fazer 1000 front end noise - unfazed - 21-06-25
If it's a light knocking sound it could be pad knock from worn pins or worn fork bushes and rattling over rough ground could also be from worn pad pins
RE: 2004 Fazer 1000 front end noise - NitramA - 04-07-25
Not wishing to sound too millennial but this place should come with a trigger warning…..
I’d convinced myself that the front end noise was due to the tyres, but this thread has started me off again and my obsessive nature has kicked in.
I went out this morning and the noise was as intrusive as before.I can hear it through the earplugs.
It’s not a mechanical sound, it’s also not speed related and it doesn’t change in tone.
I drag the brakes and the noise stays, the road surfaces don’t seem to have an effect.
One thing I did notice on my rummage around was that if I tap the radiator guard mesh it sounds like it could resonate. There’s nothing missing or loose and it would be easy enough to put a piece of rubber in there to check but I wondered if this had been a known source of noise?
Graham - have you been able to pin down the noise any further?
It really does sound like tyre noise and I’m willing to accept that but I need to take my medication first
RE: 2004 Fazer 1000 front end noise - Gaz66 - 04-07-25
[quote="NitramA" pid="980216" dateline="1751639345"]
Not wishing to sound too millennial but this place should come with a trigger warning…..
I’d convinced myself that the front end noise was due to the tyres, but this thread has started me off again and my obsessive nature has kicked in.
I went out this morning and the noise was as intrusive as before.I can hear it through the earplugs.
It’s not a mechanical sound, it’s also not speed related and it doesn’t change in tone.
I drag the brakes and the noise stays, the road surfaces don’t seem to have an effect.
One thing I did notice on my rummage around was that if I tap the radiator guard mesh it sounds like it could resonate. There’s nothing missing or loose and it would be easy enough to put a piece of rubber in there to check but I wondered if this had been a known source of noise?
Graham - have you been able to pin down the noise any further?
It really does sound like tyre noise and I’m willing to accept that but I need to take my medication first
..............................
You're never going to find the source of the noise unless you do some methodical diagnosis.
If you suspect rad guard's noisy, take it off & rd test.
Have you 100% confirmed its not wheel bearings noise?
Tyres rarely make any weird noises, what's condition of tyres? are tyres evenly seated on both rims? are tyres fitted to correct rotation? any odd wear? is wheel alignment way out? twisted of bent fork legs or yokes, bent swingarm?
Fork internals could have been assembled incorrectly?
Are your discs loose/worn bobbins & rattling? which brand of disc have you got fitted?
Check forks are set exactly even in the top yoke with a vernier.
Seen all the above & more.
R1's, R6's & Fazers to name a few all got Sumitomo bottom spec calipers, yes they're a fairly powerful caliper, rear caliper is also way oversized & far too powerful for the bike, most have pretty shit excessive tolerances where pads reside, every Fazer 1000 has pad rattle to some degree, whether you notice it or not, some are slight, some are horrendously loud, I'd advise you pull the pads, push pistons back in & measure the gap where the pad back plate sits within caliper body, measure at brake disc outer & disc inner, calipers can be worn tapered, anything bigger than + 0.5mm larger than your pads, there's your noise, worn pins mostly don't cause any pad rattle, it's a manufacturing fault, which gets worse over time due to wear n tear, only fix it shim em, note the external spring steel plate that sits between pad pins also can be modified to exert a greater force on the pads, this also helps kerb any rattles, but there's not substitute for excess pad to caliper tolerance, only shims will cure it.
I don't of anyone else that's fabricated pad shims beside myself.
My pics from an old post showing my stainless pad shims I fabricated should still be floating around on the server somewhere, it'll give you an idea what you need to fabricate, my shims are the only set I'm aware exist, I considered making up a batch, but due to the wild machining tolerances from caliper to caliper, it's impossible to make it work, each set have to be made a custom fit for each caliper, if you're not skilled in metal fabrication, it'll be beyond your skill level.
RE: 2004 Fazer 1000 front end noise - unfazed - 05-07-25
The Fazers can suffer from fairing infill vibrations and wouldn't change with speed, but would normal dissapear as speed rised and wind and road noise will drown it out.
RE: 2004 Fazer 1000 front end noise - NitramA - 06-07-25
(05-07-25, 11:58 PM)unfazed Wrote: The Fazers can suffer from fairing infill vibrations and wouldn't change with speed, but would normal dissapear as speed rised and wind and road noise will drown it out.
I’ve been round that particular loop repeatedly. Even tried some sound absorbing tape.
Whilst I'll have a go at removing items to see if that makes a difference and have another look at the front end / brakes I’m keen to ride it so that’s my focus atm!
RE: 2004 Fazer 1000 front end noise - Graham - 06-07-25
Apologies for the delay in replying..
I've had it up on a paddock stand again and did find that the pads were rattling in the calipers. Removed pads, checked wheel bearings, any rotational noises, forks, head bearings, mudguard security, cable routing and nose fairing, screen and infills. All of which are good. I even cleaned out the floating disc bobbins. I adjusted the shims to add more tension to the pads in the direction of rotation. Pads now not rattling when checked by hand and wheel spins freely. Quite confident I'd found the source of the noise I took it out for a ride...and it's still there..??
RE: 2004 Fazer 1000 front end noise - NitramA - 06-07-25
(06-07-25, 03:47 PM)Graham Wrote: Apologies for the delay in replying..
I've had it up on a paddock stand again and did find that the pads were rattling in the calipers. Removed pads, checked wheel bearings, any rotational noises, forks, head bearings, mudguard security, cable routing and nose fairing, screen and infills. All of which are good. I even cleaned out the floating disc bobbins. I adjusted the shims to add more tension to the pads in the direction of rotation. Pads now not rattling when checked by hand and wheel spins freely. Quite confident I'd found the source of the noise I took it out for a ride...and it's still there..??
Welcome to the club!! I'm beginning to wonder if it's not something further back and the sound is reflecting up through the fairing..
RE: 2004 Fazer 1000 front end noise - PieEater - 07-07-25
I would recommend some self adhesive foam tape to put between the fairing infills and the fairing to eliminate any noise caused by vibrations, also have you balanced the carbs as this can help a lot with engine vibrations and resulting noise?
RE: 2004 Fazer 1000 front end noise - NitramA - 07-07-25
(07-07-25, 03:49 PM)PieEater Wrote: I would recommend some self adhesive foam tape to put between the fairing infills and the fairing to eliminate any noise caused by vibrations, also have you balanced the carbs as this can help a lot with engine vibrations and resulting noise?
The carbs may be a good call! My clutch is noisy at tickover (ok when the clutch is in)
RE: 2004 Fazer 1000 front end noise - Graham - 10-07-25
Some more good information there to look at...cheers.!
I'll remove the infills and nose and fill any contact area with some anti rattle tape.
Carbs might benefit from getting balanced, it is a little lumpy when cold..