Creaking front end

[Steve6088]

There is creaking coming from the front end of the bike which has been getting worse and worse with time. I had the headstock bearings greased 4 months ago so I am inclined to think these aren't the culprit but I cant think of anything else.

The creak is caused by going over the slightests of bumps or steering left and right quickly. The noise is driving me mad.

Has anybody got an suggestions as to what could be causing this. This would be greatly appreciated

[Phimosis]

I had the same creaky thing after greasing the bearings, just nip them up with a suitable approved tool (flat sided screwdriver) 2mm should do it, put the edge against the flat side of the bearing casing and gently "convince" the casing round with a small rubber mallet.

[tony.mon]

Use a length of aquarium airline tubing, tape one end to the area at the top of the headstock and poke the other end up into your crash helmet so you can hear what's happening.
Repeat with the lower end taped to the bottom of the headstock.

Careful adjustment of the tube position should help you identify exactly where it's coming from, then strip and inspect.
Look for unexpectedly shiny places, where one part rubs on another.

You could try spraying wd40 around, to see if you can make it go away....

[MJONESY]

The creak is caused by going over the slightests of bumps or steering left and right quickly. The noise is driving me mad.

Has anybody got an suggestions as to what could be causing this. This would be greatly appreciated

Try leaving the missus at home see if that solves it

[Flatline]

[Steve6088]

Thank you very much for the advice. Ill give all three a try

I was listening at the creaking more this morning on the way to work, convincing myself it is coming from under the tank. Haven t managed to get my hands on an aquarium tubing yet though. I can imagine I'll get some strange looks when it comes to that.

Would it be possible for an engine mount to be creaking? if looking at the headstock doesn't solve it, could this be a possibility?

Thanks a lot

[MacV2]

Thank you very much for the advice. Ill give all three a try

I was listening at the creaking more this morning on the way to work, convincing myself it is coming from under the tank. Haven t managed to get my hands on an aquarium tubing yet though. I can imagine I'll get some strange looks when it comes to that.

Would it be possible for an engine mount to be creaking? if looking at the headstock doesn't solve it, could this be a possibility?

Thanks a lot

Are you 100% sure it is from the front of the bike?

The rear suspension linkages suffer from drying out & seizing & have been known to creak, you should be able to test that just by bouncing the rear up & down whilst sitting on the bike.

The other thing that is a possibility at the front end is a badly routed cable/brake line/wire which is rubbing when susspension is compressing.

[Steve6088]

I greased the suspension linkages in the summer. I had to replace the whole linkage in the end actually. I'll grease them up annually now. They were my last creaking headache.

Think I've sorted it now. It was the R&G frame mount I think. I've undone it slightly and blasted it with WD 40.

Fingers crossed there is no creaked on way to work tomorrow . Thanks for the advice, I struggling troubleshooting things like this.