2016 KTM 250 SX Front End Noise

taylor797
Hi everyone, I just picked up a 2016 KTM 250 SX with 0.3 hours from a guy that realized it was too big for him. It's basically brand new but when I was pulling it in I noticed the front end makes a clicking noise when I have the brake pulled and compress the suspension. It sounds like it is coming from the upper triple clamp area but it's difficult to pinpoint. My 2015 250SX was nice and tight, and I dont think the new rubber bar mounts would have any thing to do with this. I loosened the upper triple clamp bolts and checked the steering head bolt and it's tight. Does anyone have ideas?

Thank you
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Jmicmoto13
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Jmicmoto13 3/28/2017 4:34am
3/28/2017 4:34am
My 125 made a sound like that when my steering stem bearing cage broke. Possibly a cable misrouted and hitting something upon compression? Loose chain roller?
xnationalwrench 3/28/2017 8:59am
3/28/2017 8:59am
I would grease the bearings and re torque the bolts to spec and while your at it grease the linkage also.
dedi684
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dedi684 3/28/2017 1:02pm
3/28/2017 1:02pm
My 15 did the same thing. I believe it's a little ball a check valve.

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taylor797 3/28/2017 1:47pm
3/28/2017 1:47pm Edited Date/Time 3/28/2017 1:49pm
Thanks for all the replies, my 2015 didn't make the noise but I guess its not often that I grab the bars and shake them, it still doesn't seem right. I took a video of it and the camera picked it up well, it's not actually as bad as it sounds on camera but it picks up the noise. I haven't greased the stem yet and I will soon but at this point the bike is in my apartment and the noise is driving me crazy. I followed the procedure in the manual to make sure the bearing preload is correct. Video is posted below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jft5elZDQ_E
Jmicmoto13
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Jmicmoto13 3/28/2017 4:46pm
3/28/2017 4:46pm
Man it looked like your triple clamp was moving seperately from the bike. Odd sound for sure.
CarlinoJoeVideo
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CarlinoJoeVideo 3/28/2017 4:59pm
3/28/2017 4:59pm
Is your front wheel or front brake calipers loose?

Does it have a floating from rotor?
taylor797 3/28/2017 6:26pm
3/28/2017 6:26pm
The caliper, wheel and rotor are all solid. It feels like it's at the triple clamps but it's like the clamps are moving up and down vertically along the axis of the steering stem. All I could do in my apartment was use the KTM procedure for setting the bearing tension with the top triple clamp and it didn't change anything. When I move it up and down it definitely feels like its in the steering stem area and not at the wheel.
CarlinoJoeVideo
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CarlinoJoeVideo 3/28/2017 6:41pm
3/28/2017 6:41pm
Did you loosen the top clamp bolts when you tried to tighten the tension? Maybe remove everything, and start from scratch. Maybe something internally is broken like stated above.
taylor797 3/28/2017 9:20pm
3/28/2017 9:20pm
Yes I loosened the clamp bolts, I don't see how something could be broken since it's new but possibly they put something together wrong. I'll have to take it apart and figure out what's going on.
CarlinoJoeVideo
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CarlinoJoeVideo 3/29/2017 1:45am
3/29/2017 1:45am
If you remove the front wheel and forks, then see if the noise continues. Then from there you can narrow down where the problem is. Not many parts, once it's apart and back together it should be obvious
RockyRider
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RockyRider 3/29/2017 9:13am
3/29/2017 9:13am
Loosen top triple clamp bolts on both sides, leave the bottom tight. Then loosen the pinch bolt just below the top triple nut. Tighten top triple nut and feel the tension of the steering, set it not too loose not too tight. Spin the front wheel and grab the front brake and then tighten everything back up. If that doesn't do it (assuming everything by the wheel is straight and tight) then the noise is coming from the inside of the forks. Hope this helps
Pirate421
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Pirate421 3/29/2017 4:48pm
3/29/2017 4:48pm
Man my wife gave me a funny when I was watching that.

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