I think most people are correct on this topic. But this "issue" really has two answers. And for people that don't know, we are all agreeing about two situations and both are correct.. In most cases like this, its the two jam nuts under the top triple tree that come loose and the bearings are 'rocking' in there seats. Normally this is what makes the noise and the situation what it is. In this case you take the top triple tree off, you fallow the service manual, you add the correct TQ to each nut, Etc. (this is all assuming that the two nuts have come loose and the bearings are really 'loose'... A few days ago I thought this is what I was going to need to perform to fix the issue. Many cases in my life when I have felt and heard the noise I heard, I would have definitely thought this is what I was going to need to do to fix the issue...
Being that the bike is new, I decided to TQ just the triple tree down and see what that does. I checked the free play in the forks / Triple tree and that was OK. I TQ the top nut down and the problems is fixed.... This is the first time I have experienced a loose triple tree that was as loud as loose steer tube bearings. Sounds the same, but not the same. So on this bike, in this case there are two possibilities of the 'popping'.. It could be only the top nut (more than likely)..... Or it could be the traditional loose steer tube bearings. Being that these bikes are so new, I would "think" that anyone that experiences this 'popping' has a loose top triple tree nut, and probably not the two jam nuts under the top triple tree. If you run into any issues you should have Yamaha check it out, or check it out yourself so you can fix one or the other... ::008::