Spark plugs replace or not to replace?

[natefz6]

Hey y'all,

So after some encouragement and education from this fair site of ours I am starting to do more of my own maintenance. I have been working through the required elements for a 20,000km service on the FZ6. I am at 20,000miles but hey ho better late than never

The one remaining thing I have to do from the list is to replace the spark plugs. I have not pulled one out yet to have a look but what should I be looking for? Should I just replace them anyway if I have pulled them out?

The bike idles fine and I don't get any misfires. It does very occasionally stall if I pull away quickly and then let off the throttle and pull the clutch but I just put that down to my poor riding

Any advice on which plugs to go for? I have seen people recommend iridium ones, some saying they last longer other proclaiming it makes riding the bike silky smooth :/ . At £30 for 4 they are not going to break the bank!

Thanks again!
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"no I didn't steal it that's just the way I ride"

[BTTD]

If the plugs are due changing per the service schedule then I would change them. I'm not convinced iridium are worth the extra, or at least I've never noticed any difference on the bikes I've owned.

[Rogerborg]

They'll last longer, which may benefit you, or the next owner. The iridium plugs in my Nazi Tractor are scheduled for replacement every 24,000 miles. I thought that was extreme, but it's running fine at 19,000 and cars tend to go tens of thousands of miles without change - some technoplugs reckoning they're good for 120,000 miles.

Copious amounts of Plus-Gas, and don't go full Hulk on them. If you snap one then you're into an epic What Do? thread.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[mentalboy]

[Andy_Pagin]

Having gone to the hassle of getting them out I'd change them, dunno about the FZ6 but they're a bugger to get to on the Fazer, and they tend to rust up badly on the outside, especially the inner two plugs.
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the men in white coats are coming to take me away.
Yamaha Vity -> YBR125 -> FZS600 Fazer -> FZ1-S Fazer

[nowhere.elysium]

[Rogerborg]

I've never rekt one, but we know that engine (in combination with special owners) might be tricksy.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[pompousporcup...]

i've never 'needed' to change one yet i have put new ones in every 8-10k miles on the twin. For £6 it doesnt break the bank at all.

~£30 for 4 plugs is a lot of money really, considering for half that you could get 4 regular ngk plugs that would last. You could also buy 4 spare plugs (unlikely every to need 4 tbh) for if one does decide to play find the shit.

The main reason i check/change the plugs so often is to avoid the corrosion and risk of the plug seizing in the head (the twin i have has drain holes which block up easily leaving water sitting on the plug) i copper slip the threads every time they're out and have never had issues with stuck plugs.

[chris-red]

My TDM specified, 18k for plug changes, the only time I left it for longer than that it developed a misfire at about 20k.

As they are a fucker to get to I do it whenever I'm in the area so to speak.
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[natefz6]

Well, err that went well.

So at the weekend I thought I would get on with this. I unbolted the radiator to give me some room, pulled off the HT lead and used the removal tool from the tool kit to undo the 1st spark plug.

It was tight enough but was not a pain at all to remove

But the plug was not the same as the ones I have received from amazon

I was in a bit of a rush and it had started spitting with rain so I packed my stuff up and glumly made my way inside.

Of course after some googling today, I now realise that all I should have done was removed the terminal and they would have matched



https://d3nevzfk7ii3be.cloudfront.net/igi/FXSQMJGIwLMvNpls.medium

The old ones were looking pretty similar to this
https://www.sportbikes.net/forums/attachments/fz6-fz6r-mods/70206d1137630542-ngk-cr9eix-iridium-spark-plugs-old-spark-plugs.jpg

Live and learn!
____________________
"no I didn't steal it that's just the way I ride"

[chris-red]

[natefz6]

Well the sun was out today and I had the two minnie me's so it was as good a time as any for them to clean the bike and me to give this another go.

All the plugs came out easily, I had read that it was a bit of a bitch to get the 1 and 2 plugs out but actually with my girly hands and a few additions to the ratchet it was pretty easy.

https://i.imgur.com/kR2hTrW.jpg

Obligatory old and new

https://i.imgur.com/e5eqZRL.jpg


____________________
"no I didn't steal it that's just the way I ride"

[Rogerborg]

How's it running with the technoplugs?

My lizard brain is looking at those twin-spark plugs and thinking: but that's 2x the spark! And bigger sparks! And exposed to the cylinder!
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[natefz6]

[Pigeon]

[Fizzer Thou]

The plugs that you have removed are a specific type that last longer due to the twin electrodes.It is only the centre electrode that has worn.Colour looks good so the air/fuel ratio is nominal.The Iridium ones that you have bought might make the throttle response better,as this is what I found when I installed them in my R1 and my KTM Enduro race bike.
This chart is helpful for indentifying engine problems

https://i666.photobucket.com/albums/vv23/WiNot_Rhencullen/Workshop/PlugChopExamples_zpstltk64da.jpg
____________________
Just talk bikes.What else is there?

Always have a 'Plan B'

[Kickstart]

[Matt B]

Yup, you need two plugs in there to get a twin spark.
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[Rogerborg]

Don't you oppress my belief system.

https://i.imgur.com/cGiXbRq.png
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Fizzer Thou]

[natefz6]

[Pigeon]

[natefz6]

Hi All,

200 miles down and not much to report. It did feel like there was a slight improvement in throttle response and the bike is running nice and smooth. I cant compare that to what it would have been like with new normal plugs as I did not test that, I think the old plugs were 20,000 miles old .

Although to be honest sometimes the bike feels like it rides better after I have cleaned it so it could all be placebo .

Its a job that needed doing that's been done and now will not need to be done until after I have moved on to a new bike I would have thought. And its certainly a job I would do myself again.
____________________
"no I didn't steal it that's just the way I ride"