On the Phone with Dynojet Tech Support

[1948man]

This could stir the pot as much as an oil thread. I did some plug chops on the low throttle and 1/4 to 1/3 throttle circuits after installing my Dynojet kit. The low throttle showed tan ceramic area but the 1/3 throttle plugs were so lily white that I decided not to do the Wide open Throttle run. The PO removed and apparently discarded the stock spacer above the E-clip on the needle so Dynojet Tech Support had me put the e-clip in the top groove to make up for the missing spacer. When I called back to Dynojet Tech Support, he said that plug chops are totally worthless. He explained that ethanol and other things in today's gas makes it burn clean and yield white plugs. I asked him what would cause the low throttle plugs to be tan and he said maybe they got sooty from the choke on start-up and just hadn't totally burnt off yet. I can't say I'm ready to buy into what he's saying without doing some more plug chops on my 1100 after I get some issues sorted out. I'll soon have a coated, rust-free tank on board so I won't have to worry whether my in-line fuel filter is starving things a little. I have a 4 into 1 V and H, Ape PODS, and new intake O-rings (carb to motor) and a stage 3 kit. I also am fashioning a clear tubing gauge to measure the fuel in the float bowls.

I'm interested in getting some opinions about the tech support guy's dismissal of plug reading. He is the main guy for tech at Dynojet and you have to leave a message and have him call you back so I'm pretty sure he accurately represents their philosophy. Not just some new guy on his first day.

[blowerbike]

throw plug chops out the window.
if the bike pulls smoothly through the entire RPM range and redlines with no hesitations then life is good.
i like white plugs as long as the bike runs properly.
a stock engine is near impossible to damage itself from running a little lean.
if the bike is having a serious lean condition you will feel it.
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(added)
oh,
this is my opinion and not in stone.
and i have made WOT runs to check the plugs while running on the mains.
my whole point is.....
if it feels good when you run it through the gears then be happy.
dynojet never steered me wrong when i first started using their products...

[1948man]

Thanks, I hear you. I just wanted to see if there was any consensus on this and figured a lot of folks would have a strong opinion on this. I still want to do some plug chops after I have eliminated all possibles causes for a lean condition and see if I get consistently white plugs.

[chef1366]

throw plug chops out the window.
if the bike pulls smoothly through the entire RPM range and redlines with no hesitations then life is good.
i like white plugs as long as the bike runs properly.
a stock engine is near impossible to damage itself from running a little lean.
if the bike is having a serious lean condition you will feel it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(added)
oh,
this is my opinion and not in stone.
and i have made WOT runs to check the plugs while running on the mains.
my whole point is.....
if it feels good when you run it through the gears then be happy.
dynojet never steered me wrong when i first started using their products...

Do you mean when you have fire shooting out the side of your engine?

[GSexpress]

For the most part the tech is right. A good mixture will burn as clean as a lean mixture. But your plug will still show up darker when running too rich.

If you're trying to dial in the jets it makes it more time consuming. You have to richen it up till it shows color, then drop a size or 2 maybe 3 by the way it runs. Unless you dyno it or get a CO meter that you can read while riding.

[blowerbike]

Do you mean when you have fire shooting out the side of your engine?

chef aka evil dragon!