Why does this plug look like this?

[Steve]

OK, the left plug is from the 850 and has about 20,000 miles on it. Admittedly, it's not perfect, but it's not bad, considering the miles on it.

The plug on the right came out of TCK's 1100G. I asked him why he was changing the plugs, he said "they've been in there over 2,000 miles, so it's time to change them."

I told him that I would accept all of his old plugs to use as replacements for all the 850s that we have here now.

.

[TheCafeKid]

OK, the left plug is from the 850 and has about 20,000 miles on it. Admittedly, it's not perfect, but it's not bad, considering the miles on it.

The plug on the right came out of TCK's 1100G. I asked him why he was changing the plugs, he said "they've been in there over 2,000 miles, so it's time to change them."

I told him that I would accept all of his old plugs to use as replacements for all the 850s that we have here now.

.

Not quite right. I said theve been in there over FIVE thousand miles that *I* have owned it, and i wasnt sure how long before that they'd been in there. But yeah, i change them way more frequently than most people. Oil too... BTW the one on the left is your wifes, the one on the right was mine... Oh damn i see you already told everyone... But yeah, if mine had that ashy what not on the end of the electrode there i would have the carbs torn apart...LOL

[49er]

OK, the left plug is from the 850 and has about 20,000 miles on it. Admittedly, it's not perfect, but it's not bad, considering the miles on it.

The plug on the right came out of TCK's 1100G. I asked him why he was changing the plugs, he said "they've been in there over 2,000 miles, so it's time to change them."

I told him that I would accept all of his old plugs to use as replacements for all the 850s that we have here now.

.

Keep in good with TCK and you'll never have to buy new plugs again.

I'm sure you don't need that many replacements for those exquisitely tuned 850's!!! If you keep their number down to 4, you should just about keep up with his discards.

[Steve]

I'm sure you don't need that many replacements for those exquisitely tuned 850's!!!

Well, right now that is not a problem at all. My wife's bike is the only one seeing any regular use. #2 son does not have his endorsement yet, so I am the only one using it, and I am only home about once a month, lately. My 850 is still not running. I have some other projects to complete before getting it going.

.

[TheCafeKid]

Keep in good with TCK and you'll never have to buy new plugs again.

I'm sure you don't need that many replacements for those exquisitely tuned 850's!!! If you keep their number down to 4, you should just about keep up with his discards.

Well, he lucked out. There for a while he was SOL cause I only had 16v GSs, which use different plugs. Now that I have the 1000G, Rose's 550L and the soon to be restored 750B I will have LOTS of plugs for him. Although, now that I will have FOUR bikes to keep running, I might cut back on how often i change the plugs for fear of going broke...LOL

[49er]

Well, he lucked out. There for a while he was SOL cause I only had 16v GSs, which use different plugs. Now that I have the 1000G, Rose's 550L and the soon to be restored 750B I will have LOTS of plugs for him. Although, now that I will have FOUR bikes to keep running, I might cut back on how often i change the plugs for fear of going broke...LOL

Forgive the wind up, "the devil made me do it".

If your bike's running anywhere near decent, which I believe it is, plugs should easily last 20,000 kms, even miles! Those discards of yours looked like they would do that.
If you should suddenly loose that ideal AFR, that's a different story. Then you could go broke!

[hikermikem]

Thought I'd re-start this issue again...

I've now put around 200 mi on these "new" plugs & they still look brand new - no color.



As mentioned before, didn't touch anything except for changing plugs from the ones on the left to the ones on the right.

Why no color still?? Could I be running that lean? Haven't done any plug chops yet but I'm still puzzled at the general difference between the two plugs run under the same conditions.

Mike

[49er]

Thought I'd re-start this issue again...

I've now put around 200 mi on these "new" plugs & they still look brand new - no color.



As mentioned before, didn't touch anything except for changing plugs from the ones on the left to the ones on the right.

Why no color still?? Could I be running that lean? Haven't done any plug chops yet but I'm still puzzled at the general difference between the two plugs run under the same conditions.

Mike

The pic isn't clear enough of the left plug to tell if they are both the same heat range. If the replacement is a hotter plug, you will have a cleaner looking plug.

The other thought was did you replace/clean the air cleaner recently. If so, the engine could now be running leaner.
If you don't have heating/pinging issues, just ride it and enjoy the economy.

[Nessism]

If you don't have heating/pinging issues, just ride it and enjoy the economy.

I tend to agree. Plugs in my 850 look similar and bike runs flawlessly. Bike gets about 42 mpg so I know there is no lack of fuel going though the engine to keep things cool.

[hikermikem]

The pic isn't clear enough of the left plug to tell if they are both the same heat range. If the replacement is a hotter plug, you will have a cleaner looking plug.

The other thought was did you replace/clean the air cleaner recently. If so, the engine could now be running leaner.
If you don't have heating/pinging issues, just ride it and enjoy the economy.

Hi 49er,

The plugs are both the same flavor. Didn't touch the air filter (K&N drop-in), but I did change to Dyna coils & wires, along with the new plugs.

Apparently the new coils are much more efficient than the stock ones I had & I guess that's why the plugs look so different. The bike sounds different & starts harder, lack of sufficient fuel I guess.

I re-set the fuel mixture screws (had to turn them all out about 1 full turn) and now the bike starts right up (like it did before), sounds "meaner" (again, like it did before) & I'm starting to get some color on the plugs now...

My old stock coils (with new NGK caps) seemed to work just fine - bike ran great - but with the added spark from the Dyna coils it was essentially running lean because the fuel screws were adjusted to the old spark levels.

Anyway, kind of an obvious observation I suppose, hence the sig quote .

Mike