"Hub was right you don't wanna go racing with old plugs".Ya think?

Ya think?

You always got to get pre-menstrual about stuff. Your old but not old enough to be senile! Get over the Hub thing already.

* Last updated by: dragking on 11/13/2012 @ 11:56 PM *

Great post Spyglass. I want to do mine this weekend and this will make it a lot easier! One question - what type of NGK plugs did you use? My manual recommends NGK CR9EIA-9 but when I went into the auto part store they told me these have been replaced by NGK 6289. What say you? Thanks again from a fellow British Columbian :)

Your second pic there Rook...that's a shot plug.Mine looked like that at around 20K...

LOL, Still running at 40K.

OK, YES, I will be changing early spring, LOL

"LOL, Still running at 40K"...........well....YEAH....of COURSE she's still running

Many thanks ErikR. I picked mine up yesterday and have started the process of changing them.

replaced mine today at 14300, took much longer to remove/reinstall the fairings than it did to change the plugs. Simple job

These were recommended in a Bikeland thread along with a couple others.

That was fun seeing those morons call each other dumbass and claiming that the different NGK CR9E plugs had a different heat range. I went with the CR9EIA-9. Got a set off Fleabay for $32.50 shipped.

I think i did mine at 35,000km or so, didn't see any difference at all. I checked the old plugs and they were still gapped correctly and didn't appear to be worn or damaged. At least the plugs in this bike are reasonably priced, I've had a set of plugs on another vehicle that were $25 per plug :(

I spent about $60 on my set of NGK CR9EKPA

Still have not installed them but will soon after Spring comes. We'll see if they are any different than regular plugs. All I can see is they have the double eleoctrode

* Last updated by: Rook on 1/8/2013 @ 11:29 AM *

I went with OEM. The local dealer matched the cheapest price I could find on the net. I did notice a crispier throttle and better idling. My plugs didn't look great:

^^^After 21k miles

Hopefully a custom map and less Star Tron will fix that.

* Last updated by: dragking on 1/8/2013 @ 12:08 PM *

I've just clocked up 8k miles. I'm removing all the bodywork shortly for the ACF50 treatment so I'll maybe take a look at the plugs while the bike's naked and inspect/change them if necessary. I remember changing my R1 plugs at the scheduled 12k and the originals were like new. I was under the impression the OE 14R plugs are the iridium versions which are supposed to have a much longer life??

NGK CR9EKPA have the double eleoctrode-Rook

Would be interesting to see them spark. If the spark goes to both electrodes, the flame front would be quicker and combustion more efficient.

Hopefully a custom map and less Star Tron will fix that.-dragking

I read a recommendation for Star Tron in Rider magazine. It's supposed to be a better fuel stabilizer than either Sea Foam or Sta-bil because it dries up the water ethanol attracts and also keeps the ethanol from crystallizing into a sugar-like gum. Also, unlike the other two, it's considered a fuel rather than an additive per se so it supposedly burns cleaner.

Dragking, those plugs look absolutely nasty compared to the plugs I pulled out of my engine, i'd guess the engine is running rich and not heating up the plugs enough to clean them properly.

^ Yep, that's why I wanna see a dynamometer graph. If it's not rich which I'm 80% sure it will be then I know it's the motor. Then again, I run several different maps prior to that so it won't be that simple.

I owned a 1985 V-Max and sold it in 2001 with 19,000 miles on it. It still had the original plugs and ran just fine. Told the new owner that the original plugs were still in and he said why mess with it when its running so good...lol.

^^^^If it runs good, great but the longer they stay in there, the harder they are to get out. Hope I do not have a problem after 40K miles.

Hope ours aren't too stubborn coming out. The new ones will all get a smear of anti-seize on the threads before going in.

Mine were a pita to get out, not only the mileage, the determining factor is the year... I have an 06 and I did mine late in 2012... you do the math! Hope you got small hands Danno! lol
By the way the best tools for the job is the one that come with bike and a ratcheting wrench.

2xl gloves here, so that will complicate things slightly. I read the tip about the tool kit plug wrench. May have to buy the proper ratcheting box-end since I have none in metric.

Mine didn't come with a plug wrench.

" NGK CR9EIA-9"...then this is what you buy.These are the iridium stock 14 plugs.

Mine didn't come with a plug wrench.

Bike land has a thread re: 14R plug wrench. They don't come with one.

Dammit.

Well... I guess THAT solves the mystery of where Hagrid's socket tool went. :)