| Author | Message | ||
     Edmbueller |
Bike has been not acting "right" hard to describe, seemed sluggish, tempermental, just not the oomph its supposed to have. Pulled the plugs and replaced with Buell "race" plugs. Bike seems to have jumped back to life. Can fouled plugs really make that much difference? here are the old plugs:     Can any of you Buell doctors tell me if I have any real issues with the motor based on these pics? | ||
| Sparky |
You betcha they'll make a difference. Can't tell too much from the last pic as one of the important details can be found near the base of the insulator where, in a normal firing plug, the color of the insulator tapers from a light color at the tip to darker near the base. This is an indicator of how well the combustion goes on in that cylinder. But the tip of the darkest one indicates that it may be carbon fouled whereas the one on the right looks more normal. A carbon fouled insulator can bleed enough high voltage from the spark event that there's not enough left for combustion. The result can make the bike feel sluggish, tempermental, & just not the oomph its supposed to have because it's practically running on 1 and a 1/2 cylinders. R&R'ing with new plugs, even stockers, can restore lost performance. | ||
| Edmbueller |
thx Sparky! | ||
| Mwbob |
I would recommend that you install plugs spec'd for your bike. I have no idea what the race plugs are, but if your motor is stock, I would think that the stock plugs would be best. If your motor is not stock, you might want to do some plug chops and see how the new plugs are doing. It could be that the new plugs are "colder" which could make your problem worse in the future; that is if your bike is stock now. | ||
| Edmbueller |
they are factory Buell plugs and I am running a Drummer w/ race filter and ECM, swidd cheesed inner airbox and de-snorkeled. | ||
| Mwbob |
After you replace your plugs (whichever you decide to go with)I would pull them after some miles and check the insulators and make sure that they are a nice tan color and not white, or blistered (lean), or too dark (rich). Also, if you look at the pictures, you will notice that the edges of the electrode are rounded off and not sharp. This is normal wear, but not conducive to providing a good, clean spark. Compare the old plugs to the new ones and you'll see what I mean. |
