| Author | Message | ||
     Reducati |
un foul them? ever once in a great while, as i hit the gas, i get a hesitation, before she catches up....after about 20 minutes or so, back to normal...this only happens on occasion, and only when just starting the bike cold. is is a fouled plug gone unfouled? thanks | ||
| Bigblock |
Best bet is to soak them in a can of soapy water overnight and then clean them thoroughly. Water is the only thing that will work. Even then, not as good as new plugs, but it does usually work. | ||
| Davo |
Plugs are cheap and when if you replace them often then you get a good read on the engine. Replacing them also keeps the insulator side barrel electrode with a distinct squared/sharp edge. This allows ignition coil to produce a spark with a significant reduction in energy requirements. In other words it takes more energy for the spark to jump the gap if the electrode is rounded off. The only risks are: 1. Getting debris in the engine 2. stripping the threads in the head if you don't finger tighten the spark plug and take it easy with the torque spec. (1/4 turn past finger tight is a safe alternative to 12-18 ft.-lbs.) 3. Seizing- Always use a small film of anti-seize on the plug threads. 4. Poor wire connections- The most difficult part of a plug change is connecting the plug wires. | ||
| Buellinblack |
my plugs crapped out on me last weekend but they looked original they had a lot of rust on the outside......how often do they foul out on these engines???  | ||
| Diablobrian |
It depends on a lot of things. They tend to foul the front plug if you blip the throttle when the engine is cold. Other than that they don't foul any more than any other air cooled motor, if they are well tuned. | ||
| Buellinblack |
thanx diablo...I guess I should let her warm up a bit, I kinda just start and go | ||
| Tunes |
I always plan for several minutes of my pre-ride as the bike "warm-up" period. I have, in the past, just started it and rode. Friggin' bike hated it... and so did I. It bucked, farted, etc... and I fouled a set of plugs. Since including my warm-up, no fouled plugs and the bike, all-around, performs better. (Message edited by Tunes on August 13, 2006) | ||
| Kdan |
You gotta warm 'em up! Otherwise you get fouled plugs. | ||
| Madsx |
Iridium plugs are harder to foul...no? | ||
| Nasty73z |
You should ALWAYS warm your Buell up for at least 4 minutes before riding on a cold engine start. This is what my Buell mech. told me. For warm starts, I'll let it run for 15-20 seconds before taking off. | ||
| Josh_cox |
If you look at the injector pulse width (in ms) for a cold running engine you will understand why this happens. Any cold engine will required much more fuel to run than that engine would when warm. The heat range on those plugs in order to run well in a high (relatively) compression engine when warm will be poor performers when cold. To further aid in poor cold running you have an aluminum engine that does change shape when hot or cold. Metal's expand with heat. Thus, to an extent you have tighter tolerances when warm. Hear all of that popping when you turn your bike off? That is aluminum moving. I just make it a habit to start the bike, then put on all of my gear before riding. This gives the bike a chance to warm some before taking off. Remember, the full running temp of your bike should be 320 degrees. It will take several minutes to reach that. If you don't care that it runs worse and want to ride it cold anyway, research metal wear properties. You will find that two cold metals rubbing each other will have much greater friction than those two same metals rubbing at a higher temperature. So, letting the bike warm before putting the engine under load will also effectively increase the life of your engine. My .02c for what it's worth... | ||
| Kowpow225 |
Agreed. Gentle riding in the first few miles is a much better alternative than extended cold idle times. Let her idle a minute before riding off...that's all. | ||
| Brucen |
I remember reading about some research GM did on engine warmup. They found that it was best to start the engine and drive gently until it reached operating temperature. This was better for the engine than extended idling when cold. Of course this was for water cooled engines. I let my engine idle while I put my helmet & gloves on, than ride gently until warm. | ||
| Reducati |
so, is it possible to unfoul plugs by riding it??? | ||
| Tunes |
Yes, just ride the bike on the highway for a hand-full of miles. | ||
| Blake |
I disagree. I don't believe you can unfoul spark plugs just by riding more. Some service stations have little sand blaster fittings to clean spark plugs. They seem to work great. If you have the patience, a small piece of emory cloth will unfoul your plugs. | ||
| Josh_cox |
If the plug just fouled, it can be unfouled by riding the bike. If it is fouled badly, no way. Clean it, or buy a new one (best option). | ||
| Buelet |
FWIW, based upon my own experience, you can "unfoul" a plug by riding it... depending. For instance, last summer when I picked up my wife's '03 9S from the dealership after some service, it ran fine. It went from the service pick up / drop off area outside, to the main parking area, then off. Got the trailer ready, rode it on, then shut it off. Got home, fired it up, backed off the trailer and pulled into the garage and shut if off again. Later when we were ready to ride, we fired it up and it died right away,then it wouldn't re-start. Repeated attempts only made it worse (gas odor from it not starting and becoming flooded and really rough "almost" starts. I pulled the plugs and they were black as black can be. A quick trip to the bench grinder / wire wheel (use the wire wheel side of course) and they looked like new. Double checked the gap and reinstalled them, the bike fired right up and purred like a kitten. (Note: Every manual you will ever read will likely recommend NOT using a wire wheel to clean you plugs, since you could get a wire fragment lodged in there and basically short out the plug... It has always worked for me, just give it a good hard look and make sure that you haven't introduced any foreign debris into the electrode / insulator area.) As it was mentioned above, use a thin film of anit-seize on the threads too. It's a good idea to keep it off of the last couple of threads to avoid getting it too close to the electrode / ground area, in which case you will end up with a shorted plug. On the other hand... My wife surprised me on the 3rd. with a new '06 Uly for my B-Day! (Yes, she has a sister and no she isn't available!) It only had 15 miles on it when it was unloaded off of our trailer at home (where I first saw it when I got home from work that day!) I'm sure it had the same kind of on / off / on / off etc., cycle w/o really being ridden... Sure enough, we started it up and headed out. Seemed ok at first (50 ft. or so), but had that rough & stumble, backfire, bucking thing going on shortly after leaving the driveway and heading to the main road. It resisted being revved while I was trying to "clear it out" (mile or so), and I was about to turn back and go pull & clean the plugs, when I finally got the revs up in first gear and it smoothed right out and has run fine ever since. My mileage has been great and I haven't had another problem. It now has right around 1000 miles on it. (Love the bike BTW!) So to sum it up, it can be done, but I guess it depends on how bad they're fouled. Revving it in neutral (no load)which means that there is less resistance in your secondary ignition system and the plugs, if not past the point of no-return will fire and hopefully rev and burn off / clean the rich sooty deposits in no time. If not, you'll have to pull 'em and clean them up!  | ||
| Southern Marine |
I fouled two sets of plugs in my first year. Well, I fouled the front plug, but replaced them both. I bought the regular NGK's and a set of Iridiums. The last time I fouled the plugs I put in the NGK's and they are still there, running fine. I still have the iridiums, waiting patiently to put them in.  As for how I fouled them; the first time by blipping the throttle shortly after starting it, the second, cold start up and trying to ride it without letting it warm up. When it its COLD (and I mean cold), let it run for a minute or two, then take it slow for the first couple minutes and you will be fine, and don't blip the throttle after starting the bike and everyone should be fine. |
