Plug changing tip

[MarkF]

The past week or so has seen my '99 850 become a bit iffy to start and generally a bit 'umpty until it's well warmed up. It has been rather soggy recently so a plug change seemed in order, plus I'd acquired some iridiums to try out.

Changing was the usual fiddle, left hand one isn't too bad but the right hand one is alway a sod to get to, even with moving the rad slightly.

The best plug spanner I've found so far for the TDM is the OEM one from the toolkit, which is hardly surprising but today I had a brainwave of sorts. The non-plug end of the spanner (i.e. the one you apply the 17mm spanner to) fits the head of an M8 bolt.

So I dug out a short M8 bolt, a large diameter (about 25mm) M8 washer and an M8 wing nut. With the big washer sandwiched between the head of the bolt and the wing nut and the wing nut done up tight. you've got an ideal tool to rotate the plug spanner in a confined space. Made the job so much easier.

Quick spray of ACF50 on the plug caps to disperse any moisture and the job's a good 'un. Seems much more willing to start and less prone to faltering when cold, but that is with nice new clean & dry plugs. I'm not going to make any special claims about the plugs yet. Let's see what it's like after some mucky weather.

Mark.

[robelst]

I just did mine as well. I also used the OE plug-socket but put a socket on top of it and used my ratchet to get it out. There's very little free angle to turn the ratchet (just a few clicks) but patience works and after a few turns you can do the rest by hand.

It's not the 5 minutes job it is on my Buell or, previously, BMW boxers and Guzzis, but if you think changing plugs is fiddly on a TDM, try a Honda Africa Twin (or the similar Transalp): Tears well up in my eyes and finger knuckels spontaneously start to bleed just by thinking of it. And they've got four of the little buggers

I also noticed the plug cables touch many earthed metal bits and showed slight vibration-damage where they'd hit other parts. No wonder ignition seems to suffer in the wet Since the leads seemed really stuck in the coils I decided to tape them in (using self-amalgamating tape as suggested by others) rather than replacing them for new. I haven't driven the bike yet but looking at tomorrow's weather forecast it seems I will find out soon if it works or not

This post was last modified: 10-12-2006, 06:07 PM by robelst.

[wicklamulla]

<!--quoteo(post=24156:date=Sun 10th Dec 2006, 05:41 PM:name=robelst)-->QUOTE(robelst @ Sun 10th Dec 2006, 05:41 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->I just did mine as well. I also used the OE plug-socket but put a socket on top of it and used my ratchet to get it out. There's very little free angle to turn the ratchet (just a few clicks) but patience works and after a few turns you can do the rest by hand.

It's not the 5 minutes job it is on my Buell or, previously, BMW boxers and Guzzis, but if you think changing plugs is fiddly on a TDM, try a Honda Africa Twin (or the similar Transalp): Tears well up in my eyes and finger knuckels spontaneously start to bleed just by thinking of it. And they've got four of the little buggers

I also noticed the plug cables touch many earthed metal bits and showed slight vibration-damage where they'd hit other parts. No wonder ignition seems to suffer in the wet Since the leads seemed really stuck in the coils I decided to tape them<!--coloro:#FF0000--><!--/coloro--> in (using self-amalgamating tape as suggested by others) rather <!--colorc-->
<!--/colorc--> than replacing them for new. I haven't driven the bike yet but looking at tomorrow's weather forecast it seems I will find out soon if it works or not <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->


thats the best tip i can give too, it's easy to do and worth doing since your already in there plus it will insulate yer leads and waterproof the plug caps if done properly.