These plugs look normal?

[Blacksmith]

Happy new year gentlemen! I hope everyone had a good and safe eve and we all start this yeast off on a good foot. Me im changing plugs and oil and getting my new fairing put on today and wanted to be sure there is nothing wrong with my old plugs. They look fine to me but I've never had a bike much less a 200 mph beast like this so want y'all to see them. Anything wrong? Thanks for looking y'all have a great day.

 

[SSGT_B]

Just look used. Replace with new set and alleviate the worry.

 

[Bumblebee]

When it doubt, throw them out...they look fine to me, did they give you any issues?

 

[Blacksmith]

When it doubt, throw them out...they look fine to me, did they give you any issues?

No they're we're no issues but since all the body is off and they were probably original I wanted to replace them. The new ones are in already I just wanted to be sure y'all didnt see anything wrong that I dont know to look for

 

[Bumblebee]

It never goes wrong to change them out so you have a base-line as to when they were changed, same as everything else (oil, coolant, brake/clutch fluid, fork oil, etc)

If they were oily, sooty or worn, it would be very evident.

 

[Mythos]

If they were oily, sooty or worn, it would be very evident.

I agree. Never took my busa plugs out yet but after leaving my ZX-14's in for about 40k miles, it appeared best to replace a lot sooner. I have a buddy who made some macro photos in his lab and you could see molten balls of metal that had cooled and welded around the bottom of the electrodes. He speculated the origin and chemistry of these balls and it was nothing horrific but I'm sure some went down the motor. Some kind of chemical salt combined with carbon or something like that. They were visible to the naked eye so if a solid one breaks off and if it is relatively hard----you could have yourself some cylinder wall scoring.

Those plugs look like normal use but since you went through the trouble of removing, spend $30 and replace them. Peace of mind.

 

[Mythos]

after leaving my ZX-14's in for about 40k miles, it appeared best to replace a lot sooner.

Although I must say, the brand new shiny plugs I put in along with T body sync made no palpable difference in engine performance. Ran good on old worn plugs and ran good with new ones just the same.

 

[Mythos]

@RedBull maust have automatic like set up on his account. Two minutes, that's too quick to be a coincidence!!

Watch, he will like this before I click off the page!

 

[Mr Brown]

I agree. Never took my busa plugs out yet but after leaving my ZX-14's in for about 40k miles, it appeared best to replace a lot sooner. I have a buddy who made some macro photos in his lab and you could see molten balls of metal that had cooled and welded around the bottom of the electrodes. He speculated the origin and chemistry of these balls and it was nothing horrific but I'm sure some went down the motor. Some kind of chemical salt combined with carbon or something like that. They were visible to the naked eye so if a solid one breaks off and if it is relatively hard----you could have yourself some cylinder wall scoring.

Those plugs look like normal use but since you went through the trouble of removing, spend $30 and replace them. Peace of mind.

Are the 14 plugs as big of a b!tch as the 12 plugs?

 

[Mythos]

Are the 14 plugs as big of a b!tch as the 12 plugs?

I guess so. Never saw how ZX-12 plugs are positioned but I presume it is the same frame/airbox arch design with deep spark plug wells hanging directly below. Yes it is quite a job first to reach under the air box and second to go down those spark plug wells. It is all by feel, you can't see anything. The Kawasaki spark plug tool with hinged shaft is the only way to get in there and as long as the plugs were not overtightened and you are careful not to cross thread putting in new ones, it's doable. I hear the Gen2 ZX-14 has even less space between the air box and valve cover.

 

[c10]

Electrodes look worn in normal fashion. Gap looks different on each plug .
Did you gap new plugs and tighten to 270 degrees of rotation from hand tight ?

 

[Blacksmith]

Electrodes look worn in normal fashion. Gap looks different on each plug .
Did you gap new plugs and tighten to 270 degrees of rotation from hand tight ?

I did gap them but they were really close in the box. I did also go by the 270 degree tighten specs but I was a bit nervous about it cause they weren't near that tight when I took them out.

 

[c10]

I did gap them but they were really close in the box. I did also go by the 270 degree tighten specs but I was a bit nervous about it cause they weren't near that tight when I took them out.

Heat cycles , crush / sealing washer ,and most likely not tightened correctly at install.

 

[Mr Brown]

I guess so. Never saw how ZX-12 plugs are positioned but I presume it is the same frame/airbox arch design with deep spark plug wells hanging directly below. Yes it is quite a job first to reach under the air box and second to go down those spark plug wells. It is all by feel, you can't see anything. The Kawasaki spark plug tool with hinged shaft is the only way to get in there and as long as the plugs were not overtightened and you are careful not to cross thread putting in new ones, it's doable. I hear the Gen2 ZX-14 has even less space between the air box and valve cover.

Yeah, the 12 was all but impossible if you have big hands. I haven't looked at the 14r yet, but it'll be happening soon on my buddy's.

 

[HayaWakened]

 

[Mr Brown]

View attachment 1610507

That means once you've set the gap...

 

[Blacksmith]

View attachment 1610507

Damn that says .031 to .035 gap but everything I googled (which was mostly older threads on here) said .028 to .031 so I set them all to .030. Is that going top be a problem?

 

[Tached1300]

Damn that says .031 to .035 gap but everything I googled (which was mostly older threads on here) said .028 to .031 so I set them all to .030. Is that going top be a problem?

If they are at .030 it will be ok, nothing magically bad is gonna happen, small stuff small fries bigger things to worry about

 

[Red05]

The old plugs are a great way to read how the engine is running. I'd say your engine is fine.
.030 should not be a problem.

 

[Dopey]

Damn that says .031 to .035 gap but everything I googled (which was mostly older threads on here) said .028 to .031 so I set them all to .030. Is that going top be a problem?

You didn't use one of the old style gap tools did you? Thr round one's that go on your key ring and back in the day we used to bend the tab when we would adjust the gap. With iridium plugs you don't wanna pry against the electrode like u could with the old copper plugs.