Change-the-spark-plugs blues

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teerex51

The Italian Scallion
Joined
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Milan, Italy
Next time someone moans about changing the plugs on the FJR, I'll gladly treat them to the C-14 plug-change nightmare. (According to Mama Kawa, you need to change them every 7,500 miles :unsure: WTF? This bike eats Iridium plugs?).

Right. First of all, the fairing needs to come off (except for the cowling, thank you very much), including the plastic panels on both sides of the dash that resemble the FJR's A,B,C,D panel combo.

Once you're done, your bike looks like this.

Leftside.JPG


But not for long. You now need to remove the lateral subframe members, those cute little boomerang-shaped thingies that are loctited in place underneath the monocoque frame. Oh, before you do, you need to extract the fairing stays from the tangle of wires and heat shields. Hey, no sooner said than done.

An hour or so later, you're looking at this. The expression "exploded view" comes to mind. :blink:

Cyl1.JPG


So what's the big deal? Anybody can find the gaping hole in the cylinder head where spark plug #1 makes an honest living. Yeah, but in order to create that hole, you need to remove the stick coil that's stuck in it. Again, no biggie. Away comes the connector and you can extract the snugly fitted coil-cum-cap, maybe with the leverage offered by a large screwdriver. Whoa, easy there now. You crack that connector and you're gonna be shopping for stick coils.

stick%20coil.JPG


And, of course, that was the easy one. Cheer up, there's another easy one on the RH side, that is #4. Of course, #2 and 3 are a royal PITA if your hands are reasonably masculine. The rub is, the C-14 does not afford the vertical GoogleEarth-type approach to the spark plugs offered by the good old FJR. <_< You need to work underneath the frame. Aaaand the spark plugs will only come out if you use the collapsible Kawasaki plug wrench that comes with the bike. Any better-built professional tool won't fit in that confined space.

Oh, BTW, the right side of the bike looks like this.

Rightside.JPG


OK, let's GTR done... :p Put the new plugs in and rebuild the frickin bike. Rude awakening #2: in this country the NGK or Denso set of plugs will set you back 95 Euro. That's roughly $130. (I admit I had no time to shop around, I just went to a large motorbike store in Milan and got fleeced.) When I bought Iridium plugs for my FJR stateside they cost $12 a pop.

By the time you've put the Tupperware back on, you'll have spent no less than 4 fun-filled hours. I've no idea what the Kawa rate book says, but I suspect the plug change operation won't come cheap. (And you need to make sure the pimply youth at the stealership has changed your plugs at all, not just charged you for them, and all the parts have been put back on. I kid you not. Do this in a hurry and you'll end up with a handful of fasteners left over. BTDT.)

And this, according to Kawasaki, needs to happen every 7,500 miles?! :angry: YGTBSM :huh:

Stef

 
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Great write up!!

Boy after seeing this it sure makes me appreciate my FJR. To think just a little over a year ago I almost purchased a Connie, that would of been 3 PIA plug changes already! :eek: :eek:

 
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Stef - I'd be happy to buy stuff like that for you and ship it - it's has to cost less than over there! I just bought the Iridiums for Matilda and they were about $25!!

 
The answer to this is easy-peasy, just like getting to the spark plugs with a big-block engine stuffed into a little car. Grab the ol' hole saw and make access holes throught the frame where it's in your way!

HOLESAW.JPG


:D

 
Ah, after you do it a few times you'll be able to do the job in no time at all.... I bet you get it down to 3 hours 45 minutes with practice. :p

 
7500 miles? Way too anal about maintenance. According to some here, they should last 5-6 times that with no problem.

 
I am sure those smarter than me will chime in on this. My new car owners manual says plugs at 100k and belts at 70k. I really don't see how a modern bike with very similar systems can go through plugs as fast as the builder says. I do the plugs in the FJR when I check the valves which is around 25k and will be doing it less often as they don't move around much. I think they just want to sell plugs. :)

 
When Kawasaki first debuted their latest box-frame in their big-engined sportbike (years ago) -- I looked at it at an IMS show and thought: "How in the hell are you gonna change sparkplugs?"

I guess, now we know...., thanks 'teerex'.

Well, it's only (depending on labor rates) somewhere between $450 ~ $500.... :blink:

Not so bad...., considering -- on another thread (currently being discussed on this forum) a poster tells of spending something like $400+ on a BMW K1200Rsport for what appears to be an oil & filter change, some fluids change, and some 'checks'. :blink: :unsure:

 
Are the Iridium plugs installed by the factory, or does it come with standard stuff?

If Iridiums are already in there, why change them?

 
Teerex,

Ouch! Better you than me Bro.

This and the valve checks, are both a royal pain in the arse involving C14 ownership.

Another example of why I chose the FJR over the C14.

WW

 
Next time someone moans about changing the plugs on the FJR, I'll gladly treat them to the C-14 plug-change nightmare. (According to Mama Kawa, you need to change them every 7,500 miles :unsure: WTF? This bike eats Iridium plugs?).
The 2008 and later Hayabusa's also have this same spark plug change interval.... using the same Iridium plugs. :blink:

I am stretching it out to 10,000 miles between changes. Still, I am on my third set of plugs since April. However, the only significant operation in changing the Hayabusa's plugs is a simple lifting of the gas tank. After that.... it's a 10 minute job. For all four plugs. :D

What a complete and total ass-pain this job appears to be on the GTR1400.... little wonder the bike has yet to make any serious inroads in the LD Endurance Riding scene.... thus far, we only have one GTR1400 entered in next year's Iron Butt Rally....
shrug.gif


 
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Stef - I'd be happy to buy stuff like that for you and ship it
Jim, thanks for the kind offer. Frankly, once you add up the shipping charges and the 34% customs duty over here, the cost savings are not worth the hassle for you. At any rate, I don't think I'll be changing another set of plugs on this bike.... :rolleyes: she's seriously for sale.

I only changed them in order to show that all prescribed service operations had been duly performed. (The plugs I removed, of course, were perfect...)

Stef

 
Stef - I'd be happy to buy stuff like that for you and ship it
I only changed them in order to show that all prescribed service operations had been duly performed. (The plugs I removed, of course, were perfect...)

Stef
Wow and to think I actually considered the new Concours as a potential replacement.....NOT!!!

 
A friend of mine has a 2000 Kawi ZX12. Plug change involves dropping the case for some reason. He has the dealer do it.

....to the tune of $600 cnd/change

 
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