teerex51
The Italian Scallion
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 
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.
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:
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.
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.
OK, let's GTR done... 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
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.
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:
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.
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.
OK, let's GTR done...
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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