The weather is changing and the list of to-do’s you have is growing . That includes on your motorcycle. After a season of punishing rides and high revving adventures, its time to start digging in. One thing you might want to take a look at is your spark plug. The life line to every wonderful cylinder explosion taking place in your machine is the spark plug.
In an earlier post, we focused
on some signs your bike might be trying to tell you something. Sometimes, what your girl needs is just a bit of spark.
Here are a few things your plug might be telling you:
- Oily plug; If your spark plug looks oiled up, you should be concerned. This is telling you that oil is making its way into the cylinder. This will result in a poorly running machine (if it even sparks at all) . If its just wet and you’ve been having a hard time getting it started, it could just have been too much fuel making it in. In that case, wipe if off and give it another go.
- Blistered/burned; If you take a look at your plug and see a white cloud coating everything and maybe a blister on the insulator, then you are running too HOT. A lean running condition. It could be that your air/fuel mixture is messed up. Have you made changes to your exhaust? New cones? Maybe some new jets or incorrect jets? It could be that the timing is incorrect? Either way, this one screams TUNE UP.
- Slightly brown or tan deposits, but otherwise clean. Congrats! You have a normal running machine. You can pop that thing back where you found it and keep working on your list. Follow your service manual and replace at the recommended interval.
One of the easiest and quickest ways to bring your bike back to life is to either clean up or replace the plugs.
Make sure your girl hasn’t lost her spark.
Keep riding .