Changing spark plugs

[THKSNOW]

I changed the plugs for the first time in my 06 last fall with almost 16,000 miles. It had been running great but I thought I should at least check them. They all looked perfect but I changed them as a precaution.

For those who change plugs each year - are you changing them in your cars/trucks each year as well?

Every 10,000 is probably overkill, any sooner you must have $'s to burn (IMHO).

 

[dab102999]

I changed the plugs for the first time in my 06 last fall with almost 16,000 miles. It had been running great but I thought I should at least check them. They all looked perfect but I changed them as a precaution.

For those who change plugs each year - are you changing them in your cars/trucks each year as well?

Every 10,000 is probably overkill, any sooner you must have $'s to burn (IMHO).

This is a very good point. I think a lot of people are just used to replacing certian things on sleds. And since you are in there when servicing when warm why not do it then. But along the same lines as this question look how many replace the oil filter every year when they do there oil change. If you follow recomendations don't need to do it that often but cheap insurance.

 

[ess]

it's not a bad idea to at least remove the coils and clean/lube the boots. A friend of mine had his foul in -30* one morning on his 2013. it started and shut off twice and that's all it needed to foul the plugs. we ended up taking them out and drying them off (using starter fluid, lighter and a hair dryer to dry out each cylinder and keep or fingers warm). that was a cold 2-3 hour job after we figured that had to be the problem. Since he had already taken them off and lubed them they came right off without too much trouble. i will be doing the same thing next fall and while i'm in there i will replace my plugs and keep the old ones for spares, besides they don't cost much anyways

Had to do this a few times on both '06 and '11. Happens when temp overnight went down below -25F. Just floods out and won't start Use a very light grease, at that temp a heavier grease acts like glue and they are even more difficult to pull out. Been there... Another note, the bolts holding in the coils are very difficult to remove due to the extreme cold and there excessive long length. Ended up not even putting them back in. Haven't had one come out yet in about 5000m.

 

[WinderFab]

I do most of my riding in northern Ontario where temps go below -30 /-40 so I have fouled the plugs a few times in the past and as dab102999 said its cheap insurance even though we don't need to change them,

I also change my oil and filter every year, same as the JS bearing,

In the past with the 2 stroke which had no slider issues I used to change out the slides and JS bearing before going on a few thousand k trip just for the insurance,

Running a big loop in a week in the middle of now where costs a handful of money so and extra $100 on a few things that will make my trip worry free is worth it for me,

So it's just a matter of choice than anything else,

 

[sgauthier]

we had no problems with the bolts or the boots because we rmoved the bracket that sits over top the motor that holds the headlight assembly. Hair dryer warmed things up just a little to help with the removal. we had towles and cardboard over top of the sled to try to warm it up a little.

we were at the Comfort Inn on Lakeshore in North Bay when this happened on our last day of our loop.

 

[burlyviper]

I bought some CR10EK's. However, they are threaded tops without the screw on cap. I am missing something? I don't think the original plugs CR9EB have the caps that I can take off.

 

[burlyviper]

Found my own answer. Need to find 4 caps.