| Author | Message | ||
     Rmcconnell33 |
Hello all. I am in southern Or, for a week working. i am 500 miles from home, and the Uly started running rough, i think i got some bad gas? i was going to replace the spark plugs. the HD dealer here in town dont support Buell's and said he cant even order me plugs??? so i am going to mail order a set. which is best? the stock 10R12x or the NGK DCPR9EIX? I have heard some horror stories about the NGK? thanks Robert | ||
| Florida_lime |
Running the NGKs with no problems.  | ||
| Jphish |
Ditto - what Florida said. Ran the last set of iridiums for 12K - no problems - got 6K on this set. Al @ American sports bike carries them. j | ||
| Glenn |
Hi Jphish, I put the iridiums a little while ago to and based on the hype, I thought they would last indefinitely. What did yours look like with 12K on them? Did they need to be replaced? Thanks | ||
| Florida_lime |
Mine had 20,000 miles on them when the dealer changed them when they did the rear rocker seal, so I don't know what they looked like. Of course, they changed out my Magnecor wires for the stock ones too, and overfilled my oil at the same time.  | ||
| Pontlee77 |
changed my ngk at 15.000 mines and looked nearly brand new. | ||
| Jphish |
Glenn - They were obviously a bit 'worn' but sure I could have gone another 5K with no issues. No carbon build up or excessive wearing of electrode - gap still good as well. Saved 'em to have a 'spare' on long trips. (Like a belt & bearings) With no prior experience, I wasn't sure how they would hold up - thus the change. I'll leave 'em in for 15K this time. Just put on the Magnecores as well - should help extend plug life even more. j | ||
| Rmcconnell33 |
Are you running the DCPR9EIX (iridium) or the STD DCPR9E? I read the std plug has a better spark? | ||
| Arcticktm |
I am running the regular NGK (not iridium) with no worries. Plus, there should be no need to order anything. I got them at the local Advance Auto Parts store. I don't have the NGK number handy right now at work, but I am sure someone else does. I just figured you wouldn't want to wait for them if you are travelling. | ||
| Jphish |
I'm running the iridium. Haven't tried the std NGK plugs so don't know about longevity or performance. But Arcticktm has apparently had good 'joss' with them - so perhaps iridiums unnecessary. I go with past experience & what works for me - doesn't mean it's the best, or better than what others use. Folks like Arctic have more than a few miles under their butt & would trust their judgement on such matters. Thus...I wouldn't hesitate to try the std NGKs. But plan to get another 10K out of whats already in the sparkplug holes. j | ||
| Florida_lime |
I am running the regular NGK (not iridium) with no worries. Plus, there should be no need to order anything. I got them at the local Advance Auto Parts store. I HAD to order the Iridiums last time, no one had them in stock or in the warehouse - even the computer showed none at the manufacturer ! | ||
| Jphish |
Yeah - same here Florida. I just order 'em thru Al now - spent more time looking for local supply than it's simply worth. I don't mind supporting American Sport Bike - We all benefit from them being in business, and Al is a good source of Uly knowledge. | ||
| Glenn |
Thanks Jphish for the feedback. These plugs and especially getting the boots back on is tough even if you use boot pliers. One thing that I did based on past similar experience on cars is that if you have access trouble you can end up sliding the plug wire out of the boot and not have the terminal ends snapped over the spark plugs. When I put my Magnecor wires on, I made a pencil mark around the circumference of the wire where it entered the boot. When trying to put them on I had one of them slide out of the boot a fair bit. I pulled them back off and aligned my pencils mark back up. I then used a small black zip tie over the boot and made it nice and tight to keep the wires from slipping. I put them back on and everything stayed tight with no movement of my pencil bench marks. | ||
| Jphish |
Yeah - the boots are a struggle. I plan to check 'em when I do the "comfort kit" install next week. Thanks for the reminder. j | ||
| Johnboy777 |
""I have heard some horror stories about the NGK? "" What horror stories? This is my first time hearing of this. I have DCPR9EIX, IIRC, based on Al's (American Sport Bike) input. John | ||
| Rmcconnell33 |
i had read on another forum the guys were having fouling and relibuilty problems with the Iridium plugs? and they suggested using the std plug, which have a brighter spark. i have always used NGK in my off road bikes with great sucess. it seems though i have heard no one complain about them here. since i will need to order the anyway, i just want to know what most of us are using. | ||
| Jphish |
Hey John - good question. I generally disregard 'horror' stories unless it involves chain saws or hatchets...and those have to be in close proximity. I had heard of the iridiums being the cause of a misfiring condition - but I think it was an isolated case and he had "gapped" 'em using standard tool. Thats a NONO with Iridiums. But havent heard of other issues. If there were any significant problems, Al would let us know. Huh Al ? | ||
| Froggy |
If Al sells it, then its good. He discontinues thing that aren't worthy of putting on our bikes, like Corbin seats. | ||
| Crusty |
Just for the record, I have 23,000 miles on the stock original plugs. Why are the NGKs better? | ||
| Nobuell |
I just installed NKG Iridiums and new magnecor wires. It was not bad as long as you invest in a boot puller. You will need it to remove and install. The NGK plugs came with a 0.030" gap. I re-gapped to 0.035" per Buell specs. Re-gapping is no problem when using the correct tool to adjust the side electrode (you cannot push on the center electrode). The bike runs great and the miss-fire issue I had when wet is now gone. | ||
| Al_lighton |
No known issues with using the Iridiums. I haven't found that the gap needs to be changed, but as Nobuell wrote, as long as you do it carefully and don't touch the center electrode, it can be done. The regular NGKs work fine, as do the stock 10R12X plugs. The iridiums will last longer and are more foul resistant. That said, I personally have never fouled a plug in a Buell, but I certainly know of many that have. Someone at Buell told me that the 10R12X plug came to be because of all the demo starts of the XBs at the inside pass events had the bikes running on warmup fuel enrichment without ever reaching full temp, so they changed the insulator design to be more foul resistant while keeping the same heat range. I've seen very few plug outright failures of any type, actually. Occasionally I'll hear of a dropped electrode, but I'd be willing to bet that in more cases than not, it was due to improper gapping technique. The biggest problem with plugs, esp. NGK, is using the wrong heat range. The NGK site STILL says to use heat range 8 plugs, and you should not on any Thunderstorm or XB engine. 9's are the right ones. 23K on the stock plugs? Sure, I bet they still "work". But pull them out and look at them, and compare them to a new plug. You'll see decidedly rounded corners on the center electrode. They'll still fire, but not as reliably as a sharp cornered electrode will. Will your bike run better if you replace them? Likely. Will it be highly noticeable? Maybe not, unless you're tracking your mileage or doing back to back comparisons on a dyno. It's a statistical thing..at 3600 RPM, you get 30 ignitions per SECOND. If a few of those don't occur as cleanly as they would with a new plug, would you hear it? Not likely. But over a single tank of gas, could you measure it in decreased mileage? Probably. I don't rush out and change my plugs at 10k, or 15K, or any other magic number. But, once I've racked up 15K, I'll change them next time I'm working on something that has the requisite stuff removed. Unless one has failed, its rarely a critical need, especially here in SoCal where we get 11" of rain a year and I don't have to deal with riding in the wet much. Al | ||
| Dr_greg |
I've used 10R12X and 10R12A plugs for 65,000 miles of combined riding (2 '06 Ulys) in temps of from 20F to 115F and never fouled one nor had any other issues. I change every 10K mile just cuz I follow directions... --Doc | ||
| Scooter808484 |
I'm pretty sure, but someone correct me if I'm wrong, that the Buell uses the same plug as the VROD. If so, the HD dealer should have them. | ||
| Methed |
Correct and incorrect, Scooter. I believe that you can use the same plug, but my dealer stated that 'they are different numbers so something's different.' Can't argue with logic like that, right? I do know that the 10R12X plugs are specifically for the XB engine, bearing a little porcelain flange just below the post to reduce fouling. I installed a set Sunday and haven't fouled it yet, so again it MUST be true, right? Good luck. | ||
| Jphish |
Thanks for the clarification Al - helpful, as always. j | ||
| Pso |
+1 Jphish |
