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Put some iridiums in next time to extend the interval.

 

Great write up thanks...

 

Very Cool, thanks for the DIY write up. I changed my plugs at 8000 miles with Iridium Plugs. They cost more,

supposed to last longer and the instructions say no gapping ?

I used NGK, CR9EIX 3521

 

Very Cool, thanks for the DIY write up. I changed my plugs at 8000 miles with Iridium Plugs. They cost more, View attachment 75801 supposed to last longer and the instructions say no gapping ?

I used NGK, CR9EIX 3521

some plugs come pre-gapped. never a bad idea to check though.

 

No need to loosen radiator to allow room to access spark plugs? Thanks

 

No, if you have an elbow attachment to get your ratchet in far enough it's not necessary. You can try it without it but it could be a lot of extra time and effort.

 

I did mine this past weekend and took some pictures which I'll be adding to this thread in the next week or so. Until then if you run into anything feel free to post up and I may have a picture of it. They're all on my phone at the moment waiting to be copied off.

 

need a youtube video doing this.........

I can't believe how much is involved just to change the spark plug,

wish you didnt have to remove the gas tank, what a pain,

I have a feeling the spark plugs in the motor now, will be with the bike forever.....haha.

 

$350? LOL! Wow.

 

beware when you take your vehicle to a shop and they say "yea we dont do anything for free"

they will give you a quote on labor rate/hour, then say "whenever I get done"

haha. stay away from places like that....

 

FYI - If you get block-off plates for the AIS and do them when you change your plugs it makes it easier in the future to get to the plugs. It also cleans up the area nicely and you do not have to mess with those damn hoses anymore. The block-off plates are cheap and makes maintenance easier under the air box. Its a win win.

 

I'm confused, besides removing air box and putting ais to side, what else is so involved in removing plugs?

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I just changed the stock plugs at 10,500 miles. The stock plugs still looked good. I also used NGK, CR9EIX 3521 (Iridium no gap needed). I"m glad that I put block off plates in when I put my header on (over a year ago), it made the job a lot easier not having to work around all that AIS garbage. The bike idles a lot smoother now. Any one needing a video can go to sport bike track gear, for a how to video on installing block off plates. The plugs are right next to them, set into the motor. For me getting the plug caps off was the hardest part. I used a channel lock pliers with a rag over them so that i didn't scar the plug caps. I read that someone else used this method on this site and it worked good for me also. Be sure to also check your clutch cable as it runs against the frame at the radiator. My cable had a wear mark thru the cable protective sleeve. I added a piece of heat shrink on that scared area. Also put a small dab of grease at the cable end where it goes into the leaver.

 

Is it just me, or does anyone else find out odd to change plus so early, i understand being pre-emptive, but the plus are designed to lay much longer despite what the manual says. I hope people realize that allot of that maintenance schedule is to get you to the dealership. There should be nothing wrong with a plug that only has 8k. I've gone much longer on other bikes. Don't plan on changing these till i hit 20k.

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no the manual says 12k. Idk though on my old ZX6R it called for plugs at 7500mi. I ran the OEM plugs until 13k and then had issues starting it.

 

It would be interesting to hear from members that replaced their plugs at 8,000 miles. Kevinh already said his plugs were still good at 10,000 mi.
cjymiller, Camp, electricblue... do you guys feel you could have gone longer on those plugs? Thanks

 

cjymiller, Camp, electricblue... do you guys feel you could have gone longer on those plugs? Thanks

I had about 10k miles on the outgoing plugs and yes, they could've safely gone another 5k safely without being replaced. Considering how much I hate doing the under the tank stuff it was worth it to replace with a longer interval plugs while everything was off. I ride 3-4k miles per year so this bought me several years before having to care about it again. Because my area can be so dusty with hot and cold extremes, I generally follow the more conservative schedules to be safe.

The new check interval will probably be almost 20k with the iridiums in, but for regular plugs you could probably just check around 15 and be fine.

 

I change plugs yearly, when I do a TB sync, may as well do them while under there. I always check plug gaps, I have found pre-gapped plugs to be wrong, or even closed right up from being dropped.

 

You tb sync and change plugs yearly? Are you kidding or serious? If serious i have to say overkill. Jmo. But if it makes you happy.

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I ran my original plugs for over 30,000 kms.

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I'm with you, people throwing away perfectly good plugs, i don't care how cheap they are, i guess it is the era we live in. I'm on my 8th motorcycle and never seen a plug go bad before 20k, unless it's faulty or something wrong with ignition system. I'm all four pulling and checking and cleaning and reinstalling, but new every year cmon!!

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The last time I priced Iridiums for the cage, it made me happy to replace ordinary plugs more often. Although, new cars coming with iridiums is fine, I've never done enough mileage to need to change them before we changed the car. The current car still has 46,000km to go.

 

Thanks electricblue and Camp for your response.

 

Well, I'll be receiving my ecu today from vcyclenut, so i decided to change plus since i was in there anyway and wanted to see just how difficult it was, and its cake if you've ever changed plus before. Removing the ais is a 3 minute job. It's really not hard and they are easily accessible. Checked the clutch cable, as i read that it runs on the frame and i did find that mine was also. There was digging in the outer sheath, but did not look like it was going to rub through. I put a piece tape insulation there just to be good. Another thing i did was put electrical tape over ais outlet on air box and did the tube back over it. I know it's not really needed with the flash disabling the ais, but have heard it sometimes leaks so why not. At 18k, original plugs looked brand new and didn't need to be changed, totally intact,gaps were perfect, prefect color. Could have easily went another 5k.

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The first time I did this, it took 4 hrs going slow and learning. This time it only took 1.5 hrs and I spent time to take and add pics. This is a picture of the plugs with all 8k miles run with the Vcyclenut flash. I'm no expert, just putting the info out there.

 

4 hours? No offence, but how many beers did you have?

 

I change plugs when I do the valve adjustment every 25 k, because I'm in there anyway and it's about time

 

Has anyone confirmed that iridium plugs are ok for use on the XSR900 / FZ-09? I read in a couple of (seemingly reputable) places that, for some bikes, it's actually detrimental. I've used iridiums on several other bikes in the past with no issues, but would like to hear from anyone who's really looked into it. FWIW, I'm planning on swapping them at 6k (fairly soon) when I do the tb sync; probably every 10K - 12K thereafter.

 

Guys thanks for the video that is awesome my question is why not unbolt the radiator drop it straight down, take off the AIS and boom you are right there? 45 minutes done, no tank removal!!

 

Thank you. Best documentation of any process ever. I was totally put off reading descriptions of this task. If you came over and held my hand the whole time it might be better than this post. Thanks again.

 

This is a good thread. I am adding some comments on my experience. I have a 2017 with block off plates. I decided to drop the radiator to change the plugs. I used NGK CR9EIA-9, as recommended by NGK. (Not much more money than buying the OE CPR9EA-9)

MY steps:
1. Remove the side covers.
2. Remove the screws holding the top of the radiator
3. Unplug the spark plug wires
4. Twisting and pulling, remove the ignition coils
5. Remove the spark plugs
6. Install spark plugs, follow manufacturer guidelines for torque. I did hand tight and then 1/3 turn.
7. Reconnect the electrical parts.
8. Start the bike to check it.
9. Reassemble the rest.