Forum

[TR6P]

Hi, I have a 2013 Classic Chrome Bullet. I need to take the petrol tank off to get at the spark plugs. There is no tap on the petrol supply valve under the tank. Is it OK to just disconnect the petrol hose from the valve? Also I notice there is an electrical connection into the back of the petrol valve. It looks awkward to get at to disconnect. Any tips will be appreciated. John

[Rattlebattle]

If you are talking about an EFI unit construction bike there is no need to touch the tank to remove the spark plug (there is only one on UK bikes). Just lever up the plug cap gently and use the plug spanner in the tool kit to unscrew the spark plug. If you do have to remove the tank the fuel supply hose may be disconnected without fuel flooding out. The electrical connectors for the fuel level sender just unplugs and you might also have a tank breather hose to disconnect. On the other hand if all you want is s bit more wriggle room just undo the tank mounting bolts and raise it a little. Like I said, there's no need to remove the tank from the bike just to access the spark plug.

[TR6P]

Thank you Rattle, That is a great help. Just had a look and it looks a bit tight and a fiddle but I will try without touching the tank. The info on the petrol pipe removal will come in handy in future.
Do you recommend the Iridium Plugs I fitted them to my W650 and they certainly made difference to starting and smooth power delivery. Regards John

[Gaz262]

I also fitted Iridium plugs to my W650 TR6P! - Small world eh?...

There's no real need for an iridium plug on an EFI or any other slow-revving engine like the Bullets by RE. Many experts on this forum will no doubt tell you why though. Stick with a standard NGK BP6ES type plug, also there's a thing about (R)esistor plugs elsewhere on the forum which I just can't remember the details of right now.....But it's important! -

Have fun!

[Rattlebattle]

I agree with that. In my experience with these EFI REs the iridium plugs make no difference to performance and, unless the EFI tune and connections are spot-on, they can clog with carbon much more quickly than a standard type plug. Mine did. To me, they are useful in modern bikes where you need a coal mining degree to get the plugs out, hardly the case with a single plug that it easily removed if you use the supplied box spanner. Just be careful with the plug cap to hot joint. The standard metal plug cap is not brilliant; I chose to fit an NGK one. Either the plug needs to be a resistor type (an R in the type number) or the cap does- see host's site re which are resistor and which are not).

[Gaz262]

.....what Rattlebattle said. (Big grin!)

[Tim NZ]

Precious metal plugs do 'foul' any more or less than any other. They have greater heat shedding ability due in part to less thermal mass and conductivity, and by dint of having a projected tip it will naturally run cooler.


For low compression motors (nothing to do with low rpm) such as the RE, a hotter grade of plug is called for if you opt for projected tip and or PM.


The true advantage of all PM plugs lies in the ability to be able to successfully fire across a larger gap, against higher compression, a leaner mixture, and with longer service life and less erosion: modern motors.




Carbon fouled spark plug? Either the plug is too cold or the mixture is way too rich. No matter how good any spark plug is, if you have an unsuitable heat range, it will lead to problems.

[Rattlebattle]

I bought the grade of iridium plug specified by our hosts for my then bog standard C5. Aside from various components or connections playing up, causing a rich mixture and hence plug fouling, when sorted it never actually ran any better than it did with the same heat range NGK with projected tip. I believe my bike needed a hotter plug by one grade. To me, experimenting with low cost, perfectly adequate, plug grades makes more sense than trying expensive iridium plugs, especially when "ordinary" plugs can be bought in packs of four. FWIW iridium plugs gave no noticeable benefit when I tried them on my oilhead Beemer a few years back either. Neither that, nor the RE, is a sufficiently modern design to warrant their use IMHO.

[Chris [Stockport]]

I tried an iridium plug in my yr 2000 Bullet 500. It instantly ran much better. In fact, that was because I was comparing it with the knackered normal one I had just taken out.

The iridium one was fine for a while but when it got older the tip was bad and very fragile looking. I then went back to the usual one specified for the bike, and stayed with it.

[Tim NZ]

Spark plug tip 'problems' are always an indication of incorrect ignition timing; detonation?
In extreme cases the insulation fractures.