Guest ReinyRooster Posted March 22, 2009 #1 Posted March 22, 2009 Have new spark plug wires....figured it was time to replace the 21 year old wires. Obviously one end of the wires goes onto the plug, but never having done this before, I don't know the how and where the bare end attaches. How do I get there? Stop laughing.......
Black Owl Posted March 22, 2009 #2 Posted March 22, 2009 http://smilies.sofrayt.com/eng/lol6.gif OK. I'll stop. The other end goes into the coil pack. It's been a few years since I replaced mine, but if I remember correctly you can access the coil packs through the head light port. There is a screw cap which you remove, insert the new wire and screw it down tight. Hope that helps.
greg_in_london Posted March 22, 2009 #3 Posted March 22, 2009 The other end of the HT lead goes into the HT (ignition) coil. You have four of them and they are all inside the fairing, but if your hands are not too big you should be able to reach them stretching up near the fork legs. From memory the leads push in, but there are knurled plastic screw in bits around them that tighten up on a rubber bung to keep them tight. If you can't get at them, then you may have to remove the battery box to get access from above. It's quite do-able, though.
Black Owl Posted March 22, 2009 #4 Posted March 22, 2009 Greg, Forgot all about the little "O" ring thingy.
Marcarl Posted March 22, 2009 #5 Posted March 22, 2009 You can get at them from under the front faring, but you'll have to miss supper for a week or two before you even attempt it. As mentioned, another way is to remove the battery box for easier access, but it's still a little tight,,, so what you might be able better advised is to be a real nice guy for a while and then invite some skinny little guy over that has small hands and knows what he is doing (that leaves me out),,, but you might have to entice him with a promise of food. If you go from under the front faring, you need to reach up and undo the front coil wire, then undo and install the rear one before replacing the front one. Also, make sure you follow the placement of the wire going back, and put the new one in exactly where the old one came out. Don't be over zealous and try to do a better job than what was done originally, there is a reason why they run where they do, and why they are tied where they are,,,, and the reason will manifest itself as soon as you install some headgear with earphones and then try to listen to static.
Marcarl Posted March 22, 2009 #6 Posted March 22, 2009 Oh ya,,, we have room for one more scoot, but only for a couple of hours or so.
Guest ReinyRooster Posted March 22, 2009 #7 Posted March 22, 2009 Carl....if I didn't know any better....and my wife keeps telling me I don't....I'd say you were volunteering to assist/lead in this adventure. Thanks to everyone for their input.
scotty Posted March 22, 2009 #8 Posted March 22, 2009 I did it the easy way, I took a hammer and created a couple of extra joints in each finger. on the upside - it was also handy for installing throttle cables. (actually I have a very long pair of needle nose pliers)
Marcarl Posted March 23, 2009 #9 Posted March 23, 2009 Carl....if I didn't know any better....and my wife keeps telling me I don't....I'd say you were volunteering to assist/lead in this adventure. Thanks to everyone for their input. Time???????????? Place??????????
Guest ReinyRooster Posted March 23, 2009 #10 Posted March 23, 2009 Carl....I'll get back to you on that one.
skydoc_17 Posted March 25, 2009 #11 Posted March 25, 2009 (edited) I used the "Remove the battery box method" and along with the removal of the side covers, and the lower fairing legs I go in there fairly easy. Wait...thats a lie, I have pretty small hands and it still took me over an hour AFTER I removed the above mentioned plastic parts. Move slowly, as I remember I scraped a bit of skin off of my hands because I got in a hurry a few times. If you ever thought about changing the battery cables, this would be the time to do it because you are pretty close to having most of the items off that you would need to remove to get to them. I would like to add that it was worth the effort, my bike ran much better after the wire change. But it was a bear. Don't bother inviting over any "fat fingered" friends, you'll be feeding them for free... and for nothing! Earl Edited March 25, 2009 by skydoc_17 WRONG PIC!
Guest ReinyRooster Posted March 25, 2009 #12 Posted March 25, 2009 Ya...sounds like trouble...already did the battery cable upgrade years ago...and got fat fingers...this is probably gonna hurt!
Pappa Bear Posted March 26, 2009 #13 Posted March 26, 2009 Are you making your on wire set or did you go to Yamathief or elsewhere?
skydoc_17 Posted March 26, 2009 #15 Posted March 26, 2009 (edited) Hey Reinhard, I too bought the set from ebay. The quality was EXCELLENT! They were actually a bit longer than stock so I was able to route them quite a bit better than the stock ones. A while ago I removed the two plastic shields over the valve covers and the stock wires were not held as good as they were before. With the new wires, I was able to run them up the frame tubes and zip tie (the zip ties actually came with the wires!) them in a few places. The install turned out very clean and the new NGK plug caps look great and function very well. A few things to watch out for are when you remove the coil cap watch out for the rubber compression grommet on the end of the old wire. If you loose one or more you will be dead in the water as most stealers do not keep them in stock. I used some aerosol silicone spray to bring the grommets back to life plus it made it easy to get the grommets on the new wires. Finally,I put a small piece of tape about 11/2 inches from the end of the wire, then the coil cap goes on the end of the wire with the threaded end towards the end of the wire, then the grommet. The tape keeps the coil cap from sliding back down the wire as you wind it thru all of the places it needs to go. I did one wire at a time and plugged the boot on the spark plug first, connected the coil next then zip tied the wire to the frame. Do not over tighten the zip ties! I left mine loose enough to be able to move the wire with a little effort. By the way, did you get the yellow wires? Hope this helps, Earl Edited March 26, 2009 by skydoc_17 CRAYON BROKE!
Stanman Posted March 26, 2009 #16 Posted March 26, 2009 Hey Reinhard, I too bought the set from ebay. The quality was EXCELLENT! They were actually a bit longer than stock so I was able to route them quite a bit better than the stock ones. A while ago I removed the two plastic shields over the valve covers and the stock wires were not held as good as they were before. With the new wires, I was able to run them up the frame tubes and zip tie (the zip ties actually came with the wires!) them in a few places. The install turned out very clean and the new NGK plug caps look great and function very well. A few things to watch out for are when you remove the coil cap watch out for the rubber compression grommet on the end of the old wire. If you loose one or more you will be dead in the water as most stealers do not keep them in stock. I used some aerosol silicone spray to bring the grommets back to life plus it made it easy to get the grommets on the new wires. Finally,I put a small piece of tape about 11/2 inches from the end of the wire, then the coil cap goes on the end of the wire with the threaded end towards the end of the wire, then the grommet. The tape keeps the coil cap from sliding back down the wire as you wind it thru all of the places it needs to go. I did one wire at a time and plugged the boot on the spark plug first, connected the coil next then zip tied the wire to the frame. Do not over tighten the zip ties! I left mine loose enough to be able to move the wire with a little effort. By the way, did you get the yellow wires? Hope this helps, Earl EBAY??? I've tried a search several times on ebay.ca with no luck.
Guest ReinyRooster Posted March 26, 2009 #17 Posted March 26, 2009 Earl, yes I got the yellow wires. Stanman, I'll see if I can dig up the vendor's info for you.
GeorgeS Posted March 26, 2009 #18 Posted March 26, 2009 Advisable, to remove battery box, and air cleaner--- Most likly some spilled battery acid under the box that needs to be cleaned up. Good time to replace the main battery cables also ---
Rocket Posted March 26, 2009 #19 Posted March 26, 2009 Ya...sounds like trouble...already did the battery cable upgrade years ago...and got fat fingers...this is probably gonna hurt! Good time to replace the main battery cables also --- Again??? He already did that................ Read the quote above yours, in this post.....
StuD Posted March 27, 2009 #20 Posted March 27, 2009 You mentioned that the new plug wires were longer then stock. How much longer are they? as I ordered wire & caps for my (stable of) bikes and like the idea of zap tie to frame. Thanks :canada:
Marcarl Posted March 27, 2009 #21 Posted March 27, 2009 and like the idea of zap tie to frame. Thanks :canada: Noty a real good idea if you have electronics that you listen to, as the RF from the high tension wires will bleed to the frame and then back into the headsets.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now