650 Mod's 78 Fighter Build

Frig, I wish... I don't want anymore work than I have to right now. I'm thinking I'll mark out on the cover where I should be able to clear the chain, and start cutting...

Problem solved. For anyone doing a build like this- when all also fails, grab the air grinder. I just had to shave down the back plate of the sprocket cover to get clearance. Let's just say my garage floor has aluminum powder all over it right now... I double checked to make sure i had proper clearance, then fired her up and went for a spin. I forgot how good it feels to ride... and the bike absolutely hugs the road, feels super steady and responsive. I'll get some pics up afyer I get the tire hugger/windscreen/front fender on. But she's road worthy! Minus needing a new battery... the one that's in it was sitting for two years and just doesn't have quite the punch to kick the bike over. As I found out when I went to the store to fuel up...

I had a harder time firing the bike up this morning, so I started with a quick plug check. Two of the plugs weren't sparking to the electrode tip- they were sparking off to the side of the plug even with clean tips. All plugs are NGK as per the book. I've had bad luck with NGK'S over the last little bit, so I started sorting through the spare plugs I have. 5 of the 8 I have are faulty.... out go the NGK'S, in come Champion's to the rescue. I've started switching all of my toys/equipment over to Champions, and haven't had issues. For anyone that's considering this- Champion N3, N3C, N4, or N4C are all within the proper heat range. I'll have these in tomorrow and will hopefully have an easier time tuning the bike now

650mod wrote: I had a harder time firing the bike up this morning, so I started with a quick plug check. Two of the plugs weren't sparking to the electrode tip- they were sparking off to the side of the plug even with clean tips. All plugs are NGK as per the book. I've had bad luck with NGK'S over the last little bit, so I started sorting through the spare plugs I have. 5 of the 8 I have are faulty.... out go the NGK'S, in come Champion's to the rescue. I've started switching all of my toys/equipment over to Champions, and haven't had issues. For anyone that's considering this- Champion N3, N3C, N4, or N4C are all within the proper heat range. I'll have these in tomorrow and will hopefully have an easier time tuning the bike now

I would really like to know if you notice a difference with the Champs.

I used to run NGK on my snowman Hine, but switched to Campion this season. I had just bought a fresh set of NGK'S to do a weekend trip on, and they failed about a mile into the trip... switched to Champs, no issues. My friend convinced me to give it a shot after he did the same, and I keep seeing it with the quality difference between NGK and Champs. A pair of NGK'S up here in Canada are around $7, while a single Champion is $5.50. I know price doesn't mean anything, but from my experience, i'm starting g to slowly run all my gear on Champs. I'll let you know in the morning how she goes

Years ago I had problems with some NGK's too. I switched to Nippondenso (also known as Denso or ND) and haven't had any problems since. They are the "Hot U" plugs. Ed

For what its worth I've ran Champions since the early 80s when a small bike shop talked me into switching....... He had bought a bunch of gold tipped plugs and had a heck of a deal on them..........after a few sets of them I switched to the reg and I've been happy with them......try'd NGKs a few years back with good results too......even so I recently bought another set of Champs that I will put in next spring. Get mine mostly at Farm and Fleet..... thinking around 3 bucks each...... by the way loving your 650.

Ed- where do you get the ND's from? Those are the other ones listed in the stock repair manual. I'd probably have to order online in order to get them.

With the fresh plugs in this morning, she perked right up and is running smooth and caramel brown One carb's float needs adjusted again though- I think it's running a little rich. So I'll do that later, then tune with the Colortune again for best results.

650- After all this fussing around with NGK's and only good results with the Champs, I think I have my mind made up As for the pricing... I wish I could get them for that cheap! I'm sure if I did a bulk order I could, but who needs 10+ spark plugs if the bike is running dead on? Thanks for the kind words! She's been a long process to get it where it is, but it's more than worth it in the end

Where's the finished product obligatory show off pics?

Try Ebay....... I got the 10 pack of NGKs for 12 or 13 bucks shipped 2 years ago (that's when I tried em) but then he doubled the price after he sold a few more........ I've seen ND's on Ebay too at a decent price ..... Shipping to you might hurt though but if you keep and eye out for a while maybe you'll get lucky.

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationI bought ND W22ES-U spark plugs on eBay when I saw a terrific deal on a bunch of them. The link below has some at what probably is a fair price. You can also find them on Amazon. Ed



www.amazon.com/Denso-W22ES-U-Traditional...8-1&keywords=W22ES-U

Random- the final pics will be up once I have the rear tire hugger/front fender/windscreen on Until then, I can put up some teasers.

Ed- thanks for the links, I'll look into those for sure.

650- that's really good pricing! I'll peek and see what I can find. I'm lucky living where I am because we're 45 minutes from the US border, so I can have anything shipped to a little border store, pick it up for $3, and bring it across the border

Off to balance the one float that's been giving me issues, and putting a new battery in once it charges up