Rate My Plugs

Hi I was curious if you guys can enlighten me on the condition of my plugs. Just wondering if im rich or lean. Sorry for a dumb question but im pretty new to this DIY stuff.

a bit lean I'd say. but they look good to me

A bit lean
Mark

There's only three, and maybe a touch lean, but probly just a slight tweak on idle air screw (out) to fix it. Wouldn't mess with it myself.

Thanks everyone maybe I'll go an eighth out and see if they darken up a bit.

They look carboned big time, like rich rich. Are you burning oil?

Some or all of the black may be oil. If they were lean the whole insulator

would be white all the way down inside the plug.

Yu guys going blind or what. :dry:

WELL LEAST YOUR NOT DEAF

I'm with nads, a tadd too rich....

The strap heat range seems about right @ 50/50.
Definitely rich on the base ring.

Coil voltage @ idle ~ 13Vdc....?

Hard to say on the porcelain but are these rather new plugs (low miles)...?
Might explain why the white color.

Maybe this will help.... Follow the link on a good write up on the subject matter...

How to read spark plugs...

Well there you have it. The plugs show you are running a little lean, a little rich, or very rich. There's nothing as satisfying as a definitive answer. :whistle:

What are the #'s on the Plugs your running? Is there an "R" in the part #? This would lower spark energy. But back to your Blown Main Fuse. Voltage drop here is common, lowering voltage to your Whole System, but at the coils results in Weak Spark. 30 year old coils/ wires/ ignition needs servicing Before Carb Tuning. Also Checking the Fuel Level in the Float Bowls would be next, before thinking of jetting. Stock bike, all parts in place good condition, no vacuum leaks etc. Stock jetting should be fine.
OMR has it right.

Here is a different take on OMR's earlier posting I found. . The main point to remember, these photos (which is the same that OMR has already posted) are only valid if you shut off the engine during or immediately after a good acceleration run and then take the plugs out for reading. Can't expect to do a valid reading after soft acceleration and lots low speed cruising and idling afterwards. The plugs need to be in high function mode when the engine is shut off. Also, as the video points out as do OMR's posting, you only read the base ring color/condition to determine if you are lean or rich. The strap/center electrode relation ship determines if the plug is too cool or hot and not rich or lean. At least that's what I got out of it. Hope this helps.

Joe

When the mixture is close to being right, you also have to consider how long the plugs were in the bike, and if the bike was ridden in very cold termperatures last or very hot temperatures. Mixture changes depending on external conditions, so they must be considered. As plugs get old, they will start to get dirty looking, even if the mixture is right. Only if the mixture is way off, will new plugs show it quickly.

This is all in addition to what Motor Head and others have said. Checking mixture and fiddling with carbs is the very last step in the tuning. If you haven't checked everything else first (engine condition, ignition), you may be spinning your wheels.

They look fine to me as long as they have been in the bike for a few weeks or months. If they got that much carbon after a couple hours, that may be a concern.

In my opinion a good looking plug does not necessarily mean all parts of the throttle are proper. And a bad looking plug does not mean all parts of the throttle are bad.

The way to assess all areas, is by doing the jetting performance tests described by Dynojet. Dynojet even states, on current production motorcycles, plug condition is not a great indicator of mixture. I'm not sure if KZ's fall under "current production" since I don't know when this was written. But iv'e found this to be true in wideband testing: when you are close, the plugs no longer are a good indicator on which way to go.

Note: The best way to check the main-jet's performance is to look at the color of the tailpipe after prolonged full-power use. Checking the main in this way will usually be more effective than a plug-check. Due to the increased efficiency in current production motorcycles, a difference that shows up as a white to black color change in the exhaust pipe would be substantially less noticeable on the plugs.

When I get home I'll check the numbers on the plugs. I have put about a hundred miles on these and those pics were taken right after a ride hence the plug holder, they were hot. I guess I need to invest in a volt meter. The new fuse worked liked a charm but now I'm riding paranoid waiting for another meltdown hehe.