Sooty Plugs

Do you have a Napa in your area? They can probably order them, too.

If it were me I would use the plugs recommended in the Kawasaki manual. If I had sooty plugs I would look for ignition or fuel/carb issues that might be causing it. Some possible causes...coils not seeing full voltage, timing not set correctly, choke plungers leaking or not fully seating, needle jets worn, needles set too high, fuel/air screws improperly adjusted, pilot jets too large and lugging the engine. Those are the ones that quickly come to mind.

BCScott wrote: Do you have a Napa in your area? They can probably order them, too.

Called NAPA, they don't carry or have a distributor to order them from.

lakshan wrote:

BCScott wrote: Do you have a Napa in your area? They can probably order them, too.

Called NAPA, they don't carry or have a distributor to order them from.

And all these years I have thought Canada to be a modern, civilized country :whistle:

TexasKZ wrote:

lakshan wrote:

BCScott wrote: Do you have a Napa in your area? They can probably order them, too.

Called NAPA, they don't carry or have a distributor to order them from.

And all these years I have thought Canada to be a modern, civilized country :whistle:

I thought I would maybe see if I can reduce the resistance another way. I tested the plug caps I have and they give me ~4.5k ohm reading. I went and got some replacement NGK caps @ 1k ohm (no they don't have non-resistor caps). Seems to make a positive difference. I was able to turn in the fuel mix screws by 1/2 turn to get good throttle response. I hope this also means I get a less rich mix and the plugs don't soot up. I let the bike run for a couple minutes and then checked the new plugs and they were clean!

Went for a quick ride around the block, tried to hit some higher rpms ~3.5k. When I got back, I checked one plug and it had some soot but not as much as before.

Again have not given it a proper ride on the road (waiting to get tires tomorrow and then I will get my license plates) so I'll report back after a proper ride.

I ended up tuning my needles to a leaner setting. My vacuum numbers looked much better when I worked on synchronization after tuning. Engine felt smoother. I was able to turn in the pilot screws (leaner) to about 2 turns out. I think I can get even leaner than this, just doing slow adjustments. But looks like this did the trick! Plugs look much better now.

I didn't mess with the needles at first, I kept them the way they came when I got this bike. I guess after replacing them with the rebuild kit needles, it needed some adjustment The mix adjustment + the new caps seems to have done the trick. Looks like the plugs are fine after all! Thanks for your input guys.

fortnine.ca/en/ngk-standard-spark-plug-b7es

These guys are out of Montreal, free shipping on orders over $49, no customs/duty/exchange rate but you do have to pay provincial tax.

I use them all the time for plugs/filters/tools etc. They usually ship and get the stuff to you within a week, but this recent "event" has slowed them slightly.

I am in London, just down the 401.

Your sooty plugs could also be choke plunger related, if the seals are hard they won't shut off and fuel will get into the carb throat at all speeds.

Thanks, yes I've ordered stuff from Fortnine! They are great. I checked here as well and although they list them, they are out of stock since I checked last year so I think they stopped stocking as well.

lakshan wrote: I ended up tuning my needles to a leaner setting. My vacuum numbers looked much better when I worked on synchronization after tuning. Engine felt smoother. I was able to turn in the pilot screws (leaner) to about 2 turns out. I think I can get even leaner than this, just doing slow adjustments. But looks like this did the trick! Plugs look much better now.

I didn't mess with the needles at first, I kept them the way they came when I got this bike. I guess after replacing them with the rebuild kit needles, it needed some adjustment The mix adjustment + the new caps seems to have done the trick. Looks like the plugs are fine after all! Thanks for your input guys.

What adjustments do your carbs have? I looked at the parts fishe at Partzilla and it shows both a pilot fuel screw and a pilot air screw. Regarding these, the fuel screw should be set to about 3/4 - 7/8 of a turn open, and the air screw about double that. Turning the fuel screw in leans the mixture and out for the air screw leans the mixture.