Spark Plug Check

SWest wrote: Using the power is good for the soul. The rings will last longer if it runs like it is supposed to. Not too rich or lean.
Steve

Steve...you the man!

Not sure what type of gas you have.... but here in MA we have 10-15% ethanol in our gas....... trying to read a spark plug is a waste of time. That always look lean... unless the engine is pig rich!! Only true indicator is a gas analyzer or an air/ fuel ratio sensor.... otherwise it's just seat of the pants trial and error.

Dave and I have both achieved the elusive peanut butter color. Problem is when you make changes, (main jets) they affect the other circuits.
Steve

TwoCam wrote: Not sure what type of gas you have.... but here in MA we have 10-15% ethanol in our gas....... trying to read a spark plug is a waste of time. That always look lean... unless the engine is pig rich!! Only true indicator is a gas analyzer or an air/ fuel ratio sensor.... otherwise it's just seat of the pants trial and error.

If MY Pres was to consider eliminating ethanol in my fuel, I would be all for it.

SWest wrote: Dave and I have both achieved the elusive peanut butter color. Problem is when you make changes, (main jets) they affect the other circuits.
Steve

At the time I had 132.5 mains in there, and now they are 127.5 (to lean out the mixture)

Go figure. :S

daveo wrote:

TwoCam wrote: Not sure what type of gas you have.... but here in MA we have 10-15% ethanol in our gas....... trying to read a spark plug is a waste of time. That always look lean... unless the engine is pig rich!! Only true indicator is a gas analyzer or an air/ fuel ratio sensor.... otherwise it's just seat of the pants trial and error.

If MY Pres was to consider eliminating ethanol in my fuel, I would be all for it.

That would mean more feed corn for cattle. Oh wait, they're putting fart bags on them now to stop global warming. :woohoo:
Nevermind.:whistle:
Steve

Actually, we'd all be better off if they had used alcohol instead of tetraethyl lead to begin with. We would have been using hardware that was immune to alcohol long ago, and we'd be getting more power. You can really squeeze the compression upward with E85. We ended up with lead because it was more profitable for the patent holders of leaded gasoline, GM and Exxon (Esso), even though it was far more toxic. Ethanol was well known to be effective as an octane booster, and less toxic, but it was not patentable. Lead was then replaced with chemicals that are even more toxic.

I hate ethanol too, but only because the Kz's were not designed around it and so now it's a headache.

Street Fighter LTD wrote: Questions Dave

How long have these plugs been in the motor ?
What kind of riding have they been doing ( RPM range / Idle time ) ??
All the plugs look too dark is my first impression but need more information .
Maybe not fatten up number 3 , but lighten up the other plugs .
Have you taken any new plugs and done a plug power chop to get a reading at WOT ?
Just fuel for thought
Dave

I'm thinking that may be accomplished by turning the Pilot Fuel Adj. Screws IN, but exactly what effect will that have on the fuel circuits in those carbs?

daveo wrote: I'm having to add engine oil more often than I would like. Perhaps that contributes to the black on the spark plugs...
which is dry with no oiliness at all.

All of my stock KZ / GPz engines use way too much oil. Looking at old road tests confirms this as a trait of the design / manufacture. Others I know who have tried to fix the oil consumption issues have only been slightly successful. The most noticeable improvement is from an overbore / pistons / rings like Wiseco and MTC. In fact, if any of my other bikes used even 1/10 as much oil, I would know for sure something is broken in them. My 2004 R1 used less oil on a 6000 mile road trip than my KZ1000CSR used in 200 miles! KZ plugs are always sooty and dark in comparison to my Hondas, Yamahas, and even my Toyotas, and exhaust stink is much worse with the KZ's than any other 4 stroke bike I've owned (even HD's).

-Scott

I'll be using Rotella next oil change forward. Maybe the different formula will help the rings do their job better.

Changed a few things last night. She now has 17.5 Pilot Jets in place of 22.5's, with .8 Pilot Air jets vs. .9, and 125 Main Jets vs. 127.5

She ran very well on a brief test ride after the carbs were synched...and I also set the floats back to 17mm.
Will see how this setup works out for a bit.

daveo wrote: . . . set the floats back to 17mm.
Will see how this setup works out for a bit.

It's the fuel level that's critical. Do the clear tube test.

Whatever float height results in correct fuel level is the correct float height for that particular carb.

The engine doesn't give a r-a about float height -- what matters to the engine is fuel level.

Folks worrying about float height instead of fuel level -- or erroneously thinking that float height somehow magically compensates for incorrect fuel level -- are wasting their time.

These old carbs may have equally adjusted float heights that are producing varying and often incorrect fuel levels among the carbs.

When these old girls were new, the float height adjustment stood a better chance of resulting in a fuel level within ball park spec. But even then, the FSM called for the clear tube test to verify fuel level being within specs, entailing further adjustment of the float tang regardless of its effect on float height so long as fuel level -- fuel level -- fuel level -- is withing spec as shown by the clear tube -- clear tube -- clear tube test.

Savvy owners don't even mess around with the float height measurement -- except when needed to hopefully achieve an initial fuel level that's within the ball park of a correct fuel level. To thereby minimize the number of required tang adjustments.

On the rare occasion when float height adjustment happens to result in correct fuel level, Lady Luck has just smiled.

Good Fortune!

Mikuni lists float height as the method of adjustment on their aftermarket carbs. It doesn't take into consideration the wear factor, float pivots, etc. Even as in my case with the 33's, changing to more modern floats. It does however require a little trial and error getting the mixture correct. Once done, the clear tube test is the only accurate method of adjusting the floats.
Steve