can someone take a look at my plugs for me

Dubs chops

livintit dot com
okay went out riding to test the ski today before i head out to the ozarks tomorrow. and i pulled the plugs after about 20min of riding the front plug was dark chocolate milk and the rear was half light cardboard and half dark chocalate milk. is this anything i should be concerned about.
 

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Waternut

Customizing addict
Location
Macon, GA
I'm no expert but from the looks of it, your engine isn't running great. If you've got dual carbs, you might want to richen up the light plug and lean out the dark plug a bit. No more than a 1/4 turn at first anyway. If you're running a single carb then you've probably got an air leak somewhere and that poses some risks for you.

Those are excellent pictures btw...I have never been able to take pictures of my plugs like that.
 
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Dubs chops

livintit dot com
that sucks i'm running a single. what do i do to check it? qand i was just using a point and shoot fujifilm finepixz
 
id say that 20 minutes on a new set of plugs is too early to determine anything unless theres metal on them..... but im no expert either.
 

Dubs chops

livintit dot com
yup i am more worried about the difference in the two more than the color, but i will be riding the shiznit out of it all weekend regardless. see you foo's monday.
 

vitaly

Анархия - мать порядка!
Location
NY/NJ
One looks slightly lean, the other one looks slightly rich.
As Charlie pointed, 20 mins might not be enough to tell for sure.
Try to ride it some more and DO NOT IDLE before you shut the engine, run it mid-throttle, then kill it, swim the ski to the beach, pull the plugs and take another picture.


Oh, I'm not an expert either... LOL
 

Waternut

Customizing addict
Location
Macon, GA
I agree that varying throttle can distort your plugs but as much of a difference as those plugs show...I find it hard to believe that everything is normal.

Switch the plugs tommorrow and see if the reading repeat. It's too late in the game to pull everything apart and pressure check the engine. Just be cautious tommorrow and if the engine starts acting funny...might wanna shut it down.
 

tom21

havin fun
Location
clearwater FL
okay went out riding to test the ski today before i head out to the ozarks tomorrow. and i pulled the plugs after about 20min of riding the front plug was dark chocolate milk and the rear was half light cardboard and half dark chocalate milk. is this anything i should be concerned about.

yes- your nails need a trim...:stups:
 

DAG

Yes, my balls tickled from that landing
Location
Charlotte, NC
5mins should be enough time, on a warmed up engine. but you can only really read plugs at WOT chop. Their are simply too many other verations that come into play at any other throttle possession... or so i'm told.

maybe check your reeds, one jug might be rich from a bent/chipped reed.
 

dajnglst

Glass Happens
Location
Charleston SC
Looks as though you have not done a proper plug chop. You just went out free riding and decided to look at the plugs. The porcelain insulator on the right side plug looks like it's overly rich from burn which you obviously understand.

The porcelain portion of the plug will tell you a little about mid range but not top end power. The deep end of the plug/top of insulator is the best indicator. Chocolate to white would be nice. Also the burn on the electrode tip will give you good indication of jetting on top end if plug chop has been performed correctly. Even on used plugs, not old, the electrode tip should look to be 1/3 to 2/3 burned white. anything more than that and while the engine does not seize, the fuel mix is too lean.

Keep in mind when running around in the southeast during the summer the weather is very humid. You want more power, dial it in on the high speed mixture screw for less fuel to work with the water in the air. More humidity, lean her out.

Because you are running a single carb, you most likely have week reads in the cylinder you pulled that plug from. It's burning fine so plug cap/ ignition signal is of no concern. The darker plug could just be a sign of weak rings from piston dome collapse sticking ring or that particular cylinder running hotter than the other. All depends on how the cooling is moving through head.

No two carbs are going to be made alike, so in the event it was a dual carb boat, I would be playing with throttle valve sync or dialing in main jet and high speed screw to get equal burn. If you were racing you would re check deck height between each cylinder, check squish or even index the crank to see there is no torsion on webs. Short rods, short pistons can all lead to poor squish/ deck height. No worry just tune second carb to make it look right.

If it was a triple cylinder engine outside of the world finals, I'd let that fugga run a little richer.

Disclaimer:
Newbie under the sauce and fair two stroke tuner. :Banane37:
 

dajnglst

Glass Happens
Location
Charleston SC
5mins should be enough time, on a warmed up engine. but you can only really read plugs at WOT chop. Their are simply too many other verations that come into play at any other throttle possession... or so i'm told.

maybe check your reeds, one jug might be rich from a bent/chipped reed.


Griff, you beat me.

Still typing.
 

SUPERTUNE

Race Gas Rules
Location
Clearwater Fl.
Any bikes like mine? Vintage Formula 500, '78 RD400 YAMAHA
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dajnglst

Glass Happens
Location
Charleston SC
Well close. I began road racing on an 84 RZ 350. It was ten years old running in D superbike versus monster fzr 400 hybrids. Richarg Guirey up in camden has my old RZ along with old super tuner Gary Stumb of MRA racing.

After my time on the RZ I progressed in to 250 gp bikes. Learned a lot from the likes of Ed Toomey, Steve Biganski, Roland Cushway and Reine Peirson of swede tech.I even got to spend some time in England at Frank Wrathell's place. So yes I have associated with some of the best.

Did the old ama 250gp nationals for a while in addition to wera and formula usa aprillia cup.

I would have never considered myself to desire any four stroke race bike until 2001. My 2000 GSXR 750 stupid bike handled like a tank. Riding the cup races and superbike back to back is like racing a b-1 limited to a GP1300. The new four strokes are amazing, really starting to change my opinions. But I would rather fund a trip to Costa Rica or South Africa than waste money on tires with nothing to show for it. I have not lost the race bug, it's still has coals, but no real flames.

I ride slow bikes really fast.

Check with the HSR auto racing series they are trying to get a new vintage motorcycle roadracing series going. It should be really good. Just saw the one they put on at Road Atlanta during the Walter Mitty.

Overnight's here. Back to work.

Cheers, all.
 
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