alright I love honda but christ I have to take the whole bike apart to get to the middle spark plugs.

Do I have to remove the air filter to get to the plugs? Anyone got tips for replacing and installing the spark plugs on the CBR F3 1997?

help would be love

 

Yep, make friends with a midget. No you don't have to dismantle your bike to get to the middle plugs, you can take off the service covers, but I take off the lower fairing & use the spark plug tool from the Honda tool kit. You can get a socket that will fit to a ratchet & make getting the plugs out a tad faster (& only a tad), but I just use the Honda sparkie tool, which takes forever (Buy hey I'm old, retired & only waiting to die anyway).

 

lol hahahha thanks man

well I did it. I got them all out and put em all in.

Tip: when putting back the wires, twist and wiggle them and they will start "pop" "pop" - ing in. Do not try to force them straight in cuz it wont work.


one last question though: how tight do you screw on the spark plugs? For some reason the last owner put em on real loose and I think there was leakage (spark plug had oil on it). So this time I put em on "tighter" but I was so damn scared to break the thread.

So how tight should the sparks be? How do you know if it is too much or too little?

Thanks!

HEY PACE: An old motorcyclist is a blessing! my god most bikers dont even survive to their 50s. We need to learn from ya!

 

about 1/4 turn more from when it starts to get tight. you want to crush the "crush" washers on them.

in other words, gnt (good and tight)

 

gnt...i like that...lol

 

With the right tools, you can get the plugs out without a full disassembly. I drop the socket in, then stack a couple of short extentions until it's right at the opening, then snap on the ratchet. Once you got it loose, use a rubber plug puller, and kindof snake it in there and turn it the rest of the way. Reverse the order to reassemble.

It's still a glorious pain in the ***, but way better than taking the bike apart or dropping the engine.

 

I think the first statement here contradicts the second. 1/4 turn past tight is correct, but if you tighten them TOO much, you'll crack the end off. Or worse yet, you'll put a hairline fracture in the ceramic, and the plug won't snap in half until you're out on the road.

 

i do the same process but when it comes to detatching the wratchet, and pulling apart the extension from the socket, the plug tends to fall down. so i use the spark plug wire, and push the boot down onto the top of the plug until you hear it bite, then simply pull the spark plug wire out and voila there is the spark plug.

 

That's what the plug puller I mentioned is for. It's basically a spark plug wire with a handle, so you can snake it in there, and even turn the plug.