Feel like slappin the previous owner...
 

So I'm headin home like usual when about 4 or 5 blocks from my house my F4i spits out a spark plug due to over tightening and the plug stripping the thread on the head....nice.
I remember clearly how "proudly" the previous yuppie owner had said "he personally" had done all the bike maintance himself...thanks a lot.....
Anywho, took it to the shop where they charge 80bucks an hour and it turns out they are going to re-tap the head and replace the plug with a bit wider one. (by the way ,this, according to the mechanics is going to be a 4 hour job.....:rolleyes:) gatta get paid..i guess.

I was really just concerned if for any reason the wider plug is going to affect engine preformance, and the mechanic assured it would not. so oh well, i'm out close to 300 bucks...:mad:

so here's the question, since they will already be re-tapping one of the plugs on the head, do you guys think it wise to just re-tap all four plugs and make them an all wider set or just keep the rest the way they are?

I guess i'm just fearing another four hour job when another stripped plug gets spat out. they have assured me though, that the other plugs are fine.
Insight from other f4i owners is appreciated! thnx.

p.s at least now this gave me more time to spend with my nighthawk..aka Dolly.;)

Wow sucks to hear that. Just make sure that when you change your plugs next time you're aware of the size differences, and I wouldn't see a reason to change the others, sounds pretty pricey for something you don't absolutely need...

Yeah. As long as the run at the same level, not colder. You'll be fine. I say leave them all the way the are, and if you notice some odd firing for some reason, swap em all.

Meh. You can leave those other three in there (I would) but I'd pull them and re torque them first.

I would ask how much more to do the other three,most of the labor should be in removing parts ie valve cover or what not.Imo.That way if it were to happen again with the other plugs (hope not) you don't have to pay the full labor again.

It shouldn't take much longer to have them do it. If they're going to be in there anyway I say another hour labor would be fair to tap the other three.

thnx for all the imput everyone.

I guess i'll just let the other three be. but i will tell the mechanics to pull the plugs and torque them correctly.
pulling and re-tapping each plugs cost 11.90, they only charge for the new plug. i guess they " feel bad " already for spending 4 hours on this job ,lol, i guess they had pitty on me, so they agreed to leave the labor fee the same and just charge me 11.90 for each plug and the re-tapping.

If they're giving you that deal I'd get them all done just to save you tune up hassles with mis matched plugs down the road.

well i would but like everyone else in the world, im strapped for cash these days. i'll save a few bucks, and their labor is insured so its all good.

I think you mean everyone else in the country. lol

no.. the world...lol

That's nothing compared to what I found out the other day. One of the previous owners, 2 of them, had installed "flush mount" turn signals. Now when I say flush mount turn signals I don't actually mean flush mount turn signals. They aren't stock but they do however stick out and lay on top of the fairing instead of flush in the socket. So, I ordered hotbodies flush mount signals and when I'm uninstalling the others I noticed that instead of taking the fairing off and installing them they decided to just bust a hole in the fairing to work the bolts. So now I'm hoping to find a decent upper fairing at a salvage yard that only has scratches... fat chance finding one of those.

ouch..

Do you have to get the head off to do this type of work? can you helicoil a plug without taking the head off? If they need to take off the head, just do it yourself and save some labor hours. Head gasket is 50 bucks, pull it apart yourself and take the head to someone. You can inspect the threads on the other bores and see if they are starting to rip out. It might save you a few bucks...

see my post at https://cbrforum.com/forum/showthrea...616#post791616

or, for the lazy ones:

What will you do if (hope not) you **ck another spark tread (on one of other 3 cylinders) in the future? If you have helicoiled just that 1 by then, it could be done for another one in the future, but when you do all 4 of them now...?

Quote:
Originally Posted by p0peye https://cbrforum.com/forum/images/ki...s/viewpost.gif
Just curious:
What will you do if (hope not) you **ck another spark tread (on one of other 3 cylinders) in the future? If you have helicoiled just that 1 by then, it could be done for another one in the future, but like this...?
this is not my opinion... Good luck...

Well "I", did not **ck up the thread on the head, it was the previous owner, he did not read the correct torque measurement and probably just tightened it till he felt like it was good and stripped lol.
I usually do most maintanance on my motorbikes, and when I do, I use the correct tools inlcudiing checking torque measurments for bolt tightening etc..
anywho, having said that, the mechanic doing the repairs on my bike at the moment recommended that I should and might as well replace the other 3 with helicoil threads because he noticed that another thread was near to stripped and the remaining 2 were not in the best condition. I tend to listen to him, not only because he's a buddy of mine but because , and most importantly, he's been at this for 12 13ish years repairing and maintaining bikes. So I dont usually doubt him lol.
Yea, skooby, you are right about the size being the same, my buddy was explaining how he used a slightly larger bit to drill out the hole and then tap and finnaly thread the helicoil in, sizes remaining the same, I'm pretty sure I mis-understood him.
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Joey, I never did say that you have stripped the tread, I was saying that it (hope not) could happen' again, and this time it could hardly be a previous owner, right? ;)
Anyway, now that you told us that the other treads are not id good shape either - all is clear - you should do it now, better then to disassemble the whole thing again soon...
:)
Regards

Glad to have cleared that up!:cool:

Anywho, I get her back today latest tmro:D
WooOt!