[nareshtrao]

Originally Posted by mobike008

P.S: Do I source the plugs from PlanetDSG or its available off the shelf in automative spare parts shops?

It is available in some automotive spare shops which stock plugs. Even Enfiled spare shops store it or will procure for you. Just ask for Bullet plugs. In my case, Enfield dealer here Teknik Motors had a stock of it. I got individual packing with separate prices and hence Rs. 1200 and not as a set like in PlanetDSG which costs Rs. 1100.

It may be worthwhile buying from DSG. They are quite reliable and prompt from what I hear.

And finally, if you do not find it anywhere and need it brought/shipped from Bangalore later this year, please PM me. I may have my colleagues traveling to Hyd office at times.

[iron.head]

Originally Posted by nareshtrao

These are two different plugs. One regular size for the Primary plug ans one smaller that is usually the secondary plug. I bought in individual packing but now realize that the same is available in a set for RE CL 500 on PlanetDSG

NGK Iridium Spark Plug : Royal Enfield Classic 500 (Set of 2..

As a set, it costs only Rs. 1100. Details and part number in the link.

By the way, you mentioned, NGK Platinum. I am referring to NGK Iridium. (Lots of stuff available on the web comparing Platinum and Iridium plugs, should you be keen to research)

IMO This set contains 2 primary plugs and not one primary and one secondary. The part numbers also look incorrect as Googling them yields no results.

[iron.head]

I did a little search on the net and found the following results-

Spark Plugs - Spark-Plugs, Caps, Accessories & Connectors

These are the Iridium primary plugs available for our C5. These are basically the same plugs with different heat range(5 to 9). RE suggests using Bosch Platinum Plus WR8DP which has heat rating of 8, so a plug with heat rating of 8 might be good for our C5. Though these plugs are quite advanced, a plug with a lower heat range might also be good enough for our C5. My search says that BPR5EIX is the common one being sold in India which has heat rating of 5 which might or might not be the best option for our C5.

Here are the plug designation codes-
http://www.boschautoparts.com/BAP_Te...onCodes_10.pdf

http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/docs/te...bols_plugs.pdf

RE initially used plugs with lower heat range in our bikes and moved on to WQR8DC (Bosch Super heat rating 8) and ultimately they are using WR8DP (Bosch Platinum Plus heat rating 8) in our C5's. So a plug with heat rating of 8 might be the best, but since iridium plugs are much more advanced, we might not need such high heat range plugs??? I am not sure.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...ml#post2265632

[nareshtrao]

Originally Posted by iron.head

I did a little search on the net and found the following results-

Spark Plugs - Spark-Plugs, Caps, Accessories & Connectors

http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/docs/te...bols_plugs.pdf

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...ml#post2265632

If you see the codes in the link above, 2 is highest heat rating and 11 is lowest. By that logic 5 is on the slightly higher side which NGK provides for primary plug.

I checked the part numbers, the primary is the one you mentioned with heat rating of 5 and secondary has heat rating of 8. Wrote down the part numbers but lost that piece of paper. Do not want to remove them again. Will get the numbers for you from the dealership when I visit next week.

[ArizonaJim]

One must be careful using the numbers on spark plugs to determine the heat range.

For instance for a NGK, Denso and Champion spark plug the smaller number represents a hotter spark plug.

For Bosch spark plugs a smaller number represents a colder spark plug.

Here is a link comparing the brands numbers. Enlarge the little chart to see it clearly.
Sparkplugs.com - Spark Plug 411

I know that many of you fully understand this spark plug heat thing but on the off chance that some of you do not here is my oversimplified explanation.

The sparking tip and ceramic insulator on spark plugs needs to be very hot so that it can burn off any carbon or oil that has accumulated on it.
That keeps it from shorting out thru a carbon buildup which will keep the tip from making a spark.

If the spark plug is "cold", the tip looses its heat rapidly from the insulator tip by transferring it to the spark plugs body where it dissipates into the cooler cylinder head.
This makes the tip cooler so carbon is more likely to build up on the surfaces even when the air/fuel mixture is correct.
It also keeps the spark plug tip from becoming too hot and causing pre-ignition.

These "cold" spark plugs are designed for engines that operate at high speeds under heavy loads where a lot of heat is constantly being produced.
A spark plug that shows abnormal erosion or blistering on the ceramic insulator is too "hot" for the existing operating conditions of the engine and should be replaced with a slightly cooler spark plug.

A "hot" spark plug is designed to loose less heat at the electrode and insulator tip so the tip remains hotter.
This high temperature burns off carbon and oil that may collect on the tip.

A "hot" spark plug is designed for slower speed, light engine load operating conditions.

If the tip gets too hot it can ignite the air/fuel mixture before the spark occurs.
This pre-ignition can greatly harm the engine. If the tip is too hot the metal parts will also become vaporized and erode rapidly causing the spark plug gap to increase.

If the spark plug tip and insulator look worn or blistered it is too "hot" and should be replaced with a "cooler" spark plug.

As you can see, this is sort of a balancing act between too "hot" and too "cold".
The engines manufacturer has spent thousands of test hours determining the "best" spark plug heat for your engine so it is best to use the spark plug he recommends.

If a change in the heat of a spark plug is required, go slowly, one temperature grade at a time to determine what is best for your engine and how you drive.

As for the need for a platinum or iridium tipped spark plug, we all have our own opinions.

My opinion is for the low compression, slow running lightly loaded Royal Enfield these special spark plugs are not needed.
In my country they cost 5 times more than a standard spark plug so any perceived savings in spark plug life will be spent before I walk out of the store.
By buying a standard spark plug with the proper heat range I can afford to replace my spark plugs twice as often as is needed and come out money ahead.

The photo below shows the standard NGK spark plug with over 1200 miles (1930 km) of wear on it sitting next to a brand new spark plug of the same type.
Yes, our fuel may be better than the fuel in India and my G5 Deluxe is fuel injected with a O2 (lambda) sensor but these are basically old fashioned engines that were designed for old fashioned spark plugs.
At least that's my opinion.

[bradhey]

ArizonaJim, can you tell me the gap on your plug...............~~

[ArizonaJim]

.028 inch or 0.711 mm is the gap I used.
The sparkplug came with a .030 inch (.762 mm) gap so it took very little adjustment.

I should mention that resetting the gap on these old style spark plugs is commonly done and easy to do.
This is not the case with the platinum or iridium spark plugs.

Because of the delicate nature and size of the rare earth spark plugs electrode the factory set gap is NOT intended to be adjusted by the consumer. In fact, trying to adjust one of those spark plugs can easily ruin it.

[iron.head]

Hello T-BHPians

I discovered a flaw in the design/assembling of our Royal Enfield Classics which can ultimately lead to major scratches on the rear fender of our bikes.

This is from the PDI given long back by Randhawa-

Originally Posted by Randhawa

11. Take a ride on the bike and make sure you have a pillion rider as you need to see if you have rubbing issues of the rear tyre with the mudguard. Thats due to the bad alignment of the mudguard and sometimes of the rear tyre also.

Rear fender can be damaged in 3 ways-
1. Rear seat has two metal rods as support which are above the rear fender. The gap between the rods and fender can be unequal from factory and one of the rods might be touching the rear fender. Recently when I complained about this at the workshop a mechanic told me that some times rear fender is received improperly aligned from the factory. He showed me a Desert Storm in the workshop which had come for PDI and it had the rear fender touching the metallic support of the rear seat.

2. Some fenders rub with the rear tyre causing tyre wear. When we go to the workshop for getting this fixed. The workshop people use a metallic rod(danda) and put it between the rear tyre and fender and push the fender in the right direction to fix unnecessary tyre wear. This in turn disturbs the alignment of the fender and the seat causing them to touch and get damaged. Sometimes they push the support rods of the fender to move the mud guard away from the rear tyre to avoid tyre wear. This also leads to the same thing.

Now what happens is, when we are driving fast with a lot of vibrations the fender and the seat support rods rub against each other slightly and the rear fender keeps getting scratched until one fine day RE refuses to do anything about it.

Pics of my C5's fender which I discovered soon after it was aligned to fix tyre rubbing are below-


Scratches on my C5's fender are quite less as I discovered it soon enough and clicked this pic at the workshop.

Please check this carefully at the showroom when taking delivery of your bike as later RE will put the blame on you.



Above is the left side of the bike with the rod not touching the fender.


This is the right side where the fender is touching the seat rod. Please make sure that you check this before the delivery. Dealer might try to convince you by saying that they will spray some paint over it. I have tried getting the spray done and it makes the fender look even worse. The colour of the paint in the spray provided by RE is not exactly same and does not cover the scratches but makes the fender look even worse.

[iron.head]

just had a chat with Randhawa and he said that the fender issue is due to faulty misaligned rear seat support bars. permanent solution is to get them replaced.

[GreaseMonk]

The service centre is dismantling my engine to investigate an issue of excessive noise and vibrations and a loss of power,potentially due to an issue with the crank/bearing. While the engine is dismantled,can anyone recommend anything else that I should have inspected/performed? I asked them to perform decarbonization if they would be removing the head. My bike has completed 15k on the odo.

[devarshi84]

Gave my bike for second service. The bike has issues with stopping when depressing the clutch.

Other than that the bike is running great.

[anandkenkare]

Hello BHPians. I am a Classic 500 owner in Muscat and have just covered about 1200 Kms. I miss the slightly heavier thumping sound of my old cast iron 350cc which I used to own in India many years ago. Do you guys suggest I change the standard straight silencer with an original RE upswept one? Would it sound better? Any adverse effects on the engine?

[adises]

Originally Posted by anandkenkare

Hello BHPians. I am a Classic 500 owner in Muscat and have just covered about 1200 Kms. I miss the slightly heavier thumping sound of my old cast iron 350cc which I used to own in India many years ago. Do you guys suggest I change the standard straight silencer with an original RE upswept one? Would it sound better? Any adverse effects on the engine?

Don't expect the iron thump from the new uce engines. The upswept silencer sounds good but it won't compare to the one from a cast iron engine.

[adises]

I am thinking of buying a trickle charger (Battery Tender 021-0123 Battery Tender Junior 12V Battery Charger) the cost is coming to about Rs.3,000 . Anyone have any experience with these, with regards to battery degradation or any other issues.

[GreaseMonk]

Originally Posted by adises

I am thinking of buying a trickle charger (Battery Tender 021-0123 Battery Tender Junior 12V Battery Charger) the cost is coming to about Rs.3,000 . Anyone have any experience with these, with regards to battery degradation or any other issues.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...ml#post2734006