spark plugs

[knight2]

My 650 has a service coming up and the spark plugs need changing, having watched a couple of you tube vids it seems a bit awkward. Given that it will be on the floor as I haven't got a lift and I do have large hands and arms. I was wondering if there would be any advantage to taking the front wheel and mudguard off to enable the radiator to swing out a bit further. Any advice or suggestions will be appreciated.

[Data]

Knight, only just read this. Yes, it's tight changing the plugs on these bikes. It's not necessary though to remove wheels or mudguards. There should be a spark plug adaptor in the bikes toolkit that does work if you just drop that rad guard as far forward as possible. Take your time, work slowly & you'll do the job just fine. Everyone has the same complaint about the available space though. In the workshop we used to curse this aspect of the service, no doubt just as you do.

[knight2]

Thanks for that Data, appreciated as always. I've spent this afternoon changing the oils and filter, so tomorrow I will swing the radiator out of the way and see how much room there is. One thing that has confused me, from watching videos, is that the coils and plug caps appear to be the same thing, I shall investigate tomorrow.

[Stibbs]

I used to fit iridium plugs into my bikes. Fit and forget, in my experience

[knight2]

I had a good look at it this afternoon and there is more room than I expected, even more if you tuck the radiator shroud over the forks so it rests on the mudguard. So I uncliped the wires and pulled the coil off went to get the plug spanner out of the tool kit and surprise surprise it wasn't there. So I'll have to buy one, as the one I used on the Deauville I put in the tool kit when I sold it.

Srtibbs, that sounds like a plan to me, though I've heard mixed reviews of them.

[Data]

As Stibbs says, the Iridium plugs do last a lot longer meaning less maintenance. That might be a good option for you. Unfortunately they do cost more than standard plugs.

I notice many manufacturers are now fitting the coil packs on the cylinder heads as per cars. Makes sense as it saves space. My GTS has it's coil tucked away in the battery compartment. Not too bad to access but still a pain.