Long and Short Plug Boots

[danny01975]

82 GS1100GK. It has NGK plug caps and what looks to be stock coils. The two inner caps, for cylinders 2 & 3, are long and straight and the two outer caps are short and angled. This makes removing the plug caps from the two inner cylinders really hard. So difficult in fact, that the rubber ends where the wires connect are starting to crack because there's just barely enough room to pull them off of the plugs without hitting the valve cover.

Are the two inner caps supposed to be long? Or did the PO change them out and put the wrong ones? Or maybe they're swapped?

 

[Grimly]

It's much more common for the two inners to be long and a little angle on top. That will usually clear anything above them. The outers can be short right angled.

 

[rphillips]

Probably somebody put the wrong middle caps on. NGK straight caps are SD 05F, thinking you need the angled ones XD 05F. A quick search on ebay will show the obvious difference.

 

[Redman]

I cant picture what you mean by "middle two hitting valve cover" so I dont know what to say......
But will say, yes, middle two typically longer (and maybe less than 45degree angle) so extend up to where can get a hold of them, and outter two typically shorter (and 90 degree) cuz they dont need to be longer and give more clearance from knees.

More spcifally, I can say, dont need stock OEM caps. Dennis Kirk has (or has had) a good selection of them.
NGK brand.
I have used XB05F and VB05F (I dont recall which is the short-90 and which is the long-45.)

Oh, related topic: the "05" in the part number is related to being 5K ohm resistor caps that would use with non-resistor sparkplugs.
Resistor (either cap or plug) so ignition spark a little longer and doesnt send out radio static.
Stock is resistor cap and non-resistor plug. Other discussion is about if can find the nonresitor plugs any more.

 

[Redman]

Fire Power Black 102 Degree Elbow XB05F Spark Plug Cap - 8062 - Dennis Kirk
XB, the longer with angled little part​


Fire Power Black 120 Degree Elbow Long VB05F Spark Plug Cap - 8032 - Dennis Kirk
VB, the shorter​


. . . . . . . . . .. . . ..hum... my description of 90 and 45 degress are from different perspective apparently...... and these no longer called NGK brand, but still use the part numbers and packaging looks same .... hum..... and are not 4 bucks each anymore either

 

[danny01975]

I cant picture what you mean by "middle two hitting valve cover" so I dont know what to say......
But will say, yes, middle two typically longer (and maybe less than 45degree angle) so extend up to where can get a hold of them, and outter two typically shorter (and 90 degree) cuz they dont need to be longer and give more clearance from knees.

More spcifally, I can say, dont need stock OEM caps. Dennis Kirk has (or has had) a good selection of them.
NGK brand.
I have used XB05F and VB05F (I dont recall which is the short-90 and which is the long-45.)

Oh, related topic: the "05" in the part number is related to being 5K ohm resistor caps that would use with non-resistor sparkplugs.
Resistor (either cap or plug) so ignition spark a little longer and doesnt send out radio static.
Stock is resistor cap and non-resistor plug. Other discussion is about if can find the nonresitor plugs any more.

When I say "middle two" I mean cylinders 2 & 3. Look at how close the #2 plug is to the valve cover. you can even make out where the rubber on the boot is starting to crack. I have about 0.0" to lift that long ass cap up before it hits the sharp edge of the valve cover, and then I have to twist it around and contort it to get it all the way up and off of the plug.
​

 

[rphillips]

First post said 2 and 3 were long and straight, see'ins as the 2 and 3 are angled, It appears the angle should be pointed out instead of turned under that little brace... Of course not see'in it straight on, it may not be that simple.

 

[danny01975]

First post said 2 and 3 were long and straight, see'ins as the 2 and 3 are angled, It appears the angle should be pointed out instead of turned under that little brace... Of course not see'in it straight on, it may not be that simple.

I did mean 2 & 3. And I did mean straight. But to be clear they’re long and straight with a short 90 at the end. Or nearly 90 degrees.

I think you’re onto something. Looking at bass cliffs plug cap guide, his are pointed out. Although his look a lot shorter than the ones I have.


Also, I don’t think I have enough wire to route it that way.

can the wires themselves be replaced without replacing the coils?

 

[rphillips]

Yes, wires can be replaced, but it's kind'f aggravating. Many times folks, when replacing spark plug caps, cut off some of the wire just so the new cap is going onto a unused part of the wire, may explain why yours may be too short to be routed properly. Not sure from pictures, wondering if a straight cap, no angle at all, as the SD 05F mentioned earlier, will lean out past that little brace to be easily removed? Parts diagrams do show the middle 2 are long with the angle.

 

[danny01975]

rphillips

Yes, wires can be replaced, but it's kind'f aggravating.

After a closer inspection, that #2 plug wire does appear to be cut short, just as you mentioned. Do you know of any resources or guides for how to replace the wires? I searched the forum and didn't come up with anything. Im pretty sure the coils are stock and the wires are "glued" in with some kind of hard resin. They don't just come out.

I'm worried that the #2 wire will eventually crack enough to cause a short on the valve cover.

EDIT.. No sooner than I posted this reply, I found this:
https://www.thegsresources.com/_for...ignition/41227-83-gs1100g-changing-plug-wires

 

[Nessism]

One trick: stick a straight pin between the wire and the wall of the channel in the coil, and press it down as far as it will go. Then squirt some WD-40 on the pin. Pull the pin out, and stick it back in at a different location from the first, working around the wire. As you get the sauce down into the channel, it will loosen up the wire and help it to pull out without breaking.

 

[danny01975]

Update. The #2 plug is not short. Instead of remaking the plug wires, I considered just swapping the coils to different sides to get some extra slack on the short plug wire. I figured I should know how the firing sequence works before I disconnect everything. That's when I learned about the "wasted spark" firing sequence on this bike. I always wondered how one coil controlled two cylinders, but I never gave it much thought before.

I also found a diagram in the service manual showing how they're supposed to be routed. The plug wires on the right coil were swip-swapped. The shorter one was going to #2! So I swapped #2 and #3 and wouldnt you know, it looks exactly like the picture from the manual now, and no more tight angles! Who'd have thought.

It's been like that since I bought the bike, so I guess the PO didn't realize they don't go though the valve covers.