Can you tell what's wrong from my sparkplugs?

[timebombprod]

They are dry, seem to burn well.
I know sparks say alot but I haven't nailed that down yet, maybe somebody on here will know just by looking? And these were new sparks, this happened with the ones before aswell. I cleaned these off and this happened again, after the new plug caps.

 

[timebombprod]

Here's the photo

 

[cowboyup3371]

It would help to know which plug goes with which cylinder and what the last thing you did was - idle, open throttle, etc. However, the second from the left there looks to be a bit on the rich side

 

[timebombprod]

Last thing was an idle today before this test, it goes 1 to 4 from left to right.

They are all using the same size jets, could an old and stiff vacuum line be the cause for that richness on cylinder 2? It does slide on and off really easy making me question its sealing.


Do they look to have a strong burn? My problem is I thought spark plug reactors get almost white, they do all operate..gonna be handy to just check the sparks strength, by sight obviously.

 

[Big T]

You can't judge the mixture from idling

 

[Nessism]

Two things; the mixture looks rich, although as Big T says you can't judge much the way you tested, and second you are using (questionable) Autolite plugs. The stock plugs are NGK D8EA plugs and according to sparkplug - crossreference.com there is no matching Autolite with a ***64 on the end.

https://www.sparkplug-crossreference.com/convert/NGK_PN/D8EA

 

[tom203]

Get the ngk d8ea spark plugs .....about $10 for set of four delivered....forget auto light and champion plugs on these critters.
#2 rich? Good time to check petcock

 

[timebombprod]

What the crap they were called a matching fit darnit, I do have the ngk ones but I'll have to scope around for them, and clean them up. I know matching fit doesnt always mean just that but I thought with sparkplugs it should

As for the petcock, it was bought new but that obviously doesn't mean it was in complete working order. The only thing that I've noticed that may be odd is when i take the tank off, and if I slosh the tank back and forth, a little stream of gas will come out but it stops short after like it was just some sitting in the petcock, but I could be wrong.

 

[timebombprod]

New plugs are in and bike does run better and has no flatspots anymore at all, I haven't looked at the plugs yet because engine is still pretty warm and I've been told that it's bad to pull them out when the engine is still warm. If I'm wrong about that please say so!

I'll say I always have to mess with the idle screw its a bit wonky and everytime I start the bike up it likes to throw some fuel out the emergency exits of the carbs but doesnt continue after the startup. Both exits dont have lines and are facing down towards the intakes having the fuel land ontop the transmission casing right of the starter case, hazard! I'm gonna get that sorted.

As for the petcock it's been tested multiple times and it always has a little bit of fuel come out at first but doesnt seem to have anything passing through from the tank it's always completely blocked so if it's not supposed to have a single drop come out after the bike being shut off and I'm wrong about it being okay let me know. If theres any possibility/ies that the vacuum line can affect the passage of fuel to the carbs also let me know! Lol.

 

[Nessism]

Since fuel is overflowing out of the carbs and onto the back side of the engine, looking at the plugs trying to judge running condition is meaningless.

 

[timebombprod]

What do I check for that issue?

Here's the new spark pic anyways going 1 to 4 from left to right

 

[cowboyup3371]

You could properly disassemble and clean the carbs following Ed’s procedures making sure to replace all the orings to start

 

[Nessism]

You could properly disassemble and clean the carbs following Ed’s procedures making sure to replace all the orings to start

Install new Mikuni branded float valves too.

 

[slayer61]

What do I check for that issue?

Here's the new spark pic anyways going 1 to 4 from left to right

View attachment 62117

You can't just pull your plugs and get any kind of suitable info about jetting. Google or search for a plug chop. I found this one first.

http://braigasen.com/howtoread.htm Bear in mind, this site is geared towards 2 stroke bikes, but the concept is the same.

 

[rphillips]

Are you ready for a smart azz remark? Screw a different bike to those plugs & they will be fine, no wait those are Autolites, probably won't be right no matter what bike is screwed to them...

 

[timebombprod]

Okay so update for today, this probably wont make any difference in the fact that I will have to work on my carbs, but maybe it will help with where I should look?

This morning I ran the bike, no fuel dump when i started it but I had to turn the idle up a bunch to get it started and then slowly turn it down, no fuel dump and I tested my speedometer cable ( so I rode it like this) because a slowly more concerning whir, luckily it was the speedo cable.

THIS is what is possibly important to helping troubleshoot. My idle was high as it kinda is always, so I set.the bike up on its service stand during the ride while it was running to turn the idle down and as I went to turn it down, BOOM fueldump and the bike slowly, started going out, and died. I primed it up and put it on reserve even if it didnt need to be and got it back up, had to fiddle with the idle too obviously. No fuel dump when I set it back up in my garage on its service stand but it was also shut off when I put it up.

 

[timebombprod]

Are you ready for a smart azz remark? Screw a different bike to those plugs & they will be fine, no wait those are Autolites, probably won't be right no matter what bike is screwed to them...

I'll take that and stick with it!

 

[bwringer]

The only thing that's clear here is that your petcock is bad.

One failure mode is that the diaphragm has a tiny hole in it. The petcock still works fairly normally, but when running will draw fuel through the hole and into the vacuum port, dumping extra fuel into #2 and making that plug turn black.

Petcock rebuild kits don't work. Replace it.

 

[timebombprod]

The only thing that's clear here is that your petcock is bad.

One failure mode is that the diaphragm has a tiny hole in it. The petcock still works fairly normally, but when running will draw fuel through the hole and into the vacuum port, dumping extra fuel into #2 and making that plug turn black.

Petcock rebuild kits don't work. Replace it.

I hope I can return for a defect, because it's been a little while and the OEM part isnt so cheap. Its probably been like this since I bought it but I was still working on other sections of the bike at the time

 

[Maddevill]

It's not much to go on, but your 2nd picture it looks like #1 is lean and #3 is rich. You mentioned the idle being high. Start looking for air leaks. And for sure, replace the petcock.



Mad