Replace Spark Plugs

Okay, here we are. We're going to do the spark plugs. And now on the inmate, it's a big deal. Cause you know what, for the first time ever on a air cooled motor for Harley they got two spark plugs per cylinder. So that's why we went ahead and took the gas tank off.

Cause to get to the other two, you got to have the gas tank off. We're going to start off by doing the two easy ones here. And then we're going to flip the motorcycle around and show you where the other ones are a little more difficult. So what I like to do before I pull the spark plugs out, take a little compressed air, just kind of get in there. Just kind of blow it off.

You don't want any debris or any little pebble or anything falling down in the chamber, obviously. Cause that would not be good so, okay. Now what you could do is just take a needle nose and kind get down on the bottom of the plug wire and then gently just pry up. Cause you really you don't wanna damage the spark plug wire. I see people grabbing on them, yanking on them and you know end up over time kind of damaging the plug wire Pop that out of there.

Not a big deal. I got a nice little spark plug socket here and it's actually got a little clip on it. It helps retain the spark plug. So when you put the spark plug in, it won't fall out. You can go buy a cool guy one from Snap-On or MATCO or whoever but, just like your old twin cam really accessible.

Now hardly seen every two years or every 30,000 miles. This guy doesn't care. He just wants to put new spark plugs in it. Like I said, he's approaching 20,000. He's just putting new spark plugs in it cause he can.

And that thing actually looks pretty good in the manual. They got a little illustration of different scenarios, You can kind of take a peak at that but this is looking pretty normal. Still looks pretty good. So if you are doing all your 5Ks 10Ks kinda monitor it, if it looks like it started using oil and the bikes still are under warranty, keep the spark plug, maybe time to get it back into Harley and verify if it is or not. I mean, you'll know by checking the oil level, but it's under warranty.

Take advantage of it so, all right. New spark plugs different part number, not the same as twin cam. So you gotta go buy a new special spark plug. Now the one thing I don't like about the way Harley ships the spark plugs is they don't have a protective a little sheeting over it. Like some of the aftermarket ones do.

So what that means is you got to check the spark plug gap. Cause if that thing's rolling around in there and pounding that electrode down and you don't really look at it, the gap could be off automatically. So, manual says 31 to 35 thousands. Get your little gauge out here and a 35,000 right here Set that and manuals says, put a needle and never seize on it. So I'm gonna put a needle on it cause we don't wanna get it on electrode.

We don't wanna make a big mess. We wanna just put a little bit on the threads, for obvious reasons. You don't want your spark plugs getting seized in there. So, I just gonna put a little amount on there and I'd probably roll it around with your finger. Really make a mess but you don't want it getting on the electrode.

So here's where that spark plug socket comes in handy. So you won't fall out. So obviously you want to start these with your hands, because you don't wanna cross thread this. You really wanna take care of your spark plug holes. Okay, Looking at the manual, they got a torque spark for that as well, 89 to 133 inch pounds.

We gonna set it at about one 10 and you know what, Over the years, people put a lot of spark plugs in their motorcycles. A lot of people cross thread them. A lot of people over-tighten the spark plug as they, for some reason, it's like a drain plug. They think that thing is gonna come flying out of there. So, don't over-tight your spark plug ,set at the spark.

If you haven't developed a feel for it yet just get an inch pound torque wrench and target. It's really not that much torque really? Okay. Front plug, same drill. Check the gap looks good Nice and messy.

There we go. Okay, Now we just gonna pop the caps back on here, Grab a little dielectric grease. It'll just make it nicer for the next time. When you take it off without damaging the plug wire, don't take much . Nice and firm, you hear the click.

Okay, good enough. We're gonna spin the motorcycle around and we gonna show you where the other two are hidden. Okay. You can see we got the motorcycle spun around and now you got a pretty good view of the main thing and what's going on here completely different from the twin cam. This way you gotta take the gas tank off cause they're buried underneath the fuel tank.

And I foresee a lot of problems with plug wires on these with people getting a little too overzealous and destroying the spark plug or damaging it trying to get it off. Now I had to dig around my toolbox to find a set of plug wire pliers. And Harley's got a part number in their book. Of course you can buy from him but it's kind of a struggle to get this tool on there. So that's why I think it's going to be a big problem.

What I would do is kind of probably loop it up a little bit just so you can sneak this tool down in there and kinda gently just wiggle this thing, It's a tight fit. And that's why I'm pretty sure it's going to be a problem that putting that lube in there can actually really help give it a grip. And there you go. So that really wasn't that bad but I'm just saying take your time. Cause say you damaged plug wire and it's Saturday.

Guess what? You probably not gonna be getting the spark plug wire put on your motorcycle, go riding that weekend. So be careful. Let's do the same to the front here. I'm surprised how much that loop helped.

Cause I tell you what, I tried it with the dry run in it. It was pretty tight fit. There we go. Yeah, really lubing it up, helped quite a bit. So now, you know good tech tale, same thing as the outer ones Loosening up.

Take a quick peak. It looks pretty normal to me. It doesn't look like it'd be much fun putting a plug wire on here anyway. So really babysit them things. It's not like this is really new technology.

There are I mean Metric motorcycles have been doing it for years. What Harley's chasing is they're trying to make this thing very efficient now and being a four valve head, this whole configuration that's allowed them to do this. Okay. I've already set the gap. I already put my anti-seize on there.

I'm just going to go ahead and put it in this one especially obviously started with your fingers. Don't even take a chance to cross thread in that. Cause that thing is buried. either way You're pulling the head. If you screw it up, Same torque spark as the outer ones.

Okay. Let's see if I can get my finger down there and put a little dab on there. Just barely. Perfect. Alright, go ahead and take the plug wire, gently Push it down to your filling seat.

Same on the front. There you go. Okay, we gonna kinda wipe these rocker boxes down too. kinda made of a nice smell scent and you're not gonna be back in here for awhile. You might as well detail it up.

Kind of help preserve your Chrome. Okay, pretty straight forward. Nothing too crazy. Like I said, I think the main concern there is just really getting a plug wire out of there without damaging it. Other than that, it's pretty straight forward operation.

It means spark plugs, not a big deal. Anybody can do it. So let's move on to the next topic.