Plug leads??

Jack888

Ive an issue thats appeared on the 888, It seems to be loosing spark on one cylinder, Running crap, It will clear for a minute then back the same again,

Ive ordered a new set of plugs and thought ide through a set of leads on at same time,
Can anyone recommend leads to go for?? I have read on the forum that High Resistance leads is a no no??( they can cause issues ) Had been looking at the magnacor leads

Only Thing i done was give the bike a good wash before going out and 2 mins later the issue appears( could be a complete coincidence??)

Any thoughts?? Going to stick the plugs and leads on ether way so appreciate advice on leads.

One other thing, Once ive her running tip top again i was thinking of running a tank with Redline fuel system cleaner for motorcycles , Good idea or not??

Cheers Jack

griff851

Cleaning injectors is always a good idea, ultrasonic being about the best, because you get a before and after report.
Water is high in the list but should evaporate away, if it was manky enough it could leave gunge and short out a plug. The good lord gave us a twin system so you can swap bits to isolate the cause. Alway a good idea to confirm a fault first before leaping in changing bits on speculation. Saves time and cash in the long run.

Jack888

griff851 wroteCleaning injectors is always a good idea, ultrasonic being about the best, because you get a before and after report. Water is high in the list but should evaporate away, if it was manky enough it could leave gunge and short out a plug. The good lord gave us a twin system so you can swap bits to isolate the cause. Alway a good idea to confirm a fault first before leaping in changing bits on speculation. Saves time and cash in the long run.

Cheers mate,
Going to try it today just to see if ok, If it was an issue with water is there common places to check on these bikes?
Plugs and leads is something ive planned doing anyway so going to fit these

griff851

Not really. Can't say i've ever had issues after a wash.

Jack888

Think i will forget about the new leads, Ive just taking out both plugs and there both damp and VERY sooted/ black, Plugs ive taken out are NGK Platinum D9EVX (2834) measured gaps and there both around 0.85mm, ( owners manual states 0.6mm) Maybe platinum plugs are bigger gaps??

Bike bone dry with no water in site,

Ordered 2 new plugs of the correct type and see how it goes but think with both plugs all black and sooted that rules out leads and coils etc, Stick these new plugs in and take it from there,

Any idea lads??

griff851

I would say you need to get the bike tuned and serviced. It's over fueling. Your exhausts are black and when you blip the throttle there will be black smoke. Yes? Could be really dirty air filter, a sensor, wrong chip, trim on the ecu, the list goes on. You could play around with the guessing game hoping that a quick simple thing like changing plugs will solve it, but the reality is a fuel injected bike is not a lawn mower. Unless you willing to learn exactly how the whole show operates and have a multimeter and a gas analyser ( or a good sense of smell and hearing), you can spend a lot of unnecessary time and cash pissing about, when you could be out riding. Sorry for the harshness of my answer, but it will lead to joy sooner.

Jack888

griff851 wroteI would say you need to get the bike tuned and serviced. It’s over fueling. Your exhausts are black and when you blip the throttle there will be black smoke. Yes? Could be really dirty air filter, a sensor, wrong chip, trim on the ecu, the list goes on. You could play around with the guessing game hoping that a quick simple thing like changing plugs will solve it, but the reality is a fuel injected bike is not a lawn mower. Unless you willing to learn exactly how the whole show operates and have a multimeter and a gas analyser ( or a good sense of smell and hearing), you can spend a lot of unnecessary time and cash pissing about, when you could be out riding. Sorry for the harshness of my answer, but it will lead to joy sooner.

Hi mate, Ive already fitted a new filters, belts, oil, clearances are all in speck etc etc Your answers not harse at all, Im just waiting for word back on getting the correct eprom, Ive a funny feeling that before i got the bike the open exhaust was fitted and not fitted the eprom to match this which will cause it to over fuel at the lower end of the revs anyway,

As far as eproms go is there any where you recommend?? UK??

griff851

Brad will have one, here in Oz, probably the same cost as in the UK postage included. Brad knows his stuff.
The difference in mufflers is only about 5% over the map, Its not really enough to give you wet plugs, to the point that one craps out. Something else going on there I feel. As you've having fun, perhaps a quick look around for plugs sensors and hoses might be in order.

Jack888

griff851 wroteBrad will have one, here in Oz, probably the same cost as in the UK postage included. Brad knows his stuff. The difference in mufflers is only about 5% over the map, Its not really enough to give you wet plugs, to the point that one craps out. Something else going on there I feel. As you've having fun, perhaps a quick look around for plugs sensors and hoses might be in order.

Got her stripped and slowly going over the bike connections etc,

I managed to get the correct eprom ordered earlier from the guy from Germany that has the P-line eproms on ebay, They seem to get good reveiws, Ether way im happier to know the correct chips in there,

What i have found out is that the eprom in the bike is for open pipes but for the earlier 851, My bike has the P7 ecu so the new p-line chip will match up fine,

Its a pitty cos i was hoping for a quick fix as i wont get to the bike much this week and would have luved to take her along to my local bike club meet/ run this Sunday coming, We really only have the one big meet each year up here, Maybe the Streetfighter will have to do,

Ive the workshop manual so maybe do a bit of reading later tonight

Jack888

Little update here,
Eprom came home from Germany this morn, Spent a couple hours in garage and fitted the new P-Line Eprom, New plugs and tank of fuel with fuel system/ injector cleaner, Didnt find any corrosion on any electrical parts, All good,

Anyway 125 miles later and bingo, Shes running absolutely perfect, From the minute i pressed the starter button and she fired into life she sounded/ felt different,
I gave the silencer exits a good scrub before i started the bike and there still looking well after the good run, Doesnt smoke on start up ether,

A little surprised but delighted,

Ive gone and ordered all the bits and bobs for making up a diagnostic light so may come in handy later down the line,

Have a 90 mile club run tomorrow 😉 Forecast is terrible 😡

Cheers for advice, Is appreciated

Jack

adie851

I've found over the years that the bikes seem to run better on Champion plugs...none resistor type....NGK'R' type always seem to give me running problems. Ducatis owner manual actually recommends champion plugs....way back when they were new. As long ago as that is. Also plugs leads can brake down with age and not being used (possibly dampness/moisture) dependant where the bike is stored. Just speaking from experience of owning for the last 26 years. Hope this helps.Thanks.

Regards ,adie851

Jack888

adie851 wroteI've found over the years that the bikes seem to run better on Champion plugs...none resistor type....NGK'R' type always seem to give me running problems. Ducatis owner manual actually recommends champion plugs....way back when they were new. As long ago as that is. Also plugs leads can brake down with age and not being used (possibly dampness/moisture) dependant where the bike is stored. Just speaking from experience of owning for the last 26 years. Hope this helps.Thanks. Regards ,adie851

Hi mate, Ive done another 100 or more miles and alls good, Bikes running perfect, Was a strange one, All i done was change plugs, New eprom and ran a tank of fuel with injector/ fuel system cleaner,

Ive since treated her to a nice 48 tooth EVR basket and plate kit, Sounds luvly now, What a noise was of the standard steel basket and plates

brad black

we got told to pull the champions at first service and fit ngk. i've only ever used ngk in them.

i sometimes find the plug cap bit works its way up the lead away from the plug. if you get some silicon spray in around the lead from both ends and can get it to move - try to push it out the top first, if you pull the terminal tends to just come off. then pull it down to the bottom so you can push it on to the plug and then have the outer go down to level with the head.

Mr.R

Many years ago now I raced Yamaha TZ350's and Triumph Trident's inc' a Rob North.
Back then Champions were the plug of choice but...
I had soooooo many dud ones that I went over to NGK's.
I also tried for some time ND's but...
My "go to" plugs on Classic Bevel Ducati's now are IridiumIX NGK'S.
These plugs use/need a larger gap, they way to find out the best gap is to put them in with the supplied gap and try the bike, then increase the gaps by 2 thou steps until the motor misfires and then go back 2 thou...and that's your best gap for performance period!
However a few years back (more than 10 possibly 15?) I tried in my Desmoquatro's surface discharge Champion 299 QA55V's...
Now back in the day when 916SP/SPS were the new kings on the block, these were the "go to" OEM plugs but they cost around £28 each FFS!
If you search the internet you can pick them up in a pack of four for around £5-7.00 each.
You don't have to play around going up in 2 thou steps, they're spot on out of the box IME.
So if your 748/851/888/926/916/955 or 996 is highly tuned or standard, I doubt very much that you will find better plugs for your bikes.
I've found them to be 100% reliable and will give the best performance that your Desmoquatro will need.

As for plug leads/caps?
There's nothing wrong with the OEM ones on our bikes but...
They're now well over 20 years old so well past their sell by date IMO. Later 916/996 ones fit if you buy 2 of the longer ones (they come as standard with one short one and one long one), you can make them fit and you should have another 20+ years of serious use out of them.

Steve R

adie851

Funny you should say that Steve, I've just got some of those plugs off the internet..they run good straight out of the box..just like you say..spot on for SP's ....

Cheers,adie851

adie851

As Brad states , the plug leads can be a problem , actually ensuring the end of the HT lead is actually making good contact with the plug inside the cap. Also is a problem due the length of the reach down to the plug inside the cylinder head. His ideas are ones I've used over the years to help resolve misfire/ plugs problems.

cheers. adie851