South West Bikers | Motorcycle Forum

TLS-Moose wrote:

Tom91 wrote:why's that?

Because, as said, they're cr*p

They have too many uninsulated edges which can cause arcing/shorting, they are designed for domestic rather than automotive electrics and can provide a high level of resistance, they are in no way waterproof, because of the way they are attached they often crush/break the strands of the wire and fail early, ...... and I'm sure there's a few more things I've missed

Either put an insulated spade/bullet connector in there, solder the joint and cover with heat-shrink, or use an in-line insulated crimp

I see Do you think the original connectors were replaced with these when it was crashed or are these sh!t ones the originals? I'l stick some insulation tape around them for now and add em to the list of funked up parts throughout the bike!

ahahaha

oh boy that connector is good compared to some of the things i have seen, david brown tractor with sawn up six inch nails in the fuse box, i drove it 10 yards so i could move around it took cover behind the nearest tree for 10 minutes before i came out again, and that was in the yard of a largish agricultural merchant in north devon , anyhow suck it and see with delveys plug spanners then you will know what to get for your own tool box, if it was such a caper with the old strokers they would never have got anywhere, i used to ride around in the seventies with a pocket full of plugs,if the bike started missing stop have a fag while engine cools, swap plugs beside the road carry on

merv

with all the questions you post up and your keeness to do your own work- might i suggest you enroll in a mechanics evening course ? You will learn what needs to be done but more importantly WHY it needs to be done and HOW it should be done. Sometimes it's ok to cut corners but you need to know why sometimes you definately shouldn't take the short route. People on here will always give you advice but it will help you to get the job done using their advice. Just a thought.

Tom, I admire your willingness to work on your bike but agree with what billinom8s has said
The previous owner cut corners to which your now having to fix them,if your going to do it atleast do the job properly like

Teng tools 16mm spark plug socket will fit down the plug hole and has a rubber grommet to grip the plug, or see your local Kawasaki dealer and they will order the plug socket from the kit which is articulated and takes a 14mm spanner/socket on the end of it.

jam wrote:Teng tools 16mm spark plug socket will fit down the plug hole and has a rubber grommet to grip the plug, or see your local Kawasaki dealer and they will order the plug socket from the kit which is articulated and takes a 14mm spanner/socket on the end of it.

thanks mate. this is why i put up too many posts asking about problems etc. i get a straight forward answer and usually the best..

this aint the first time i've had this sort of thing said to me though..

billynom8s said "enroll in a mechanics evening course ? You will learn what needs to be done but more importantly WHY it needs to be done and HOW it should be done."

beleive me mate, this is what i do everyday at college. i'm an apprentice at the moment and find i learn things the best by asking questions non stop. hence why i put up all these posts asking about things.. i'm not saying i don't put into practise what i do/learn at college because i do but as i said, this way i can listen to what everyone thinks should be done and how.. and then go at it with more knowledge and know about what to do/not to do than if i hadn't asked..

(i'm not intending to be rude to anyone who has sugested i should cut down with the problem posts etc and appreciate what you've said )

thanks, tom.

Tom if you are doing a motorcycle mechanics course at college, then listen to what your tutors are telling you as regards which way to do things. I used to teach the motorcycle mechannics course at Bristol college, and one of the biggest problems was that of students having talked to their mates/dads etc or read the usual load of guff in the motorcycle press, a little information is a dangerous thing.
As I used to tell my students there are three ways of doing things, the right way, the wrong way, and finally the way you are doing it.
Your tutors have been teaching a long time, and know what they are talking about, listen to them and put into practice what they teach you. With all the opinions you get from asking questions in open forum you will only confuse the issue, by all means ask opinions from people about products and services as reccommendation is the best way to get a good deal, but when it comes to asking for technical help reserve that for your tutors or one or two people who have the experience to give you a concise and accurate picture of what you need, rather than being bombarded by oftendiffering opinions.

jam wrote:Tom if you are doing a motorcycle mechanics course at college, then listen to what your tutors are telling you as regards which way to do things. I used to teach the motorcycle mechannics course at Bristol college, and one of the biggest problems was that of students having talked to their mates/dads etc or read the usual load of guff in the motorcycle press, a little information is a dangerous thing.
As I used to tell my students there are three ways of doing things, the right way, the wrong way, and finally the way you are doing it.
Your tutors have been teaching a long time, and know what they are talking about, listen to them and put into practice what they teach you. With all the opinions you get from asking questions in open forum you will only confuse the issue, by all means ask opinions from people about products and services as reccommendation is the best way to get a good deal, but when it comes to asking for technical help reserve that for your tutors or one or two people who have the experience to give you a concise and accurate picture of what you need, rather than being bombarded by oftendiffering opinions.

Im with flybe.. and as I said, i do put into practise what i learn at college/airport. and my knowledge of how things work/how to trouble shoot etc has grown massively and don't get me wrong it has helped enormously with working on my bike. And I agree sometimes asking on a forum seems to confuse the issue but i guess it just seems like a good thing to do.. but i see where your coming from and maybe i should as you said just keep these problems with my bike to my tutors etc. thanks, tom.

Hes working with aircraft then?
So his questions are valid and allowed id say.
As has already been said a deep socket and extension bar is the best way, none of these fancy tools.

tutton wrote:Hes working with aircraft then?
So his questions are valid and allowed id say.
As has already been said a deep socket and extension bar is the best way, none of these fancy tools.

some are saying only the official kawasaki tools will fit down the hole that the plugs are sat in though. socket and extension bar seemed the obvious though didnt it

Doubt that, surely kawasaki wouldnt have made a engine design that has to have the specalist tool just for plugs,

I'm not talking about a speciel tool, just the box spanner ones that you get in bike tool kits. You can buy then on their own. Ask your local bike shop, they've probably got loads knocking around the workshop

Had a quick goolgle and this is the best I could find, you may want to zoom in.

Another word of advice if it hasn't already been said is i always put a smear of copper grease on the plug threads before replacing them and make sure you don't drop the plug back down into the hole as you can alter the plug gap and even close it over completely