in the mix

"cheap nod to some of the '80s dance music since this IS about my '82 seca"

i cant remember where i read it on this board but i was up 'til a million o'clock looking for the info. it said something about getting the bike up to operating temp and then running it at a good amount of throttle and killing it with the kill switch to get the most accurate plug reading...

i idled it till i was off choke, ran it up and down the street a couple of times pulled into the garage ran it up to about 4,200rpm and killed it...

this is what my plugs look like 1-4 from right to left..


i think they look pretty good. not too dark, not stark raving white

but then i spun them around and looked at THIS side of the insulator


1 and 3 have some brown/mauve discoloration on them

time for a colortune check and or just some playing around

 

Looks happy to me. But a color tune would be the best response to ensure accurate dial-in.

 

Mine all look about # 2. I think they look good.

 

#1 looks like it pulled some aluminum threads on way out

 

i dont THINK it did. im sure that wouldnt have escaped my notice if it had...

ill go pull it again and look...

 

The flipped-over view of the Number-1 Plug is what you need to shoot for.
Chocolate Brown on the Insulator.

Leave Number 1 alone and add 3-Degrees of Richness to the 2,3,and 4 Plug.
You are in the area of lean-ness on those three.

Continue doing the Plug Chops and adjusting each Cylinder individually until you get the four of them all looking like Number-1.

Then, you'll be right in the zone of fine-tuning.
You'll be able to add or subtract a degree or two to get the most out of the Bike.

You are not far off. Less than a quarter turn I would guess-ta-mate!
You'll know in the Off-the-line at red lights when you have it right.
You'll have a nice steady Idle.
You have highly responsive Throttle off idle.
You'll have smooth engine performance and engine coasting when you close the throttles for slowing-down.

You're getting the hang ot it ... huh, LT?
You are going to be a Tweaker!
Keep up the good work!

 

see, i thought that 1 was rich and the others good...

i havent done anything yet. these are the seca's arcin' pins. i can enrichen 2-4 no problem. that will probably smooth out my slightly loopy idle some eh? i dont know if ill be a tweaker. im more of a its pretty darn close now, i dont want to mess with it and get it all goofed up...

 

So waiting until the engine has cooled will change how the plugs look? Didn't someone say that pulling the plugs while the engine was hot was a bad thing because the head might crack at the holes?

I'm confuzzled.

 

I've done a fair amount of "Highway Plug Chops" and withdrawn Plugs too hot to handle to see what the Mixture looks like.

I doubt you'll crack the Head unless you severely over-torque the Plugs putting them back in ... then, ... the risk is stripping the Plug Hole out.

I have seen a few guys do that because they overtightened the Spark Plug and stripped the aluminum threads.

++++
LT:

You WANT some color on the Plugs. No color is a too clean of a burn. That equates to a Lean Condition.

There is Lean ... and, there is "Critically Lean"

Lean is OK if you know the degree of Lean-ness and keep ann eye on the Plugs. The Lean Mixture is a more complete burn and is good for acceleration and power. The Mixture burns all the fuel and the Ignition is Hot and Fast. The heat is controlled because you don't have it too lean.

You monitor the Plugs and check that the Ceramic surrounding the middle electrode isn't getting little cracks or eroding away.

Critically Lean is Bad.
The Mixture is too explosive. The Ignition of the Mixture happens like a Flash-Bulb. The resulting burn is so lean it also consumes the Oil Sheen wiped on the Cylinder walls as fuel ... leading to Piston Ring failure.
The Valves ... particularly the Exhaust Valves are at risk for being burned because the Mixtaure is so Hot the Engine Temperature (Head Temp) is too hot to cool them.

The Mistaure is so explosively Hot that it can burn through the top of the Piston or Melt the Piston Skirts.

When you see Plugs that are CLEAN ... you NEED to worry about being too Lean in an Air Cooled situation.
The best course of action is to enrich the Mixture.

Have a slower and cooler burn that leaves some coloration on the Plugs.
Light to Dark Brown ... like that Number-1 Plug and stay away from the Critically Lean situation even if you only plan on making a quarter-mile run for time.

 

Sooo...tweaking the idle mixture screw will help with his lean condition? Will it make that much of a difference in the higher rpm range, where you're running more off the main?

Just trying to clarify all this in my own mind as I now have my carbs cleaned and bench synced. It's running good, but I'm at the tweaking stage now.....even though I am a little cautious. I, too, am kind of a "that's pretty darn good, I don't wanna mess with it and make it worse" guy. :roll:

 

no i need to enrichen the mixture (little screws in front of carb accessable from the top) to give it more fuel with the same amount of air...

d