I've had my bike, 2002 1200S for a few months now and decided to change the plugs. Carb and exhaust are stock with mods. Air fuel mixture has been drilled out and adjusted. But to me the plugs seem to show a lean condition. what say you?

 

I would say you are a tad lean.....

 

Changed mine the other day and they looked like yours, I thought they looked ok?

 

In my research half say u should have a little tan to light chocolate on the porcelain (like back in the shovelhead days) and the other half say not to look at the porcelain but the base ring which should show an even colored ring around it. So its confusing.

 

Not confusing if you read the plugs as they have always been read, by looking at the porcelain. No need to reinvent the wheel, there isn't a new fangled way that is better and there aren't any improvements in the chemical structure of the porcelain which makes it unreliable as a indicator of heat. If it's black, too rich, if it's white too lean. Best you can hope for is a nice even tan.

http://www.verrill.com/moto/sellingg...colorchart.htm

 

And check your gap, looks a little too long.

 

Thanks for the input. This week I'll look to see what size the jets are, especially the low jet, and go from there.

 

Personally, I would go maybe 1/4 turn richer. Keep in mind that bikes run leaner in colder temps so as we rapidly get warmer you'll probably be ok.

 

spark plug chart................

http://www.dansmc.com/spark_plugs/sp...s_catalog.html


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I don't understand how you guys read a plug that's been in an engine puttin' around town. Plug reading immediately after a full-throttle run is what I've come to understand as the proper method for tuning by spark plug.
From here:
http://honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=3063102
"When tuning by the spark plug, you must always use a NEW plug to get an accurate reading.
To get a clean plug reading the engine should be shut down after the run and towed back to the pits.
Any running of the engine after that will skew the plug reading."

And here:
http://members.uia.net/pkelley2/sparkplugreading.html
"This is only valid if you shut-off the engine after the finish line then tow the car back to the pits where you remove the plugs for reading !!
-Or if you are on the dyno
-VALID ONLY for full load acceleration or steady state dyno tests"

And here:
http://www.dragstuff.com/techarticle...ark-plugs.html
"Spark plugs can only be correctly read if the car has been shut down immediately at the end of a run without driving it back to the pits. Get off the track and coast to a place you are safely out of the way and either read the plug there or change one or two with some you have in your pocket so you can read these uncontaminated plugs when back to the pits. Or you should tow the car back to the pits. It may take a couple of runs to get see the sparkplug color."