Are the Spark Plug Gaps within tolerance?
One thing that almost all mechanics in Thailand seem to ignore when servicing a motorcycle is the sparkplug gap. For instance we had a client with a Yamaha YZF-R1. After we checked all sparkplug gaps, I can say that, of eight ground electrodes (each sparkplug has two of these), only one was still within tolerance. The target value for the Yamaha YZF-R1 is 0.6 to 0.7mm. Most of them were 0.75mm or greater, so I set them all back to 0.6mm.On the upside, I'm reasonably sure the motorcycle fires up a little quicker after doing this. Before, it would sometimes take a 2 to 3-second push on the starter before the engine caught, but I'm sure this is back down to 1 to 2 seconds after doing the sparkplugs. Also with the correct sparkplug gap the engine does better with fuel economics.
A few extra kilometers on a fuel tank goes a long way and it's a bit difficult to understand why mechanics ignore something so simple as checking the sparkplug gaps, as this maintenance check can be the difference between an engine running perfect or poorly... Therefore I would recommend that everybody tell his mechanic to also check the sparkplug gap if your motorcycle is in for service. Of course you can also do this simple check yourself to make sure they did it correct...
