spark plugs

Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 2:59 pm

anyone changed plugs or upgraded to different plug?
bike goin in for service aug 4 7500 km valve adjust, akra map, balance throttle bod just wondering if I should change the plugs

Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 5:54 pm

i think SD comes with Irridium plugs, they last very long time. if you suspect they need to be changed, just pull them out, and have a look...

Thunder pumpkin rider Joined: 16 Jul 2007 Posts: 8589

smoky wrote:

i think SD comes with Irridium plugs, they last very long time. if you suspect they need to be changed, just pull them out, and have a look...

Hey Smoke, with platinum and iridium plugs, best stick with recommended replacement intervals cos it is near impossible to see wear and tear on this type of plug,

most autos are 90,000 mile intervals some others are 105,000, they still look near new when i change them but are original equipment.

Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 7:13 pm

thanks Joe, that's good to know. i never actually changed them.... i don't know about SD, but 1000rr manual, if i remember correctly, listed 60,000 km as the interval... not many bikes actually live this long (ok, some BMW, and quite a few GoldWings)... i've never kept any of mine this long at least Smile

Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 8:45 am

A Refresh/Replacement for the plugs is recommended at 15000KM for the SD, make sure you get the right plugs if you do though, they're different from the 950's (as i found out).

Mine were fouled due to the KTM service tech being a tooth ahead on front exhaust cam from the 1000KM service. This is why I do my own labour, because I can only trust myself to not fook up.

Thunder pumpkin rider Joined: 16 Jul 2007 Posts: 8589

Say Doc, Isn't that the truth, joe had a 06 950 SM, a great bike... even back then when i was new to ktm, the dealers always came off as idiots to me,

so when I had done the first service, I knew i was not going to be keeping the bike, (too tall for me on the street). I had taken it to a friend who has a

MC shop and paid him 1/2 the money to do the service, I looked at the cam set-up, I really liked the set-up cos of the ease of removal.

Glad to hear what you had to say of it. Thanks for that, I will be doing my own also.

Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 12:49 am

Hey JehadJoe,

Yeah, I was quite amazed as to how easy it was to replace the shims for the valve, this geared cam design is great. The only thing that was a little bit of a pain was getting to the rear cylinders exhaust cam bolts, you'll need a 90 degree torque wrench adapter like the one from motion pro if you don't have something that'll work back there.

Also, as for valve shims, I found a great place to get them for dirt cheap, they're available from any H-D dealership. The KTM uses 10mm shims just like a priller, bmc rotax motor, and possibly the vrod motor. They're also available in quarter steps whereas the KTM's are only available in half steps.