At what mileage are you changing the four spark plugs or are you doing every two three years not much talk about them
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Ulrich, you swap your plugs out at 10k miles?!?! Are you running an airplane engine!!! j/k@ 10 000 miles give or take a few for me ... I am about to change mine when I do the 10 000mile valve check. Got them out at the time anyway ... so I may as well
EDIT: I usually keep the old ones as emergency spares ... if they still look good
EDIT2: 4??? sorry I only have 2
EDIT3: NM I guess there are 4 ... what an odd place to put the other 2 on the bottom ... I totally missed that ... sigh
LOL ... this is my first 'modern' engine! ... with my Shovelhead I wouldn't leave home with a set of spares (and a spare set of points!) and a wrench with me ... I am still getting used to thisUlrich, you swap your plugs out at 10k miles?!?! Are you running an airplane engine!!! j/k
Pump gas nowadays doesn't burn up plugs with properly tuned injectors like the carburetors of old. Even then, it was still possible to clean plugs that weren't damaged.
And yeah, our boxers are "Twin-spark" engines. The second plug is there apparently to burn the excess fuel that would have escaped out the exhaust pipe; a pseudo "emissions" control system of sorts, so BMW claims. But also the twin spark is also supposed to fix surging issues by ensuring complete combustion of fuel vapors in the chamber.
An aside: Twin spark and more are also used in aviation as redundant plugs, as well to prevent detonation with the leaded aviation fuel (yes...they STILL use leaded pump fuel at the airport/air strip for prop planes...)
https://www.bmwbmw.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=11485
https://www.advrider.com/f/threads/what-is-twin-spark.432475/
https://www.motorbikestoday.com/news/Articles/BMW%20ignition.htm
Mike
Reason I was asking work on cars some plug changes are 60000 miles and if you change them at that interval they don't like coming out 10000 miles will do me as well thanks@ 10 000 miles give or take a few for me ... I am about to change mine when I do the 10 000mile valve check. Got them out at the time anyway ... so I may as well
EDIT: I usually keep the old ones as emergency spares ... if they still look good
EDIT2: 4??? sorry I only have 2
EDIT3: NM I guess there are 4 ... what an odd place to put the other 2 on the bottom ... I totally missed that ... sigh
Well I have to redo my whole thinking The BMW maintenance schedule calls for every 20 000 miles and I know that is (IMO) overly conservative knowing BMW ... so I think I go longer then and just check them every 10 000Reason I was asking work on cars some plug changes are 60000 miles and if you change them at that interval they don't like coming out 10000 miles will do me as well thanks
Okay...so this is getting ridiculous (currently researching my owners manual and google)...Well I have to redo my whole thinking The BMW maintenance schedule calls for every 20 000 miles and I know that is (IMO) overly conservative knowing BMW ... so I think I go longer then and just check them every 10 000
It did help ... btw. my R18 schedule calls for 20 000 (see the maintenance compilation that Scott made), but I am with you ... if it ain't broke don't fix it!!! and yes, it seems BMW is sure out to siphon as much coin as possible from folks that purchased their equipment ... I am not very fond of it! I bought this bike to outlive me ... but not at a cost (of maintenance) that I could have bought a couple other new bikes forOkay...so this is getting ridiculous (currently researching my owners manual and google)...
The spark plug that BMW calls for is the "NGK MAR8AI-10DS" which is an Iridium-tipped plug. Anyone who's worked on cars knows that Iridium are practically the BEST kind of plugs you can get for longevity - they just don't wear out!
And yet, my Transcontinental manual wants me to REPLACE my IRIDIUM, yes...IRIDIUM spark plugs every 12k miles?!?!?! Are you "F"'ing kidding me!!!! Uhhhh....NO, I won't be doing that!
What I'll be doing instead is busting out my Fluke and doing ohmmeter checks on all four plugs. And, if all plugs check out at proper resistance spec, they'll go right back in Alcina! The "F"'ing WASTE in $$$
Sorry, I'm ranting here, but BMW is essentially asking us to throw out fine china to replace it with more fine china when there's nothing wrong with the original set. At 12k miles, Iridium plugs aren't even broken in yet! And this isn't a Japanese liter-bike, it's a low-RPM big boxer, so the plugs are seeing automobile-equivalent duty cycles ('ish).
I know that didn't help you at all Ulrich, but know that at least your shiny boxer has some super-strong Iridiums sparking the fuel inside the cans
Mike
My sentiments, exactly.... I never short out on new plugs for my Rotax 912 ULS in my airplane, and that's 1365 cc's with twin Bing 36 or 40 mm carbs running constantly at 5200-5500 rpm at 4.5 to 5.2 gallons of fuel per hour. I set the gap at .026" and in 400 hours, being checked annually, and treating the thread with heat sink paste, they've never gotten stuck in the motor, if torqued properly. I changed them at 400 hour, only because doing the annual I had them out and had already bought a new set, and they weren't even iridium. Iriidum plugs have gone 100,000 miles + in Ford Explorer V8's. The original plugs (two per cylinder) definitely give a more efficient burn and more HP than a single spark plug, more of the fuel air mixture gets burnt during combustion making power, as a result. A Mag check with rpm drop will confirm that, with motor under moderate load.It did help ... btw. my R18 schedule calls for 20 000 (see the maintenance compilation that Scott made), but I am with you ... if it ain't broke don't fix it!!! and yes, it seems BMW is sure out to siphon as much coin as possible from folks that purchased their equipment ... I am not very fond of it! I bought this bike to outlive me ... but not at a cost (of maintenance) that I could have bought a couple other new bikes for
Has anyone changed the lower set of plugs, the secondary ones? There appears to a single bolt holding the cover in place. However, once you have that out the cover still does not move. Any ideas or suggestions as to how to gain access?LOL ... this is my first 'modern' engine! ... with my Shovelhead I wouldn't leave home with a set of spares (and a spare set of points!) and a wrench with me ... I am still getting used to this
Hopefully you get an answer before l get to 50,000 kms when l’ll change all 4 plugs.Has anyone changed the lower set of plugs, the secondary ones? There appears to a single bolt holding the cover in place. However, once you have that out the cover still does not move. Any ideas or suggestions as to how to gain access?
I took out the bottom plugs during my spring maintenance recently. The plastic cover (#5 in the microfiche below) just pulls out. The rear (closest to the engine body) of the plastic is a formed "C" that mates to a rubber grommet (#6 below). It simply pulls off and pushes back on, sort of like the side plastic covers that protect the ODBII port. Note in the microfiche that #6 has an angled groove that #5 fits into.Has anyone changed the lower set of plugs, the secondary ones? There appears to a single bolt holding the cover in place. However, once you have that out the cover still does not move. Any ideas or suggestions as to how to gain access?