I hit the starter and knew from that instant that something was up as, low and behold, it wasn't idling properly. It was very warm and i thought the bike sitting for a while may be the issue but when i went to give it some beans at the end of the road, on the way to get petrol, and the sudden kick in the back i got was the indicator that one of the cylinders (there's only 2) was misfiring. So after fueling up and faffing with the idle screw some more it was back home to mum & dads to assess the situation. So much for going to Hartington.
So after some head scratching and deep thinking we decided we would throw it at a local mechanic and see what the problem was......but after a nights sleep, i woke up Sunday morning and pondered over some birthday cake whether i should do the job myself. I've been watching Delboy's Garage on YouTube lately and enjoyed how he creates things from nothing and over comes issues with whats available to him. I felt inspired by Delboys videos and thought i should at least try, its only 2 spark plugs ffs!
Let the faff commence
Once 2 NGK CR8EK plugs had been purchased i had the joy of fitting them. All i can say is its a bloody faff as usual (that word again). Getting to the back cylinder required the tank lifting up which was easy but because i bought the bike with a tail tidy already on it, of course there was no prop stand for the tank under the rear seat because, you know, when you put a tail tidy on you angle grid the old tail piece off! I can't blame the last owner because he bought it with the tail tidy on as well. So a good old block of wood to the rescue.
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| That looks cosy! |
Looking under the tank, dad came out with his typical dad comment "that's a tiny tank", my reply was "tell me about it, 140 miles then the petrol anxiety light comes on". We noticed that someone had left a message for us on the air tank (see above). "New Air filter 21595" thanks for that, you could of put it in the service book or manual instead of leaving it for us to find. It's a good job that a new air filter has been ordered, so with me now knowing what is needed to lift the tank i can do that next week. With the faff of the rear plug done and noticing that some of the sensors on the bike are Mitsubishi, which made me chuckle, it was onto the front cylinder. Ha! the rear was easy because of all the space, the front required you try to avoid tw**ing the radiator with all manner of tools, the biggest one being the one doing the job but with all cap faffing and feeling were the spark plug was the trusty Suzuki tool kick spark plug socket won the title of best puller of the day! It was the only spark plug socket that properly gripped the plug.
With the new plugs dropped in and tightened 1/2 turn passed finger tight, which seems like a lot in my book but..OK, Then came the moment of truth, Have i installed the plugs properly? Did that Mitsubishi sensor go back on? Time to hit the Starter button and find out......the SV rumbled into life. Success! The idle was happy and didn't cut out and sounded very smooth but you would expect that with new plugs. After came the job of putting copper slip (anti-seize compound) on all the threads and reinstalling them back into the bike, a tedious task but worth the effort, it makes getting threads out so much easier in the future, all motorbikes should come out of the factory's with copper slip on the threads but never mind, that's a debate for another day.
So after the thought of sending the SV to be fixed, £22 for spark plugs and a couple of hours of my own labour the idling issue was solved, simples. Time to throw my leg over and get out on the bike. Its the best feeling ever! Fixing your bike then getting out on it, also being rewarded with a Vanilla Slice comes close as well.
My advice for you on all the above would be:
- If the bike comes with a tail tidy have a look to see how much of a mess has been made underneath because the tank prop stand is the first to be throw away.
- Copper-slip every thread that going back into the bike (but not the spark plugs!) so you can get the threads off again.
- Go to YouTube to see if anyone has done a video of removing spark plugs on your bike, helps loads, builds confidence and gives an idea of whats ahead.
- Its OK to faff then faff some more. Its part of motorcycling maintenance anyway.
- Make sure there is something at hand to catch the custard that flies out the side of your vanilla slice. Pro tip: Cutting the vanilla slice in half can control CME (custard mass ejection) of the slice.
Lardy