plug reading questions

[Ridiculous]

Ok, can't seem to find the answers to my questions so here it is.

How long does one need to ride before pulling the plug to obtain an accurate reading?

I didn't ride very long at all, and when I pulled the plug, the side electrode was white, is this normal or lean?

Basically, I'm trying to figure out how to obtain an accurate reading.

For some reason this plug reading confuses me...

[honda400ex2003]

a plug chop of a few runs would be sufficient to show the proper colors on a spark plug. it has to be done correctly though and warmed up when doing it.

otherwise 20 minutes of riding would probably suffice to give an overall estimate of how it is running as long as the whole throttle range is being used.

just my .02 though,
steve

[bkb88]

Are you running fuel with 10% Ethanol? If so, I would bet money that is part if not all of your problem.

[Ridiculous]

Originally posted by honda400ex2003
a plug chop of a few runs would be sufficient to show the proper colors on a spark plug. it has to be done correctly though and warmed up when doing it.

otherwise 20 minutes of riding would probably suffice to give an overall estimate of how it is running as long as the whole throttle range is being used.

just my .02 though,
steve
ok so just riding around like i would normally ride for 20 minutes or so will be long enough? i wasn't riding that long before pulling the plug, maybe 5-10 minutes at most.

i'll try that out and see what i see...

[Ridiculous]

Originally posted by bkb88
Are you running fuel with 10% Ethanol? If so, I would bet money that is part if not all of your problem.

to be honest i have no idea, my dad buys fuel in bulk and that's what i use, no clue what grade it is or anything.

and i didn't know i was having a problem. i'm just saying that after maybe 5-10 minutes of riding and pulling the plug the side electrode is white. didn't know if this was normal for a new plug or if its a sign of being lean. but it happens with a 160 main all the way up to a 180. so i'm assuming i'm just pulling the plug way too soon...

[audioworks04]

First, in my opinion, in the high performance motors used in todays sport atv's should really never use anything lower than a 91octane rating gasoline without ethanol. In order to read a plug and get an accurate reading most people find a nice flat open area and run full throttle all the way through atleast 4th gear, shut it down without letting it idle and pull the plug.
Now on a 4stroke ,which I assume you are talking about the ex listed, plug chops are not really necessary. Get your jetting where you think it runs right and then pull your plug and see if it is a nice light brown color, you do not want white or dark. White means lean, or like stated could be the ethanol, with leaded race gas you will also end up with a white plug most of the time.

[honda400ex2003]

Originally posted by Ridiculous
ok so just riding around like i would normally ride for 20 minutes or so will be long enough? i wasn't riding that long before pulling the plug, maybe 5-10 minutes at most.

i'll try that out and see what i see...

i guess i would probably go a half hour after warming it up if i wasnt going to be doing plug chops. that would get a decent estimate.

steve