spark plugs

[ps2/bikevision]

ok this may be a stupid question but what would happen if you used a hotter spark plug. would it help with cold starting or would it hurt the engine performance.

i went ridding with a friend today and when it took a couple sec of cranking to fire the v (as usual) he suggested that i might try a hotter plug. i use ngk8 now.

some times it will fire as soon as i hit the button and other times it takes a couple sec. i dont much care if it fires right off as long as it starts and i dont have to get a jump.

does anyone else think the v batterys dont hold a full charge long enough. if it doesnt start after a couple tries i usually have to jump it. my buddy is working on his virago and he can crank and crank and it seems his battery stays up longer. and yes i have a new battery.

[Rick G]

Hotter spark plugs won't help it start easier , if their too hot a heat range they will burn a hole in the piston ! Stick with the recommended  heat range . try sybqing your carbs or maybe a rebuild is in order.

[Lead_Deficiency]

What colour are the plugs?

[ProfessorRex]

I tried hotter plugs, the vision ran HOT VERY VERY HOT, I could feel it, it didn't feel right at all.  Stick with the D8EA (or equivalent).  If I remember corectly, I don't think you're running a YICS.  I removed mine to fix it, and it's much harder to start without it (even vs. a leaking YICS) plus my bike feels less torquey.  I suggest you get, or fab a YICS.  Also, when in doubt cleanand snyc the carbs that never fails to improve the ride.

As far as viragos go, they are aircooled and thus have higher tolerances (the engine is "looser") and lower compression.  This results in easier cranking.

[silicon_toad2000]

only move to a hotter spark plug if they are constantly covered in carbon oil getting past your rings.
the hotter spark will burn the carbon off the plugs.
if they are covered in carbon, check that you're not running too rich.

[Extent]

Do you get the bike out often?  I find if I don't run the bike up to full warm at least once a week it gets a little cranky to start.  Aside from that just what they've all said already, synced carbs, adjusted lowspeed mix, YICS installed and good.

If you battery can't hold enough charge for a couple seconds of cranking without running flat you've got a problem, new battery or not.......

[ofstone]

A hot or cold spark plug has not much to do with the engine running temperature.
It is like silicon says,
The hotter your plug the better it burns off carbon deposits, but if your plug is to hot for your bike, the plug will burn up (and may lose metal parts in the combustion chamber!)or will get red hot, so that the cylinder will fire before the ignition was telling the plug to spark, and that will get your engine to hot and even may put holes in the pistons due to the to early ignition. (the engine begins to sound more like a diesel engine, i dont now how it is called, knocking maybee?) If you put in a to cold plug it wil carbonize to much.
So a hot or cold plug has only something to do with the temperature of the central electrode (the one in the center surrounded by ceramic. On a hot plug the ceramic touches the metal from the plug much deeper, so it has less cooling and the plug will get hotter. On a cold plug the ceramic touches the metal higher, so that the central electrode has more cooling.
The standard plug as described by the manufacturer will be the correct one.
Only if the plug carbonizes to much. (from oil leaking, not due to rich fuel mixture) you can put in a hotter plug.
If you boost your engine, with more (other) fuel,  a turbo, higher compression, higher RPM, other valve timing, other spark timing, then you may need a colder spark plug to prevent the plug from getting to hot.

[silicon_toad2000]

One thing you could do though is take the spark plugs out and file them electrodes square again with a points file and check the gap.
you file the bit poking out of the spark plug flat and the bit curving over the top nice and square at the end.
We know the spark crosses at the path of least resistance, but it also likes to have nice sharp corners to travel between. This might help a little.