. John STL,MO
Spark Plug Wires and Ends For the VN700/750:
You should consider buying NGK plug ends if you haven't already. They are great looking and my directions are based on using them.
Dennis Kirk: or 1-800-328-9280
2 Part# 20306 - XD05F Spark Plug Cap $3.30 a piece.
2 Part# 20789 - NGK Spark Plug Cap/LD05FP $4.80 a piece.
Grab yourself a roll of 8 mm non-resistor type wire from your local auto parts store or speed shop. They may have to special order it. Even a 50 foot roll costs less than the Kawasaki replacement option. I chose bright yellow... Looks good on my black and red bike IMHO.
Here are the wire lengths you will need:
2 x 11.5" long 1 x 14.5" long
1 x 20.0" long
Measure your old wires to make sure it'll work. If you can get 60", you should have some to spare.
I cut my wire with a sharp scissors and stripped off the yellow insulation so that the wire slipped into the coil easily. If you can get it to slip into the coil with the yellow intact, that's even better. Take the rubber "O" looking thing along with it's plastic cap (if intact) and use them on this new wire. I had to squeeze the wire into these "O" shaped holders on the coil end with a very small screwdriver. I pushed the "O" onto the wire as far as I could (about 1/10 of an inch) and then "stuffed" the yellow insulation under the "O" thing. This "O" thing holds the wire in place along with the cap that screws onto the coil. Obviously, put the wire all the way into the coil with about 1/8th inch of room between the "O" thing and the edge of the coil. Then use the screw cap to tighten the wire down and into the coil. The plug ends "screw" onto the wire if you buy the NGK I told you about. Just make sure you have the proper parts at hand and already slid up the wire before you do this or you will have to unscrew the ends and start over. The "short" ends have a tighter rubber seal that is a pain in the tuckus. Be prepared to work that baby on by hand for a bit. Some people use dielectric grease to make it slide better... Joe in Northern, NJ - V#8013-R
"Torque is one of the most critical aspects of spark plug installation. Torque directly affects the spark plugs' ability to transfer heat out of the combustion chamber. A spark plug that is under-torqued will not be fully seated on the cylinder head, hence heat transfer will be slowed. This will tend to elevate combustion chamber temperatures to unsafe levels, and pre-ignition and detonation will usually follow. Serious engine damage is not far behind. An over-torqued spark plug can suffer from severe stress to the Metal Shell which in turn can distort the spark plug's inner gas seals or even cause a hairline fracture to the spark plug's insulator...in either case, heat transfer can again be slowed and the above mentioned conditions can occur."
My manual says 12 ft-lbs for the plugs, in case anyone else needs to know. That's 144 inch/lbs for those that have an inch/lb torque wrench.
FWIW, I happened to have the owner's manual out it shows the torque to be 10 ft-lbs for the plugs.
OK, I checked and you are right. My Kawasaki Factory Service Manual says 12, my owner's manual says 10, and my Clymer manual says 8.5. What's a Vulcanero to do?
Yes: Owners manual calls for 10 ft-lb
But: Kaw service manual for my 2001, the exploded diagram on page 15-4, the T2 for the spark plugs shows 12 ft-lb.
And: Clymer manual gives no torque spec, just says 1/2 turn after the gasket seats for new plugs, 1/4 turn for used plugs. Go figure. Dennis in Maryland
Plug WiresKirk has 7mm wire for $2.99 in a 72" length the part # is 20- 21. Ad two NGK end caps part #20-306 $3.30 and two end caps part#20- 789 $2.40.
I used standard 7mm. Actually Drag Specialties DS-241901, two sets, solid copper. Caps I used were the NGK XD05F, long cover and LD05F, short cover.
Are those resistor caps? The Kaw's have replacable resistors.
You can get the NGK caps from Dennis Kirk or most independant bike shops.
2 Part# 20306 - XD05F Spark Plug Cap $3.30 a piece.
2 Part# 20789 - NGK Spark Plug Cap/LD05FP $4.80 a piece.
Grab yourself a roll of 8 mm non-resistor type wire from your local auto parts store or speed shop. They may have to special order it. Even a 50 foot roll costs less than the Kawasaki replacement option. I chose bright yellow... Looks good on my black and red bike IMHO. Here are the wire lengths you will need: 2 x 11.5" long 1 x 14.5" long 1 x 20.0" long Measure your old wires to make sure it'll work. If you can get 60", you should have some to spare. I cut my wire with a sharp scissors and stripped off the yellow insulation so that the wire slipped into the coil easily. If you can get it to slip into the coil with the yellow intact, that's even better.
Take the rubber "O" looking thing along with it's plastic cap (if intact) and use them on this new wire. I had to squeeze the wire into these "O" shaped holders on the coil end with a very small screwdriver. I pushed the "O" onto the wire as far as I could (about 1/10 of an inch) and then "stuffed" the yellow insulation under the "O" thing. This "O" thing holds the wire in place along with the cap that screws onto the coil. Obviously, put the wire all the way into the coil with about 1/8th inch of room between the "O" thing and the edge of the coil. Then use the screw cap to tighten the wire down and into the coil.
The plug ends "screw" onto the wire if you buy the NGK I told you about. Just make sure you have the proper parts at hand and already slid up the wire before you do this or you will have to unscrew the ends and start over. The "short" ends have a tighter rubber seal that is a pain in the tuckus. Be prepared to work that baby on by hand for a bit. Some people use dielectric grease to make it slide better... Joe in Northern, NJ V#8013 `86 VN750 (For Sale!!!)
You should consider buying NGK plug ends if you haven't already. They are great looking and my directions are based on using them.
Dennis Kirk: or 1-800-328-9280
2 Part# 20306 - XD05F Spark Plug Cap $3.30 a piece.
2 Part# 20789 - NGK Spark Plug Cap/LD05FP $4.80 a piece.
Grab yourself a roll of 8 mm non-resistor type wire from your local auto parts store or speed shop. They may have to special order it. Even a 50 foot roll costs less than the Kawasaki replacement option. I chose bright yellow... Looks good on my black and red bike IMHO.
Here are the wire lengths you will need:
2 x 11.5" long 1 x 14.5" long
1 x 20.0" long
Measure your old wires to make sure it'll work. If you can get 60", you should have some to spare.
I cut my wire with a sharp scissors and stripped off the yellow insulation so that the wire slipped into the coil easily. If you can get it to slip into the coil with the yellow intact, that's even better. Take the rubber "O" looking thing along with it's plastic cap (if intact) and use them on this new wire. I had to squeeze the wire into these "O" shaped holders on the coil end with a very small screwdriver. I pushed the "O" onto the wire as far as I could (about 1/10 of an inch) and then "stuffed" the yellow insulation under the "O" thing. This "O" thing holds the wire in place along with the cap that screws onto the coil. Obviously, put the wire all the way into the coil with about 1/8th inch of room between the "O" thing and the edge of the coil. Then use the screw cap to tighten the wire down and into the coil. The plug ends "screw" onto the wire if you buy the NGK I told you about. Just make sure you have the proper parts at hand and already slid up the wire before you do this or you will have to unscrew the ends and start over. The "short" ends have a tighter rubber seal that is a pain in the tuckus. Be prepared to work that baby on by hand for a bit. Some people use dielectric grease to make it slide better... Joe in Northern, NJ - V#8013-R
"Torque is one of the most critical aspects of spark plug installation. Torque directly affects the spark plugs' ability to transfer heat out of the combustion chamber. A spark plug that is under-torqued will not be fully seated on the cylinder head, hence heat transfer will be slowed. This will tend to elevate combustion chamber temperatures to unsafe levels, and pre-ignition and detonation will usually follow. Serious engine damage is not far behind. An over-torqued spark plug can suffer from severe stress to the Metal Shell which in turn can distort the spark plug's inner gas seals or even cause a hairline fracture to the spark plug's insulator...in either case, heat transfer can again be slowed and the above mentioned conditions can occur."
My manual says 12 ft-lbs for the plugs, in case anyone else needs to know. That's 144 inch/lbs for those that have an inch/lb torque wrench.
FWIW, I happened to have the owner's manual out it shows the torque to be 10 ft-lbs for the plugs.
OK, I checked and you are right. My Kawasaki Factory Service Manual says 12, my owner's manual says 10, and my Clymer manual says 8.5. What's a Vulcanero to do?
The spark plug retainers, one per cylinder, are cylindrical inserts which screw into the cam-chain side of each, and hold the spark plug. They each have two o-rings. I tried to upload a snapshot from the manual, but Yahoo is acting like, well, Yahoo.
Yes: Owners manual calls for 10 ft-lb
But: Kaw service manual for my 2001, the exploded diagram on page 15-4, the T2 for the spark plugs shows 12 ft-lb.
And: Clymer manual gives no torque spec, just says 1/2 turn after the gasket seats for new plugs, 1/4 turn for used plugs. Go figure. Dennis in Maryland
Also, depending on if you use the suggested "never seize" your value may vary. I religiously do and go with 12 ft-lbs (144 in-lbs). Installing plug dry and torquing, I'd probably go with a slightly lesser torque (10 ft-lbs ? )
Plug WiresKirk has 7mm wire for $2.99 in a 72" length the part # is 20- 21. Ad two NGK end caps part #20-306 $3.30 and two end caps part#20- 789 $2.40.
I used standard 7mm. Actually Drag Specialties DS-241901, two sets, solid copper. Caps I used were the NGK XD05F, long cover and LD05F, short cover.
Are those resistor caps? The Kaw's have replacable resistors.
You can get the NGK caps from Dennis Kirk or most independant bike shops.
You should consider buying NGK plug ends if you haven't already. They are great looking and my directions are based on using them. Dennis Kirk: Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. or 1-800-328-9280
2 Part# 20306 - XD05F Spark Plug Cap $3.30 a piece.
2 Part# 20789 - NGK Spark Plug Cap/LD05FP $4.80 a piece.
Grab yourself a roll of 8 mm non-resistor type wire from your local auto parts store or speed shop. They may have to special order it. Even a 50 foot roll costs less than the Kawasaki replacement option. I chose bright yellow... Looks good on my black and red bike IMHO. Here are the wire lengths you will need: 2 x 11.5" long 1 x 14.5" long 1 x 20.0" long Measure your old wires to make sure it'll work. If you can get 60", you should have some to spare. I cut my wire with a sharp scissors and stripped off the yellow insulation so that the wire slipped into the coil easily. If you can get it to slip into the coil with the yellow intact, that's even better.
Take the rubber "O" looking thing along with it's plastic cap (if intact) and use them on this new wire. I had to squeeze the wire into these "O" shaped holders on the coil end with a very small screwdriver. I pushed the "O" onto the wire as far as I could (about 1/10 of an inch) and then "stuffed" the yellow insulation under the "O" thing. This "O" thing holds the wire in place along with the cap that screws onto the coil. Obviously, put the wire all the way into the coil with about 1/8th inch of room between the "O" thing and the edge of the coil. Then use the screw cap to tighten the wire down and into the coil.
The plug ends "screw" onto the wire if you buy the NGK I told you about. Just make sure you have the proper parts at hand and already slid up the wire before you do this or you will have to unscrew the ends and start over. The "short" ends have a tighter rubber seal that is a pain in the tuckus. Be prepared to work that baby on by hand for a bit. Some people use dielectric grease to make it slide better... Joe in Northern, NJ V#8013 `86 VN750 (For Sale!!!)
