iradium plugs

raygray

Active Forum User
Non-VOC Member
Has anyone used iradium ngk plugs in a vincent . I am using them in my 907 Ducati and they are very good.
What grade or number do i need for a Rapide.
 

BlackLightning998

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Try Spark Plugs.co.uk

Hi Ray,

I've been through the loop with plugs recently with a rich running front pot - have a search for my thread on 276 carbs running rich and have a read.

There's been a fair degree of chat with Vincent riders about NGK plugs - my read on the consensus is that NGK plugs get a mixed reception. I got recommended to Denso and have been happy.

However - here is a cut and paste of the plug advice I got from spark plugs.co.uk - they were really helpful, good value for money and super postal service - the iridium ones are the IW numbers. Bear in mind I am running Pazon electronic ignition and they may recommend a different plug if you are on a standard magneto. Remember not to have a resistorised plug or plug cap if you are on magneto or it could mean trouble:

"Good afternoon,
IW22 (£7.67+vat), IW20 (£6.90+vat), IW16 (£6.90+vat) and W20EP-ZU (£4.17+vat) are in stock, W16EP-ZU (Iridium equivalent is IW16) are not normally a stocked item, probably 2 - 3 week back order.
IW22 are a grade colder than IW20, if you are having problems with fouling then using a colder plug will make the problem worse.
Stocked items would be despatched today by your preferred method of postage, special delivery would reach you tomorrow, £4.95+vat for 8 plugs or less, I would hope 1st class post would reach you by Saturday but there is no guarantee with this service. Internet orders are processed immediately and despatched the same day (where possible), if you prefer to call our number is 0844 8004258
Best regards,
Rob Hemsley"


Best of luck

Stuart Metcalfe


Has anyone used iradium ngk plugs in a vincent . I am using them in my 907 Ducati and they are very good.
What grade or number do i need for a Rapide.
 

Tom Gaynor

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Plugs

More out of curiosity than anything else, because the front plug looked a bit sooty, and because I had the occasional miss-fire on tickover, I changed my NGK B6ES's for NGK B5ES's. I had previously ameliorated a fouling front plug (burnt oil from a worn (out) guide) by using B6 rear, B5 front, so I knew that a B5 was the solution to at least one plug-fouling problem. The B6 had to be changed every 120 miles (the pot went dead) whereas with the B5 it would go twice that.
I can't say I notice much difference with 2 x B5, maybe it ticks over a little bit better, but I CAN say that it HASN'T resulted in instantaneous disaster, despite cruising at 75-80 with the odd burst up to 90.
I reckon that most of you guys are using plugs that are at least a grade too hard, so that iridium (to say nothing of unobtanium) makes a critical difference. If you used softer plugs, then even if the electrodes were made from silly putty, the problems would go away. Melted spark plugs are about as common as asteroid strikes. Not everything is improved by being softer, but I think NGK plugs are.
(It's also true that I suspect Denso offer bigger discounts for exclusively selling only their plugs - two dealers in Aberdeen sell ONLY Denso plugs - but I'm an NGK man of long standing and immune to such blandishments.)
 

petermb998

Well Known and Active Forum User
Non-VOC Member
Hi Ray
I have just taken my NGK plugs out the No is BPR6EIX.
These are used on a twin with a BT-H magneto ignition units.
check out e-bay no 330096142874.

Regards Peter
 

andygbsmith

Forum User
Non-VOC Member
I have used Iridium plugs for some time now (5 years) and have gone with Denso IW22 they are the same temp as NGK 7s
The Denso IW20 is the same as NGK 6 ,etc.
I buy them Via Ebay at about £7.00 each.

For what it,s worth I found the Denso plug to be superior to the NGK.
Andy
 

RedRyder

Well Known and Active Forum User
Non-VOC Member
Has anyone used iradium ngk plugs in a vincent . I am using them in my 907 Ducati and they are very good.
What grade or number do i need for a Rapide.

I have used NGK Iridium plugs for about 2 years on my Rapide (7.3:1 compression, stock Amals, VOC Spiral Baffle silencer). My magneto is stock but recently restored. I use NGK BR8EIX #5044. Several others here in the USA have been using these and they do make a great difference, in fact, in 35 years of motorcycling, it's the only time I've noticed any REAL difference in changing plugs in a tuned machine!

The number may not equate with what you are now using, apples to oranges sort of thing, I guess. My machine starts better, idles better, gets through HEAVY parking lot traffic jams without fouling, runs all day without a miss, etc. A performance guy told me about them (former racer) and he thought they add power. I agree. As you have probably seen, some still use Champion 5C or whatever and have no worries; that is superb. But, all I can say is that these plugs made a BIG difference with my Rapide, and maybe some other folks don't know what they are missing, being satisfied as they are.

Hope this helps.
 

raygray

Active Forum User
Non-VOC Member
Hi Ray
I have just taken my NGK plugs out the No is BPR6EIX.
These are used on a twin with a BT-H magneto ignition units.
check out e-bay no 330096142874.

Regards Peter
Thanks peter have just recived plugs bought on e-bay as you said. many thanks Ray
 

overthehill

Active Forum User
Non-VOC Member
Hi Ray
I have just taken my NGK plugs out the No is BPR6EIX.
These are used on a twin with a BT-H magneto ignition units.
check out e-bay no 330096142874.

Regards Peter

Just fitted a pair of these to my well worn rapide (lucas distributer ignition) and can honestly say that i noticed a marked improvement - especially in the bottom end pick-up and tickover - it is certainly the best £12 i've spent on the bike. - haven't had a chance to take them out and look to see colour etc as i got caught in a tropical rainstorm on the way home and had to empty my boots before i drowned - I have never seen so much water falling out of the sky at once !!
 

Tom Gaynor

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Plugs

I've just checked the BP5 something something something - but cheap - plugs in the Shadow after 200 mile run. The rear plug looked OK, dark brown so maybe a bit rich, and the front plug was white with a covering of soot from the last few hundred yards on the pilot. Both pots have 190 jets. More research needed........ However the bicycle ran like silk.
Note that the plug colour needs to be observed not where I always looked, on the nose, but at the bottom of the annulus between body and core.
My race bike has the advantage of being run full wide open much of the time, so setting the mixture (Gardner carb) consists of leaning it out until 1) it stops vibrating and 2) it pops on the over-run. Then richening it one.
The ideal plug colour is best described as "dirty white". With Cosworth pistons at £250 a pop, be sure I err on the safe side.........
Road bikes are far more difficult, and one really MUST mark the throttle to find out where it is weak and where rich. Or find a good dyno man......
A point worth making is that my race bike runs on Avgas, which never changes. "There are no lay-byes in the sky". Commercial fuel varies day by day, bio-fuel is NOT the same as normal fuel, and while the computers that control normal car engines MAY be able to compensate for fuel variations, much of SE England ground to a halt while Tesco, where they all filled up, claimed "Nothing to do with us, gov". As Mandy Rice-Davies memorably remarked, "well they would do, wouldn't they?".
On jtan Carl Hungeness reported that on bio fuel he got 40 mpg, on hideous non-eco dolphin killing, pure hydrocarbon, no-subsidy-to-farmers who voted for George Bush, nasty fuel he got 45 mpg. Go figure.
Just fitted a pair of these to my well worn rapide (lucas distributer ignition) and can honestly say that i noticed a marked improvement - especially in the bottom end pick-up and tickover - it is certainly the best £12 i've spent on the bike. - haven't had a chance to take them out and look to see colour etc as i got caught in a tropical rainstorm on the way home and had to empty my boots before i drowned - I have never seen so much water falling out of the sky at once !!
 

Vinthou

Active Forum User
VOC Member
What you say about bio-fuel seems about right. I was in Florida last week and learned that it is now state law that all petrol must contain 15% ethanol. One guy told me that he lost a good 15% in fuel mileage with his pick-up.
So far, in Canada, we still have a choice, and I have not, nor will I, use biofuel until it is the absolute last option.
Never mind the poor mileage, I really don't believe it does your engine any good.
 
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