Sparkplug reading, Checking your bike settings.

We all know how important it is to have your bike running properly.

Poor mixture can cause some serious damage to your engine and you surely don't want that.

Where to start.

After changing your bike setup or rebuilding it it's always a good idea to check and double check your jetting.

"Plug Chop"

To do a plug chop, make sure the air filter is clean, warm up the motor, shut it off and install new spark plugs.  Start the motor and pin the throttle, running through all gears.  When you wind out the top of top gear, hit the kill switch and pull in the clutch. Keep the throttle pinned!

After that you need to sacrifice the spark plug and chop away the tread, Although this might seem costly, reading the complete electrode instead of the tip is the only way to exactly know how the mixture is.

What can you find there:

• If your main jets are spot on, you will see a 2mm tall chocolate-brown colored ring at the base of the electrode. 
• If the ring is taller than 2mm or darker than a Hershey bar, you’re rich on the mains. 
• If the ring is smaller than 2mm or lighter, or nonexistent, you’re lean on the mains.
• If both plugs aren’t almost identical, one cylinder may be richer or leaner than the other (if leaner then an air leak is likely on that cylinder).

Basic indication from tip-reading.

If you are unwilling to sacrifice a new spark plug for this methode you can always read the basic setup from the tip:

You can find our jets over here:

Carbs & Jets