7,500 mile service

[Cajunrider]

I finished up my 7,500 mile service this afternoon. Changed the oil and filter, pulled the bags and changed the final drive gear oil, checked tightness of all fasteners behind the bags, etc. I did find the radiator drain plug hand tight but it hadn't dripped at all. It made up at least one full round with a 1/4" drive ratchet. One question I have is about the spark plugs. The manual recommends changing the plugs at the 7,500 mile service. I stopped by the dealer this evening after seeing Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino, great movie by the way, and picked up 4 plugs. The guy in the parts dept said it wasn't important to change the plugs now. Do you guys agree? Check out Gran Torino, it's really classic Eastwood. Thanks.

[schoeney]

When I read this I thought I knew the answer before I checked.....I was wrong! Both my Clymer manual and my OEM manual state at every service starting with 4000 miler to inspect, clean/gap or replace if necessary. I have a 2003 1500cc.

I am glad you posted....I would have been going to 24k (or not) before I changed them!

Thanks

[dogdoc]

I just changed my plugs back to stock ones at about 10,000 and they looked like crap running so lean. Now I have the TFI I hope they hold up better.

[damark115]

Just out of habit I change plugs at the beginning of riding season. Seems to be about 8000 miles. I do the same with snow blower and lawn mower, weed wacker etc. Just always have. Figure I will forget mid season.

[MikeInFla]

ooops. I guess I know what I'll be doing tonight.

[coldfingers]

I usually change them around 15,000 miles, can't really tell any difference. Talked with an older biker and he said at 15,000 I was wasting my money, didn't need them. I don't know?

Coldfingers

[Top Cat]

I changed my plugs at 18,000 miles just for sh*ts and giggles. Wasn't anything wrong with the way it was running. Plugs looked OK. I am running strictly stock except for debaffle.

[rlfaubion]

I've got 30K miles on now. Changed plugs somewhere in between. Not because I had to, but because other than routine maintenance, I've not had to do anything! Having owned Harley's previously, I'm not used to this, so I felt I had to do something ???

[macmac]

The key to plugs is, replace if necessary. There is no sound reason to replace these before atleast 15,000 miles if that... Not unless you toasted them with a overly lean MIX anyway.

These days it isn't uncommon to get 30,000+ out of taken care of plugs..

It is a wise idea to inspect them, add a dob of antiseize to the threads, a very small dob, add dielectric grease !GREASE! to the cable boots etc etc, but you are spending money that would be better sent to me or even Radco for that matter , since he is off his KNEE.. than wasting dollars on new plugs fer not real reason..

(I am joking about sending me anything incase anyone gets the idea I am asking... On the other hand I know Radco is off his leg, and if he ain't he friggin should be!) (probably I am going to get a sound thrashing for saying that from Radco)

The money saved should be put into that new rear tire you are needing pretty soon after 7,500 miles are past, and for GREASE in the swing arm and the steering head, since the factory didn't put any there in the first PLACE!

[Cajunrider]

Thanks for the advise mac. I'm over 8,200 now. Logged in over 550 miles this weekend. The wife and I rode the Mississippi Gulf Coast from Waveland to Biloxi yesterday. Katrina devastated the entire strip. Big beautiful homes gone, only slabs and Live Oak skeletons left behind. Amazing how you only hear the moaning and groaning coming from the New Orleans bunch who didn't have a pot to pee in or a window to throw it out of. I didn't realize that Mississippi was hit as hard as it was because you didn't hear anything from anybody who lost everything. They picked up the pieces and rebuilt their lives without demanding entitlements. Today we rode up to Pass Manchac and had lunch and circled around to Head of Island and Sorrento and then back home. It was a great weekend to ride down here. Couldn't have asked for better weather.

[ringadingh]

Im sure I'll get well over 20,000 miles on my plugs before replacing, I think a lot of guys change them before they really need to. And Gran Torino is a great movie, I really enjoyed it.

[macmac]

terrebonne_nomad
Yeah I know.... I was in that area Oct 06... What a mess... I was east bound from Cal headin to Fla. In Texas the damage started and it didn't stop til I hit the Fla border.

One place we stopped was in Al and they had a blue tarp for where roof was missing. Not good.

I forget what miles I have on my Nad. Its locked up in a enclosed trailer with no battery, and no vinals, as these items are inside, the battery on a tender. Might be 10,000 to 15,000 I just can't recall. Same plugs though.

[Cajunrider]

There are still quite a few blue tarps down here. FEMA nailed up most of them for people with roof damage.

[macmac]

I didn't want to go on OT much... When I was there it was pretty hard to navigate the road, with thing usually slivered full of sharp things and nail in the roads, Big bent metal from rooves i think.. Some of it was hard to tell and it was a few weeks after the storms.

I was about in the I-10 area, so more north, but still plenty of damage to everything. Some houses were much cleaner on a side than on another side of the same house like they were pressure washed, and maybe they were in a way..

I don't know that sort of weather and don't want to. it has been a long time since a hurricane of any merit hit New England... I'll take a 24 inch or more snow storm any time.