Replacing the spark plugs

[Soul]

Well, The bike rebuild progesses slowly, but surely. It looks like the spark plugs need to be replaced. I dont have the spark plug removal tool, and its kinda a pain with a socket so far, i havent got the front left one yet. I saw that the superhawk spark plug remover is where its at for this type of thing. Anyone know the best place to pick up one of those? Any websites??

[bfizzle]

A 19mm socket machined to the thinnest wall possible, an extension, and elbo to loosen/tighten and then use a 6" chunk of garden hose to insert and remove the plug.

[Soul]

Well, since bfizzle posted what we did with my bike..that is a working solution, that worked well i may add. I also found in my research that the superhawk spark plug changer (that comes in its toolkit) is supposed to be awesome.
I figure I could post this just so it is archived if someone ever looks later.

[Abquid]

Spark plug removal/installation

I bought the spark plug socket that comes with the toolkit--works great.

http://store.azmusa.com/oemplugwrench.html

[Vtwin650]

yes, the oem plug remover is your best bet
well worth the money!

[isaac]

Hey I'd like to add a clarification to this thread so nobody goes wrong later on.

You can use a standard deep socket to get at all the plugs, but it has to be an 18mm 3/8 drive socket, not 19mm. The 18mm socket will fit slightly loose on there, but not enough to slip or round off the plug.

A 19mm, in my experience, is much too large and will slip. An 11/16" may work as well, because it's about 17.5mm, but it's gonna be tighter than the 18mm. Having the bit of room to flop the socket around is important.

You have to machine the outer casing of the 18mm socket though. Just use a grinding wheel or angle grinder to do it. You have to make it thinner by a millimeter or so all around.

I don't think an 18mm 1/2 drive socket will work, because their bodies are usually a few millimeters thicker than 3/8 drive.

[Doc]

Just get the right tool. $14.43 plus S&H and it is the nuts!

http://www.ronayers.com/browseparts.cfm?searchstring=89216-MJ1-000

[Hordpower]

I don't want to be Captain Obvious here but it also depends what brand spark plugs you have. Some of them are 18mm, some are 5/8", etc. NGK's take an 18mm socket.

[isaac]

I don't want to be Captain Obvious here but it also depends what brand spark plugs you have. Some of them are 18mm, some are 5/8", etc. NGK's take an 18mm socket.

Well since it's a Hawk forum in a thread talking specifically about how to remove spark plugs from Hawks I figured it'd be best to limit the discussion of spark plug socket size to ones that fit on Hawk spark plugs. Unless your bike has some manner of freak plug, it's probably gonna be an 18mm. Both the Autolite 4164 and stock NGKs on mine are the same.

It would have been nicer if them Honda engineers had made 5/8" plugs stock because the socket sure would fit a hell of a lot easier.

[ovlovder]

A honda 18mm spark plug socket works fine, the motion pro thin wall is thicker than my regular 18mm deep wall. I bought a used honda tool kit for, I think, a magna for like $5 on ebay just for the wrench...

[raul507]

I haven't found anything better than the plug socket in my tool kit.

[bradrenea]

I don't want to be Captain Obvious here but it also depends what brand spark plugs you have. Some of them are 18mm, some are 5/8", etc. NGK's take an 18mm socket.

Well since it's a Hawk forum in a thread talking specifically about how to remove spark plugs from Hawks I figured it'd be best to limit the discussion of spark plug socket size to ones that fit on Hawk spark plugs. Unless your bike has some manner of freak plug, it's probably gonna be an 18mm. Both the Autolite 4164 and stock NGKs on mine are the same.

It would have been nicer if them Honda engineers had made 5/8" plugs stock because the socket sure would fit a hell of a lot easier.

I don't remember the brand, but my bike had 5/8 plugs in it when I got it. I took them out and tossed them and THEN went to the parts store and got NGK's. Got home and could not get the new ones in without grinding my socket all to hell. I wish I know what brand those plugs were.

[Doc]

Champion?

[bradrenea]

They may have been, I do remember that they weren't some no name generic plugs. That's about all I could remember, and the trash man had already hauled them off before I realized they were different.

[dagus]

I got my OEM tool-kit plug wrench from servicehonda.com.

Damned if I know how to use it... but I've got it!