How long is the avg Spyder Spark Plug Life?

[ricford]

Thinking of the Summer riding season and looking at the maintenance schedule, spark plugs are on the list. I nonchalantly said, change them. That'll be $350 was the not so chalant answer. It seems the entire front end of the '14 Spyder RT has to come off. 95% of that is labor. Thus the question, how long is the average life of the Spyder spark plug. And how will I know when it's actually time to change? I'm at 42K miles on the odometer.

 

[BajaRon]

This has been debated quite a bit. And as with many subjects, the opinions are all over the map. The only sure opinion is BRP's recommended 28k service interval. I don't agree with all of BRP's service intervals. But I do, generally, agree with this one. However, my opinion is tainted by the fact that I sell a replacement spark plug service kit.

Still, I'd say most will agree that 42k is very likely a good time to get the spark plugs changed. $350.00 is a lot of money when you figure the spark plug kit is less than $30.00. You might check around and see if there is a vendor in your area that might do this for less. I would check with Spyderpops. A 4 hour trek one way. Maybe a bit much unless you could incorporate it into a trip to somewhere. But if he does this service, you could at least get a price comparison.

 

[ARtraveler]

I was told by Spyderpops that one should get about 60K out of a set of sparkplugs. Both my 45K plus machines are now gone and we are starting over. 5K and 15K so far.

 

[KX5062]

Meh, my plugs were toast at 30k on my 2014 RT.

 

[Cobra0478]

I feel for you guys paying the high cost for little things like this just because of the time involved in removing Tupperware.
I am very fortunate in the fact that my oldest son is an ATV mechanic that loves his job, I just buy parts or accessories that I want installed and hand them to him, I stay out of his way unless he asks for help and the job is always did correctly first time every time.
If I buy him a 6 pack or hand him a couple hundred dollars his reply, with a smile is always (thanks dad).

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

This has been debated quite a bit. And as with many subjects, the opinions are all over the map. The only sure opinion is BRP's recommended 28k service interval. I don't agree with all of BRP's service intervals. But I do, generally, agree with this one. However, my opinion is tainted by the fact that I sell a replacement spark plug service kit.

Still, I'd say most will agree that 42k is very likely a good time to get the spark plugs changed. $350.00 is a lot of money when you figure the spark plug kit is less than $30.00. You might check around and see if there is a vendor in your area that might do this for less. I would check with Spyderpops. A 4 hour trek one way. Maybe a bit much unless you could incorporate it into a trip to somewhere. But if he does this service, you could at least get a price comparison.

Ron, I know you sell " iridium plugs " what are the stock plugs ???? ..... thanks ... Mike :thumbup:

 

[Lew L]

Ron, I know you sell " iridium plugs " what are the stock plugs ???? ..... thanks ... Mike :thumbup:

The NGK Spark Plugs - KR8Bi sold by BRP are Iridium type plugs.

. BUT

Ron's kit uses the newer style " IX " NGK plug. I think his kit is a better buy as it includes other necessary items.

Lew L

 

[RudyB]

Thinking of the Summer riding season and looking at the maintenance schedule, spark plugs are on the list. I nonchalantly said, change them. That'll be $350 was the not so chalant answer. It seems the entire front end of the '14 Spyder RT has to come off. 95% of that is labor. Thus the question, how long is the average life of the Spyder spark plug. And how will I know when it's actually time to change? I'm at 42K miles on the odometer.

Depends who you talk to I guess i still have the original plugs 57000 miles

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

The NGK Spark Plugs - KR8Bi sold by BRP are Iridium type plugs.

. BUT

Ron's kit uses the newer style " IX " NGK plug. I think his kit is a better buy as it includes other necessary items.

Lew L

Thanks, what I was looking for was - did BRP use iridium plugs in 2014 .... apparently they did :clap::clap: .... I now have over 57,000 mi on my 2014 RT ..... and I think new plugs are still down the road .... Mike :thumbup:

 

[ricford]

Thanks for the input. I'm going with the 60 K run. Considering I'm putting new Vredestein tires all around, oil change, radiator flush, something else I forgot what but I'll drive out the dealership door $1,200 light and another $350 would hurt. I bought a 7 x 14 Haulmark cargo trailer to give my baby a comfy ride if it quits.

 

[BajaRon]

Again, I think what we are talking about here is the difference between 'It will work' and 'Optimum Performance'. I'd say the Iridium spark plugs might even go 100k if you didn't mind the power loss. You might get slower starts and lower fuel mileage as well. But they aren't going to quit on you like a standard copper plug would. Most of my customers say they weren't really having issues when they changed plugs around 30k. But they did notice faster starts and better throttle response when they installed new plugs. Iridium spark plugs deteriorate at a much slower pace than other spark plugs. It's not easy to detect the changes.

 

[pegasus1300]

That trailer hauls the Spyder very well. I have the same one and also put a small cargo trailer in it as well (Hannigan Europa I).

 

[BertRemington]

$350 is a bargain. I paid 3 hours at $110/hr for 900 mile break-in lubricant change and valve adjustment on my Moto Guzzi. Only the valve covers needed to be removed. I asked what a lubricant change labor would be and was grudgingly quoted 2 hours.

Most people changing the spark plugs said "Oh by the way I removed the frunk at the same time." I didn't remove the frunk but the upper body needed to be lifted and shifted back a few inches to remove the air boxes. Body was easy to do; air boxes not so much.

The reason for purchasing BR's spark plug kit is it includes the thermal paste for the threads and the silicone grease for the seals.

I bought my 2014 RT-S with 77K miles from an intermediate owner (I'm the 3rd) who didn't know the service history so I did a maintenance baseline reset. The spark plugs looked satisfactory and were probably original but I didn't examine them closely for gap wear. Best wishes on your decision.

 

[PMK]

Spark plug wear is no longer about visually inspecting the now exotic metal electrodes, it is about life expectancy of the resistor.

As the resistor wears, it can cause increased load on the coil, resulting in coil failure, or in the case of those running high miles on the plugs, you can cause damage to the coils resulting in decreased spark strength.

All the best whatever mileage you decide to change plugs.

 

[Brainsprain]

I have 53K on my 2017 RT and it runs better now than ever. I do not know the difference in a Spyder spark plug than a car, but I've gotten 90K on a car with iridium plugs. It seems the spyder might do better. Not an expert, just my experience.

 

[Mikey]

Well, if no one's done a tune up on that motor it already has iridium plugs in it from the factory I believe, at least that's what I see on the break down on parts for that bike! So those plugs will last a long time, how long that's up to the plug! Myself I think I would have changed them by now if it was me, but it's just me. Will it go 100,000 miles :dontknow: I guess if you keep an eye on your performance, gas milage and wait till one of those show signs off failing before you make the leap that's up to you, but know that it may put a strain on the rest of your ignition system :dontknow: Check your owner's manual to see what they say!

 

[BajaRon]

I have 53K on my 2017 RT and it runs better now than ever. I do not know the difference in a Spyder spark plug than a car, but I've gotten 90K on a car with iridium plugs. It seems the spyder might do better. Not an expert, just my experience.

An average cruising RPM for a car these days can be 2,000 or less. The average RPM a Spyder cruises at, usually in the 4,000+ range. More than twice the RPM of a car. Add to this that the Spyder is a high performance engine which can suffer more from component degradation than a lower performance engine in the average car. So, we are not talking apples to apples with this comparrison.

The other aspect of Iridium spark plugs is that they deteriorate at a much slower rate than conventional plugs. Which means it is harder to detect.

 

[2dogs]

When I had the spyder tech install my last rear tire at approx 50K, I asked him to install new spark plugs. He said ok, but it's a waste of money and I'll do it if you want me to. He told me my spyder was running just as it should and a spark plug change is not necessary until 70/80K miles unless engine operation indicates such.

 

[jcthorne]

On my personal bike I decided not to change the plugs at 28k and see if performance or idle quality suffered over time. That was years ago and now the bike is at 98k and still running the OEM plugs just fine. My personal opinion on the plugs is that if the bike is ridden all the time and does not set up with bad fuel to foul the plugs, its mostly useless to change them. At this point, I intend to see just how far I can push it. The bike starts quickly, idles smooth and has more performance than most new bikes I test ride.