What Spark Plugs Should I Use on my Motorcycle? Iridium Type?

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Motorcycle Spark Plugs/Main Topic:

Based on a comment on our YouTube Channel
Username: Sokodad

I noticed last night previous owner had put champion plugs in it. Several people, couple forums, & dealer suggested going back to factory Harley plugs because they are built with some anti knock feature or something like that. What's your opinion on my plug situation. Wife & I are doing a four state road trip and I'm trying to avoid problems.

There is a lot of information out on the internet about motorcycle spark plugs and much of it is confusing or contradicting. Oscar is in the studio on this episode and really breaks the facts down for you, so you can make an educated decision the next time your motorcycle requires new spark plugs. We are regular day to day hardcore bikers and want to find out what really matters & what is fluff with motorcycle spark plugs.

Consider using our AMAZON AFFILIATE LINK to purchase NGK Iridium Spark Plugs for your motorcycle if you find this free blog and podcast useful. There is a great selection of motorcycle spark plugs on Amazon at good prices.

The stock Harley Davidson plugs are a bit cheaper than the aftermarket NGK Iridium plugs or other aftermarket spark plug brands. Knowing that factory spark plugs on newer Harley Davidson motorcycle's under normal operating conditions only need to be changed out every 30,000 miles or so is something to take into account. The iridium plugs claim they can last even longer than that.

We have noticed slight differences when using NGK Iridium spark plugs over stock Harley Davidson spark plugs, such as faster engine start up. The bike we used is Oscar's 2012 Harley Davidson Ultra Limited with a Power Commender V installed, which can make your engine start slower. In our tests the iridium plugs reversed that slow start some.

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You really need to listen in on this podcast episode for further detailed information & facts about motorcycle spark plugs and what's right for you. At the end of the day it only costs you an extra $10 or so every 30,000 miles to use iridium aftermarket spark plugs instead of stock Harley Davidson plugs. Our tests were done for the regular biker out there on the road, not in a racing environment of course.

There are an array of claims out there on how bad ass one motorcycle spark plug is over the other and that may be true for professional racers etc. But, for the average every day biker it will be hard to say whether you notice any significant difference at all, which was our experience.

But for the extra $10 I will be upgrading my stock Harley spark plugs to NGK Iridium. If I get quicker engine starts at minimum, then heck it was worth it I guess. And you might notice other benefits too, so I think it is worth at least try.

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Darwin Cheng of Irvine, CA

As a rider new to the Harley community, you guys truly made me feel welcomed to the kickass lifestyle of a Harley owner. Your videos are awesome, and your podcasts are hilarious and informative. Even with a tight budget and three kids to feed, I donated and will keep donating.

This is how your podcasts and website have helped me this year since I got my 2014 FLHXS vivid black stock pipes (for now).

Didn't know about all the Harley recalls and updates, but for your YouTube video on the recall and the Boom Box updates.

Was going to screw myself by buying a VH FP3 and flash my ECM, but for your EFI podcast. Now, I feel better with buying a PCV with a stock map and NOT flash my ECM.

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Email 2

John Sanchez

I had some SE street cannons slip ons put on 14 street glide n it sounds good..but to me it sounds like the left pipe is louder than right. I notice it more when I give it throttle in my driveway..is this normal?? Is it just me?? Can I fix at home?

Oscar answers this question, so listen in.

Email 3

Butch Sheely of Winchester, Kentucky

Ryan, your videos are very good and informative, I just installed a V&H exhaust system and air cleaner on my bike, and got the fuelpak FP3, the instructions seem to be simple, but after I flashed the ECM, I took it for a ride, when I decelerate it would pop & back fire. I didn't know if that was normal, but I didn't like that popping and backfiring. I am doing a autotune on it now and going to put on about 300 miles this weekend. I was wondering if you had any insight on this system or not. I would like any information you have on it.

Oscar and I weigh in on this and get into detail, so listen in.

If this information and that contained in the podcast, please consider using our Amazon Affiliate Link to purchase any EFI tuners for your motorcycle.

We have a full Podcast Episode #34 covering in depth EFI tuners and what is right for you.

Email 4

Mark David Seimetz of North Lawrence, Ohio

Great video on the general service of the HD SG… I do not consider myself handy with the wrenches at all but with your help and video I have the confidence to change the fluids on my own! Thank you! Can you provide any info on the safety checks? Such as any grease fittings or belts that may need attention? I'm sorry if this info has been covered previously. Thank you again for your time and service to your town and state…

My response:

There is one grease fitting that you can service, which is for the steering head bearings. You should check your final belt drive tension, brakes, tires, fluids etc. on every service. The free video you watched is very popular. We have a more thorough and better done for purchase maintenance video if you are interested. In that video we go over the belt and other checks: https://www.lawabidingbiker.com/2014harleymaintenance. Many that watch the free video on YouTube also get this video and learn even more. Our for purchase videos stream just like a YouTube video upon purchase. You can watch it as many times as you like for life on any device that has internet access.

Here is a link to all our free videos that may be of use to you: https://www.lawabidingbiker.com/freevideos

Here is a link to some useful for purchase videos: https://www.lawabidingbiker.com/buyvideos

Email 5

Doug of Cape Coral, FL

I'm a little confused from the video for the oil change, primary, and transmission. in the video you say use 6 qut. 20-50 oil for all 3, but wouldn't you use transmission fluid for the trans. I'm a new bike owner so i want to make sure I'm right………great job your doing on those videos maybe i should go back and watch again maybe i missed something about the 3.

My response:

You can use the same oil in all three holes if using synthetic. So, same oil for engine, primary, and trans. That is why we suggest using synthetic. I suggest you listen to Law Abiding Biker Podcast Episode #26 where we cover this topic in depth. Go here ==> http://lawabidingbiker.com/26

Voicemail

Jim from Western, Kentucky
Left message via Podcast Listener Line at (509) 731-3548
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He asks about getting better or worse gas mileage on his Harley Davidson depending on which service station he buys gas at? This is an interesting topic, so make sure to listen in and find out if this is true and if it effects you.

Woody Henderson says

November 18, 2014 at 6:48 pm

Hey Guys,

Really enjoyed this episode. Also, due to the informative videos (purchased the one on servicing) I am now conducting all my own servicing, installs etc… I wanted to comment on the portion of the podcast where you discussed the V&H FP3. As a correction, the FP3 does allow for Auto Tuning. I purchased the FP3 along with a Roland Sands Blunt Air Cleaner and the V&H 2-1 Pro Pipe and installed all three on to my 2015 Road Glide. The FP3 automatically marries up to the bike. After selecting the appropriate exhaust I downloaded the suggested map. I was very happy with the increase in performance, no decile pop. The only thing that I noted that I felt needed an increase in performance was my throttle response. This was easily fixed by increasing the Throttle Progressivity. The FP3 allows for 5 different levels of throttle response. I choose the second to the highest setting and now the throttle is extremely responsive with zero issues to report no that I corrected that. Last, you can and I did run the Auto Tune feature. Unlike some auto tuners where the tuning is being completed on the fly, the FP3 allows you to run auto tune on your existing map. While riding the FP3 will monitor and adjust and fine tune the cells according to the variety of riding completed. In fact there is a visual page that shows the different cells transitioning from yellow to green in color as the fuelpak fine tunes the map. Once you are satisfied with the adjustment made you then download the corrections onto the map. I have completed this a few time now on my current map and I must say I am extremely impressed with the overall performance of my bike now. It is a night and day change and for me the FP3 has been a awesome product. Last, you can, if you understand mapping, go in and make custom adjustments. This is one area that I am not familiar with so at this point I have chosen not to experiment in this area. Hopefully V&H will come through and provide you guys with a Fuelpak FP3 for test and evaluation purposes. I would love to see you guys do a review on it. Thanks again for all the great work. I love the podcast and always look forward to new episodes.

Thanks,

Woody

Comments

Rolando says

November 17, 2014 at 9:52 pm

hi! I have a 2014 street glide I was planning to change my handlebars with 13″ ape hanger. And also changing the clutch and brakes with ABS cables with stainless steel. Do I have change the abs cable? or optional? Sorry for my grammar lol
Thank you!

- Ryan Urlacher says
  
  November 18, 2014 at 7:40 pm
  
  Hey Rolando. Just want to make sure I understand the question brother. Are you changing your brake and clutch cable to stainless? Are you installing the ABS brake system on your bike?
  
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Woody Henderson says

November 18, 2014 at 6:48 pm

Hey Guys,

Really enjoyed this episode. Also, due to the informative videos (purchased the one on servicing) I am now conducting all my own servicing, installs etc… I wanted to comment on the portion of the podcast where you discussed the V&H FP3. As a correction, the FP3 does allow for Auto Tuning. I purchased the FP3 along with a Roland Sands Blunt Air Cleaner and the V&H 2-1 Pro Pipe and installed all three on to my 2015 Road Glide. The FP3 automatically marries up to the bike. After selecting the appropriate exhaust I downloaded the suggested map. I was very happy with the increase in performance, no decile pop. The only thing that I noted that I felt needed an increase in performance was my throttle response. This was easily fixed by increasing the Throttle Progressivity. The FP3 allows for 5 different levels of throttle response. I choose the second to the highest setting and now the throttle is extremely responsive with zero issues to report no that I corrected that. Last, you can and I did run the Auto Tune feature. Unlike some auto tuners where the tuning is being completed on the fly, the FP3 allows you to run auto tune on your existing map. While riding the FP3 will monitor and adjust and fine tune the cells according to the variety of riding completed. In fact there is a visual page that shows the different cells transitioning from yellow to green in color as the fuelpak fine tunes the map. Once you are satisfied with the adjustment made you then download the corrections onto the map. I have completed this a few time now on my current map and I must say I am extremely impressed with the overall performance of my bike now. It is a night and day change and for me the FP3 has been a awesome product. Last, you can, if you understand mapping, go in and make custom adjustments. This is one area that I am not familiar with so at this point I have chosen not to experiment in this area. Hopefully V&H will come through and provide you guys with a Fuelpak FP3 for test and evaluation purposes. I would love to see you guys do a review on it. Thanks again for all the great work. I love the podcast and always look forward to new episodes.

Thanks,

Woody

- Ryan Urlacher says
  
  November 18, 2014 at 7:32 pm
  
  Great info Woody and thank you for sharing brother. We need to dive deeper into that for sure then. Did you ever use the Power Commander V and auto tuner? I was wondering it you had a comparison? If not we will be doing that in time.
  
  Thanks again for your support and being involved.
  
  - Woody Henderson says
    
    November 18, 2014 at 7:48 pm
    
    Hey Ryan,
    
    I did research the Power Commander including the Auto Tuner (per your podcast) but I was able to purchase the FP3 for $350 dollars. I felt at that price I wanted to give it a shot. I really like the fact that I can bluetooth it to my iPhone rather than having to use a computer. Also, I don’t have any plans to build my engine any further than stock so 18mm wide O2 sensors were not a needed consideration for the future. I do have a friend that was looking at the Power Commander setup. I informed him today of the Dynojet Power Vision. We’ll see if he goes with that instead. If so, I will let you know how things workout with it. We’re both kinda techy and always looking for the new gadget, another big reason that I had to try out the FP3.
    
Linda A. Smith says

December 11, 2018 at 3:57 am

Hey Ryan, thanks for sharing such an informative article.I didn’t know the differences of the spark plug before. Your article helps me to know that. Keep posting this type of articles to help us in this way. Good wishes for you.. 🙂

- Ryan Urlacher says
  
  December 13, 2018 at 4:24 pm
  
  U betcha! If you want even more detail on this and much more, check out our weekly podcast!! We get really in depth. ==> https://www.lawabidingbiker.com/app