NGK plug caps

[mr self destruct]

I'm going to fit a new set of plug caps some time and would rather not pay over £200 for a set, so those of you who use the NGK ones and ride through winter, would you recommend them?
My local dealer obviously only recommends OEM parts and says the cheap ones let water in, seizing the plug in the head. From what I've seen, the NGK caps have much smaller seals so I could well believe it, but does this happen in the real world? Obviously they'd be ok if your Fazer is a summer time toy, but are they fit for regular wet weather use?

[darrsi]

No, he's trying to mug you off.
NGK is a massive brand name, tried and tested by many on here, including myself, and they work just fine, at a fraction of the cost of OEM ones.

[darrsi]

Anyway, how can a cap let water in to sieze the head, that doesn't make sense?

[bandit]

These seem to be popular replacements,


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4x-NGK-Resistor-Spark-Plug-Cap-SD05F-black-8022-/231159766652?hash=item35d2321e7c:g:lRUAAOxyOalTbQFe


or

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NGK-SD05F-R-SD05FR-8238-Straight-Spark-Plug-Cap-4-Pack-Genuine-NGK-Parts/322248430204?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D38661%26meid%3D05576347b6b34fb5a27c0eeb48e16309%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D230915040738

[mr self destruct]

No, he's trying to mug you off.
NGK is a massive brand name, tried and tested by many on here, including myself, and they work just fine, at a fraction of the cost of OEM ones.

I thought that might be the case, a Yamaha dealer is only going to recommend Yamaha parts after all, and like you say NGK isn't a cheap shit brand.


Thing is, I use my bike in all weathers and the seal is visibly bigger on the OEM caps, and I've had problems on cars with plugs seized in the head before so what he said sounded plausible.


I've ordered a set of the NGKs anyway (cheers for the link Bandit), so will fit those with some sealant and see how well they do.

[darrsi]

No, he's trying to mug you off.
NGK is a massive brand name, tried and tested by many on here, including myself, and they work just fine, at a fraction of the cost of OEM ones.

I thought that might be the case, a Yamaha dealer is only going to recommend Yamaha parts after all, and like you say NGK isn't a cheap shit brand.


Thing is, I use my bike in all weathers and the seal is visibly bigger on the OEM caps, and I've had problems on cars with plugs seized in the head before so what he said sounded plausible.


I've ordered a set of the NGKs anyway (cheers for the link Bandit), so will fit those with some sealant and see how well they do.

The seals are tight on the NGK caps.
I use the bike all year round as well, they'll be fine.

[Bretty]

Actually... my bike sits outside in the rain on the sidestand all year round, so rain water does sit around spark plug 3 and it can sit in a puddle of water for weeks at a time. It does corrode and will seize into the head if left. However, I'm not sure there is any cap that would prevent this corrosion.

I don't think any cap prevents water getting around the plug and top of the head. I have the straight NGK's fitted to my bike and they are really good for the money. To get around the issue with corrosion, I actually change and regrease plug 3 every 6months. After 6 months it develops a misfire and it tricky to get out.

But I really don't think the OEM's are any better. Get the NGK's!

[mr self destruct]

Cool cheers guys, I was mulling over getting the Yamaha ones if the caps were the cause of my misfire (but the cheap ones to see if they cure it then get the proper jobbies), but I'll stick with the NGKs as they sound good enough.
I'll also dob a bit of grease on all four plugs to be safe too.

[Bretty]

I made the mistake of reading a suggestion (on another forum??) to seal up the caps with Vaseline. That turned out to be pretty bad advice as it turns out. With the heat it quickly turns to liquid, vapour then smoke! So all I do now is put a little copper slip on the threads.

[daviee]

the seals are to seal the plug cap to the plug not the plug into the cylinder head no plug cap does that ngk make the plugs most use on bikes and their plug caps are fine their jet ski plug caps are the best as they stop any water at all getting into the connection used them on my lc for years never has any problems with water causing miss fires 

[Jules-C]

The rubber seals on the genuine plug caps seal the hole completely and they can fit over the NGK rubber caps

[darrsi]

Cool cheers guys, I was mulling over getting the Yamaha ones if the caps were the cause of my misfire (but the cheap ones to see if they cure it then get the proper jobbies), but I'll stick with the NGKs as they sound good enough.
I'll also dob a bit of grease on all four plugs to be safe too.

You say you have a misfire, you sure you haven't got moisture inside the tank if the bike sits in the rain a lot, and you use it all year round?
I've just cured months of starting woes by putting 99% Isopropyl Alcohol in my tank and it's running absolutely fine now, and starting up first button with no problems at all, no matter what the weather.
I put 400ml in a full tank of fuel, then 300ml in the next 2 full tanks and it's worked wonders. The alcohol binds with any moisture and burns it off as fuel. Otherwise moisture just settles lower than fuel as it doesn't mix with it, hence my starting problems as it was sitting in the carbs after settling over night, or all day while I was working.
5 litres is cheap enough to buy on Ebay, and it won't affect the running of your bike other than the positive effects.

It's kind of standard to spray WD40 around the plug area as well to repel unwanted water.

[mtread]

Does vodka work? 😉

[darrsi]

Does vodka work? 😉

Vodka is only 40% proof.
Isopropyl is 99%, i wouldn't advise drinking it, although Russians would probably give it a go.


Apparently Methylated Spirits works as well, but i've never tried it myself.

[mtread]

Actually you mean 40% abv (alcohol by volume ). 'Proof' is a different scale. I've sipped 95% abv at a distillery. Wouldn't recommend it.....

[darrsi]

Actually you mean 40% abv (alcohol by volume ). 'Proof' is a different scale. I've sipped 95% abv at a distillery. Wouldn't recommend it.....

That must make it 198 proof then if they say you double the abv percentage?
Either way it'll undoubtedly either make you go blind or die.......unless you're Russian, then it'll just warm you up a bit. 

[mtread]

Indeed 😉 It was just a sip as part of the job (hic)

[Dinger1962]

jus bought set of four 8.78 free postage on e bay ngk--

[mr self destruct]

An update:
NGK caps came on the 9th Jan, I had time to fit just one before leaving for work to plug no.1 and it's purred like a fucking kitten ever since.

So today I got round to fitting the others as well as a new fuel filter, so next week when I can get to ride it again it should be perfect so thanks for all your help.

Oh and vodka does work. Well, the bike didn't run any better but after a while I just didn't give a shit. Or remembered I had a bike.

[mtread]

 

[unfazed]

Actually... my bike sits outside in the rain on the sidestand all year round, so rain water does sit around spark plug 3 and it can sit in a puddle of water for weeks at a time. It does corrode and will seize into the head if left. However, I'm not sure there is any cap that would prevent this corrosion.

I don't think any cap prevents water getting around the plug and top of the head. I have the straight NGK's fitted to my bike and they are really good for the money. To get around the issue with corrosion, I actually change and regrease plug 3 every 6months. After 6 months it develops a misfire and it tricky to get out.

But I really don't think the OEM's are any better. Get the NGK's!

Put it on the centre stand and it won't pool the water in no 3.

[bandit]

Or buy a cover.