Spark question. Is it really happening?

[bonjour]

I admit I also had some fouling problems with my right cilinder, because the little choke plate was off the 'get the choke-plate-up thingy' in the carb, so it really fouled the plug.

But later on when I fixed the problem, everything was fine again and the bike ran good.
My intention was that the extra gas was being burned right away, guess I was a little wrong.

Ill clean the plugs too.

But then again, it's a strange thing, with the cap hanging loosely on it, it ran good...

Maybe too much voltage caused it to 'short circuit spark' , somewhere else on the plug ?

Strange indeed, guess it's called character !

[teazer]

A gap in the HT lead means that the voltage has to build before it can jump teh gap. It takes more volts to jump a bigger gap, so what was happening was that with 1/4" gap the voltage did not discharge as usual, but built until it was able to jump that gap and the hotter spark was able to fire the damp plugs.

But it puts a strain on the ignition system so it's not good to use wide gaps all teh time.

[Narly9999]

A gap in the HT lead means that the voltage has to build before it can jump teh gap. It takes more volts to jump a bigger gap, so what was happening was that with 1/4" gap the voltage did not discharge as usual, but built until it was able to jump that gap and the hotter spark was able to fire the damp plugs.

But it puts a strain on the ignition system so it's not good to use wide gaps all teh time.

NOW I KNOW! =-) Thanks Buddy. I was thinking the gap made the spark have more power because it picked up energy jumping through the air or something But NOW WE KNOW! Thanks for the Explination.

[Narly9999]

I have the EXACT same problem with my CB77.

I ran it for 5 minutes orso to work with the spark cap hanging 'loosely' on the plug, then it ran fine and I drove it to work.

What happens if you swap your plugs ?
That way you can easely check if plug is the problem (probably), I can't check it on my bike now because it's not here.

Umm, it was the same. They were both very fouled. Quite interesting! =-)

[Narly9999]

I guess now if we get stuck some place and suspect fouled plugs we know what to do to get her fired UP! if we are lucky... lol She runs so nice now. Can feel the power and revs up so quickly and responsive! Hard to believe it's a 45 year old motor never rebuilt. Since I have things set right, it dosn't seem to smoke anymore either. =-) That's just great!

[bonjour]

My lack of English is bothering me...

So... just to make it clear, make the spark plug gap smaller ?

[Narly9999]

Ummm, I would think not. Plug gap is a specific gap related to physics of the ignition of the fuel. If the plugs are fouling it's a fuel mixture issue or improper gap. Plugs are properly gapped when purchased. See the section on this forum for tuning. It covers tuning the engine to help prevent plug fouling.