Posted by Amy on June 08, 2001 at 05:56:48:
I have read a lot on here about Savages backfiring and popping. I've been very surprised by my '97 model which does not backfire at all, since it seems like such a common trait. I had initially been planning to remove the white spacer, but now I'm not sure if I should. I usually stick to the theory of "why fix it if it isn't broken?" However, my husband still thinks that removing the white spacer is a good idea. He thinks the bike is running very lean, to the point where it might almost be harmful to the bike in the long run.
Part of the reason he thinks this is because the previous owners changed the sparkplug for us over the winter (after I'd bought it but before I'd taken it away in the spring.) They gave us the old sparkplug so we'd know what to buy in future, and commented that the sparkplug was broken when they removed it. I believe my husband said the gap was broken, or something to that effect. He thinks it must have been because it was burning so hot from being too lean, and he thinks removing the spacer will improve this.
What do you guys think? Should I remove it or leave it alone? And what would cause a broken sparkplug? (The fellow that removed it really knows what he's doing around bikes, so I don't think he was negligent when he removed it.)
Thanks in advance for your input!
Amy