Posted by Jim on June 08, 2001 at 06:31:38:
In Reply to: Backfires, white spacer & broken sparkplug posted by Amy on June 08, 2001 at 05:56:48:
Amy,
i'm from the "if it ain't broke..." school, but you should consider a couple things:
1- Messing with the carb could boost performance (most likely if combined with intake and or exhaust mods) in addition to changing sound (tone and backfires). So there are different reasons (not just backfire) to modify. If you are happy across the board, leave it alone.
UNLESS...
2- Your sparkplug indicates a problem (which we really can't tell from the info you've given us.) If the gap was just set wrong, then that's not a real problem, just replace it with a properly gapped one. If there was mechanical damage (usually caused by the piston hitting the plug), you most likely had the wrong size. Tell us what it looked like- was the ceramic insulator cracked? Had it detonated? Was the contact bent off to one side or mashed down? What color was the plug (black and sooty, black and oily, white ceramic & silver metal with no deposits, slightly tan, etc....). Also remember that there are difefrent heat ranges for sparkplugs.
Bottom line: I'd need to know a little more to make a strong recommendation, but if you are happy with performance (speed, power, mileage, etc...), and there is no mechanical problem, then I'd leave well enough alone!
-KTRSD
-Jim