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Posted by greenbarn
- March 19, 2013, 17:10:52 PMQuote from: John Hopkins on March 19, 2013, 15:11:47 PMI found several places on line that have a universal-type "spanner". I guess I'll either order one or see if Iron Pony has one next time I'm in there. Another option, I wonder what Kaw wants for one, as I need to do some work on my fuel petcock, and I may end up buying OE parts for that, so maybe an "original" Kawa spanner would be "fitting" (pun intended).Over here we have double ended box (plug) spanners at most hardware shops, they are the cheapest spanners we can buy..I drop the correct size over the plug and fit a socket over the top end so that I can torque the plug to the correct 10 ft lbs.
Posted by John Hopkins
- March 19, 2013, 15:11:47 PMQuote from: greenbarn on March 19, 2013, 07:59:36 AMI imagine that the original dealer just picked up a 'Drifter' toolkit and put it with the wrong bike..or a previous owner bought one off ebay without knowing they were different..Hmmm. Didn't think of that.
I see the 1500 takes the DPR6EA-9 plug. No specs on NGK site, but I verified with my parts store that the DPR6EA-9 is indeed an 18mm hex.
So do you suppose this came from factory that way? Like most factory tool kits, I would say this one has never been used.
Does anybody need a plug wrench for a 1500?? I'll trade you for the little one for the 800.....
Over here we have double ended box (plug) spanners at most hardware shops, they are the cheapest spanners we can buy..I drop the correct size over the plug and fit a socket over the top end so that I can torque the plug to the correct 10 ft lbs.
It's too easy to damage the thread on the head..
For spanner read wrench..
John.
Posted by Drift1
- March 19, 2013, 14:40:32 PMThat's not a good sign my good friend.....I'm just saying
Posted by CDNRatMan
- March 19, 2013, 11:26:35 AMGot my tool kit out of the bike last night and forgot why....lol...have to check now once I get home.....
Posted by greenbarn
- March 19, 2013, 07:59:36 AMHmmm. Didn't think of that.
I see the 1500 takes the DPR6EA-9 plug. No specs on NGK site, but I verified with my parts store that the DPR6EA-9 is indeed an 18mm hex. 
So do you suppose this came from factory that way? Like most factory tool kits, I would say this one has never been used.
Does anybody need a plug wrench for a 1500?? I'll trade you for the little one for the 800.....Posted by Troll
- March 18, 2013, 16:47:15 PMSounds like you have the plug socket for a 1500...
Posted by greenbarn
- March 18, 2013, 16:37:45 PMYeah, I've used the rubber hose trick many times. But I prefer just using the plug socket as designed.... only thes plugs are too small to grip the porcelain. The rubber is actually supposed to grip the plug tight to remove / insert the plug. Many cars have the same design, with the plug way way down in the head like the bikes do. Some sockets work better than others....
Quote from: chief on March 18, 2013, 10:00:42 AMThe hex size is a whole different story. The (tool kit) socket I have is 18 mm, but the hex on the CR7E plugs is 16mm (5/8). The tool kit socket (18mm) won't even fit down in the head - it's too big. So since 2002 did NGK change the hex size on the plug (i.e. used to be 18mm)?? But why won't the 18mm socket fit into the head? There is no way this could ever work, regardless of the size of the plug hex???Yeah, what jmbo said... the rubber inside the socket is a "helper" to insert and retrieve the plug. and to help prevent "cocking' the socket and breaking the plug. It doesn't need to fit to insert or remove the plug ... but it certainly helps.
If the socket doesn't fit the hex part... that's a whole different situation. It's 18mm.
Posted by 49Reo
- March 18, 2013, 11:01:16 AMI use a piece of rubber hose to start plugs that are difficult to get started due to their location. It grips it tight enough to keep from dropping it but not so tight you will cross thread and mess up threads.
Posted by chief
- March 18, 2013, 10:00:42 AMYeah, what jmbo said... the rubber inside the socket is a "helper" to insert and retrieve the plug. and to help prevent "cocking' the socket and breaking the plug. It doesn't need to fit to insert or remove the plug ... but it certainly helps. The plug wrench I got from Kawasaki doesn't even have the foam stuff inside. You can always make your own.
If the socket doesn't fit the hex part... that's a whole different situation. It's 18mm.
Posted by jmbo
- March 18, 2013, 08:54:15 AMAre you are taking about gripping the plug porcelain in order to retrieve the plug or start threading the new one? If so then here what I do. I use a trick left over from my Triumph T-bird days. I bought a deep socket from Ace hardware. It had an extremely thin wall so it would fit in the plug recess. Once the plug was loose, I then I used a piece of rubber tubing to slip over the porcelain to retrieve the plug. I use the same tubing to start the new plug. Hope this helps.
Posted by CDNRatMan
- March 17, 2013, 23:57:02 PM0100, just got homeand I'll have to look at mine in the morning to see what it has in there...
Posted by greenbarn
- March 17, 2013, 20:18:54 PMYes, but this plug CR7E, (I think) has too small a diameter on the porcelain for the socket to grip it. I tried two different NEW sockets as well, two different brands. Same thing.
Posted by 49Reo
- March 17, 2013, 19:15:56 PMDoesn't your 5/8" spark plug socket have a rubber insert in it to hold the porcelain? 
Posted by greenbarn
- March 17, 2013, 18:44:17 PMDoing some projects/ maintenance on the 800 and thought I'd change the plugs. No idea how old they are, but I have the tank off (that's a good enough reason to me) and they had some wear. Ok, so I took them out with my 5/8" ( ~16mm) plug socket from my toolbox, but the diameter of the porcelain part of the plug is too small for the socket to grip it properly. So I thouht I'd try out my handy-dandy plug socket in my Drifter tool kit. First thing I noticed was the socket is bigger than the hex dimension on the plug. I measures about 18mm, like it would fit the larger-sized spark plugs. This thing won't even fit into the hole in the top of the head, where the plug goes into.
SO do I have the wrong plug socket in my tool kit??
Does anyone have a socket set-up they carry on the bike? This one obviously won't work if I was stuck along the road....