[scotty7676]

I have an '08 Kaw Ultra LX that is about 1 year 1 month old (bought as a leftover). I hadn't ridden it in over 6 months and had an issue with it bogging, missing, etc. I figured my gas was bad, even though I put stabil in it and filled the tank last Oct. So I started down the path of draining the gas and replacing spark plugs. The gas part went ok, but when I went to pull the plugs, the #1 plug was stuck! And I mean wouldn't budge! The other 3 were ok, but #1 was a bugger to get out. Took lots of time using Penetrating oil and turning, backing, turning, backing, etc. After about 1 hour, I worked it out. It seemed like it had been forced in cross-threaded....these were original factory plugs.... So after getting it out, I replaced all with brand new plugs. But #1 went back in, just as hard as getting it out. Any ideas what is wrong here? Could they have cross threaded it from the factory? Usually I can eyeball it looking sideways when cross-threaded, but it seemed straight as an arrow. Since it's out of warranty, I guess I am screwed as far as getting it fixed for free, but I'd like to make sure it stays reliable as I go out in the Gulf quite often and really don't want to get stranded! Thanks for any advice.

 

[scotty7676]

Well, figured it out finally. The spark plug had backed itself out about 1/8 of an inch which caused it not to fire unless under full throttle. The problem was the bare threads had filled up with carbon not allowing another plug to fully seat. Once I figured out the #1 plug wasn't going in as far as the rest, I said screw it and torqued it down until it was the same depth as the other three. Took it out today and it ran great! Now I just hope the threads aren't messed up too bad. Guess we'll see.