Spark Plug Replacement - 2010 Fireblade

Help!!!! Spark Plug Replacement

I have been trying to start my 2010 blade for a while now, but it just will not fire up - I've even tried bump starting it but even that didn't work! I've done nothing with the bike for about 4 months, all it has done is sit in the garage gathering dust during the winter bad weather and I suspect I have flooded it because of the weak battery when I tried to start it. I had a 2002 cbr600 with iridium tipped plugs and the same thing happened, so I replaced them and it fired up first time. I have bought new plugs but I realise that getting to the plugs on a blade is nowhere near as easy as the cbr600!

So far I have managed to remove the tank cover and tank, but I have completely lost confidence now that I am faced with the removal of the airbox - jeez it looks complicated! What is the right way to remove the airbox???. Do I need to open it up to where the filter is and then start unscrewing from there too? It looks like the whole airbox is clamped onto the top of the engine by way of jubilee clamps - do I undo these too?

Any help you clever people can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

 

it's straight foirward enough.you've done the hard bit.

1st,unplug the 4 injection connecters on top,mark them 1-4 just in case you forget which 1 goes where,but they fall in the right place anyway.then unplug the single connecter on the right,no need to mark it it willonly fit there.

now,unplug the 4 connectors on the ECU,no need to mark again,the whole loom will just pull back now(there might be 2 crews holding down the retaining strap,if so remove them).

it's all just screws now.

take off top part of airbox,then all screws around middle of main airbox,then the 6 screws holdong in the inlet trumpets.air box is now free to move back (might need to remove the blue plug on the right bottom of airbox,but prob not.you just need to remove the hose from the front of the box which comes out underneath to be able to lift airbox up.

now it's just removing the stick coil plugs (again mark if your not sure 1-4) and stick coils.they can take a good pull,but with a little twist the come out easy enough.

job done.

 

and no theres no jubilee clips to undo,just screws

 

I have had starting issues with my 2008 Blade for years - with mine I think its oil contamination of the plugs - the plugs are fine and last about 30k miles.

If you can face putting it back together try this:

Remove the fuel pump replay from the fuse box, crank the bike without throttle for 30 seconds a few times - you may then need to charge battery up or ideally use jump leads.

Then rest the fuel pump relay onto the connections and with luck it will fire - expect a cloud of smoke when it does fire.

I've had to do the above about 5 times and was told the tip by the AA man who had to come to the house when bike under warranty when it would not start - his verdict on seeing cloud of black / blue smoke 'excessive oil use fouling plugs'

Video of it finally starting using this method

 

Thanks both for your comments, good to know I'm very nearly there! I threw the towel in today when I saw just how many pipes and wiring connectors had to be removed! I did however get the airbox off, so thanks Scooby for the pointers, it was a great help, however I failed to mention that I haven't yet taken any off the side fairing panels off, so when I got the airbox off and then tried to move the rubber dust cover out of the way, I realised that the long air intake tubes need to come out too, so I think I need to take the panels off to get to them! I hadn't bargained for that, so now having to understand how all that comes apart too!

Anyone have any tips on getting the panels off because there seem to be very few fixings, yet it remains firm when they're all out? I'm reluctant to start yanking at it because I'll probably end up busting the plastic!

Thanks.

 

The engine control unit on that bike should have a special mode for starting a flodded engine. See your owners handbook for it.

It is done like this:

Make sure your battery is fully charged. Then turn up throttle to FULL and let the starter cranck the engine for max 10 seconds a time with pauses inbeween to let the starter cool down.

When you attemt to start with FULL throtle, the engine controll unit will turn off fuel injection completely, thereby effectively wenting the cylinders to get rid of excess fuel.

If the engine fires up on the excess fuel during this, simply release the gass. Otherwise try normal start procedure after say 2-3 wenting attempts.

If the engine still does not start - or give any kind of combustion sound - the fault is likely not with the spark plugs, but from something else. Kill switch, fall sensor, stand down switch, fuel supply, ... Apart from flodding, it is not likely that four spark plugs fail simultaneously.

If you still want to dig down to the spark plugs, you can read about all the details in this Do It Yourself article on Valve Clearance Inspection.

... Fred

 

Thanks for all your help chaps, after much dismantling I managed to get the old plugs out and new plugs in and used it as a good opportunity to do a full service! Still wouldn't fire so I folowed the advice of both Alblade and FireBladerDk and it eventually started to cough and splutter. Carried on a few times and along with a big puff of smoke it was evenutually up and running!

Cheers all

 

so is it doing that still with new plugs in there?

if so,theres something not right,be it your battery/loose connection somewhere around the battery area or a dodgey starter motor,butit shouldn't struggle to start and billow out black smoke!!!

 

Sorry for the late response to your question Scooby, got a bit proccupied with rebuilding the bike after a stupid airhead moment on a greasy new rear tyre just 100 yards from home on the last sunny weekend we had - can you remember back that far?!?!? The damage to the bike was heart-breaking and that was at a relatively low speed, I dread to think of the cost if I had got past the end of the road and had started to wind it up! All fixed now though and ready for a trip to the opening round at Brands this Sunday, but an expensive lesson learned!

In answer to your question, no it doesn't do that anymore, it fires up right on the button now. To be perfectly honest, I think all that had happened was that I had flooded it and didn't really have much of a clue about how to clear it! I did the pump relay thing too, so maybe that helped. It needed a service anyway, so at least it's done now.

Cheers for your pointers along the way, it all helped immensely and will know how to deal with this if it happens again in the future

 

I am having a similar problem, bike won’t start, it’s getting petrol and will start after jump stare from car. I have decided to change the plugs. It doesn’t sound to bad a job ,but do I have to remove the side fairings or can it be done from the top?
Thanks mal