Interceptor 650. Improve the ignition system

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[@davidyendoll5903]

Some years ago I had an ignition problem on a Honda K4 250 twin where the engine would start ok but not accelerate cleanly midrange and unable to hold decent speed above midrange revs . So I replaced the plugs and leads after a timing check . I removed the coils after no change , or not much improvement anyway , to find out what I needed to replace the coils . The coil mounting bolts were found to be corroded up , so I wire brushed the powder like corrosion off the bolts and cleaned the frame threads . With nought to loose I thought I would remount the coil pack and give it a go . Fantastic ! The bike went better than it ever had ! So I now always include cleaning the coil earthing areas as part of a six month service . Using improv ed plugs and leads like James has done is a good idea , but remember that a used bike may have hidden older connections that need to be cleaned and kept clean to allow the new bis to work optimally . Thanks for the videos James

[@internetpolification]

All very good points, thank you! I’m pleased you like the videos, unprofessional as they are….😀

[@RobertWilliams-oy9qk]

Cheers James, appreciate the effort. Ride safe

[@internetpolification]

You too!

[@kennethheldreich6604]

I ordered mine from halfords, cheapest and delivered free, absolutely game changing, 🙂🏍👍🇬🇧

[@rover100bunson]

Good video james,i put iridium plugs in,my biggest gripe is the rev limiter,no bike i ever had had a rev limiter,but this one you overtake and next thing the bike is slowing down right when you dont want it to

[@internetpolification]

I think an engine limiter is to stop people blowing up the engine! Tbh, I wasn’t aware the bike has one…….

[@iancockburn4890]

copper rod is what i used

[@internetpolification]

Yes, that’s a good idea

[@kepa504]

Chinese copy or just cheap online , I trust my dealer.

[@internetpolification]

Bought from a reputable source, I doubt very much they are Chinese copies, in fact

[@waltcrawford6153]

An additional comment, NGK offers 60 degree plug caps would those work better?

[@internetpolification]

I suspect not. The ones I got are bang on, tbh

[@TheBlackbird46]

Hi James,Did the same mod on my gt650 to the Plug Caps,Did it 2 years ago without any problems,My only concern at the time would it interfere with the ECU BUT NO PROBS AFTER 13,000 MLS..........

[@internetpolification]

Thanks! That’s good to know….

[@breadgarlichouse2265]

is the ignition coil on the interceptor dual fire or single fire?

[@internetpolification]

It’s two individual, single fire coils……2.2 ohms. There is no ‘wasted spark’ in the ignition system and each coil fires individually at the correct time

[@waltcrawford6153]

A couple of comments on your ignition video: NGK offers a kit with the iridium plugs and upgraded ignition wires for the 650, the plug wires are red. Is there a reason you didn't use the kit? NGK offers spark plug caps without resistors, if you could buy them that way and save some effort. Any reason why you didn't use them?

[@ruahinesrider]

That kit is good.

[@internetpolification]

I really didn’t fancy red HT leads, tbh. also, I think it’s less expensive. Plus I’ve always done it this way and know that it works well. Does the kit you mentioned include ht caps without resistors then? And are the ht leads silicone with carbon-fibre cores? In what way are they upgraded?

[@ruahinesrider]

I agree about the red colour & decided not to get the kit because of the red & got Iridium spark plugs instead & was going to get leads later.Should be able to find kit on line or eBay just type in NGK spark plug leads for Interceptor & should come up somewhere. All these ideas & videos you do are helping alot of people James. Making your own leads you can choose thickness,current,colour to suit you & your bike as the RE one's are made to a budget.

[@internetpolification]

@@ruahinesrider and better to buy silicone leads with carbon fibre core. I doubt the ones in the kit are like that…

[@gregarnott3856]

G'day James, Can you educate me on what the advantage is of removing the resistor in the cap. Cheers GA

[@internetpolification]

Well, my theory is that an ignition lead/plug needs 5k ohms resistance to stop interference with tv and radio. But just about all modern spark plugs have a built-in resistor of 5k ohms, hence the R in the spark plug code. So the same resistor in the plug caps themselves isn’t really necessary and just doubles up the resistance on each lead unnecessarily. I think that by removing the resistor from the HT caps, there should be more oomph going to the plug which should result in a better spark.

[@gregarnott3856]

@@internetpolification thanks mate

[@internetpolification]

@@gregarnott3856 You’re welcome….people might say it won’t make much difference but I think a total of 10k ohms resistance is just too much!

[@S.teve.]

Did you do a meter resistance check before and after?

[@internetpolification]

Yes, I did, albeit with a cheapo multimeter. I’ll do again and-sit the readings….