Anyone have any tips? I removed the side farings, inner plastic shields inside the upper faring, took out the radiator top & bottom bolts, and was able to get the boots off the plugs, but room is severely limited in there and i'd rather not pay the douchebags at my dealer to change the plugs. They wanted $80 for 4 OEM plugs, so i imagine they want $9784628345 to change them.

Any tips? anyone know a trick to getting these changed? any info would be helpful! thanks!

I haven't changed mine on my 954rr yet, but when I changed them on my f4i (which I assume is fairly similar) I basically had to take the spark plug socket wrench and drop it down in the hole where the spark plug is, the I had to go out and buy a new socket wrench extention b/c there is very little room in there and one of mine was too short and the other too long. So then I snaked the extention back down in there and unscrewed all the plugs. Its a pain in the ass b/c I had to pull the ratchet off, pull the extention out, then the socket wrench and spark plug were still sitting in the engine. I had to go back to the hardware store and buy a nifty little snake magnet(definately a great thing to have around if you ever drop screws or bolts down in the engine) pull the socket out, the use the magnet again to get the plug out. Then you repeat the whole process in reverse with the new plugs.

Over all for how simple it would seem to be, its a reall pain in the ass(unless your asian and have tiny hands)

How many miles do your current plugs have on them? Is there any reason your changing your plugs? You might be able to put it off for a while.

I did mine on the 54 and it was a bitch but it can be done with what you have off. I also heard of someone doing it from the top with the air box off.

I did it the way you have your bike right now.

Yeah the manual says to do it how it is now. i think there are fuel system parts attached to the bottom of the airbox and they dont want you messing with that or something, or so it appears.

Pain in the ass indeed :(

The 954 is easy... The trick is to use the plug wrench that can with the bike... Just lift the take, remove the airbox and BAM... 20 mins tops.. I have not done it on a 1000 but It can not be that hard... screw the dealer don't pay the prices... DL the service manual... and your home free

seriously i agree with ukdave, do it from top, take off your tank and airbox.

Look into NGK spark plugs, general.

i imagine they want $9784628345 to change them.

:rofl3:

It's not too bad doing it from the top. I'm not the best wrench. My mech from the Honda shop stopped by my house a few years ago and showed me. Do what UKDave said.

It looks to me like theres some part of the fuel system attached to the box bottom though ??

I took the top off, i have a manual, as stated - skimmers! lol

I am trying to do it myself, i do have NGK plugs waiting to go in, etc.

I'll check into taking the bottom box off, even though the manual shows it done an entirely different way.

man i changed mine just this past night and i went through the top----the airbox has a few hoses and electrical connections ---so that was easy to remove---just a little time consuming---i could not believe that there were denso's in there---not a big deal but it struck me as odd----i put the imr9c-9h ngk plugs in there---my bike has 8400 on it now and ive had it since may of 02-----man i put a kn air element in the thing w/my erion bolt-on and it ran like poop----because i dont have the pclllusb yet-----so i decided to take the erion off and put the stocker back-on -----and holy smokes i could not believe the response----a kn and stock exhaust---:w00ta:the erion bolt-on with no pc does not fuel as perfectly as this stock and kn setup=---but i will have a pclllusb soon:thumbsup:

and the velocity stacks have the bolts that u cant lose because the have some sort of plastic notches to hold them in----no worries about losing the screws down a throttle body:applause:

man i can see where a dealer would say it takes 2 hours to do the plug change----just to say it did take that long----i did it in less than 45min----i used my honda plug wrench and a craftsman 10mm rachet wrench crhome w/ the switch-----thats right chrome w/ the switch:cheers:

it's a bitch general.......you just have to bear down on those boots. THEY'RE REALLY IN THERE!!!

i went in from the top, but as you're sitting on the bike......the far right and left plug is a bitch because of limited room for the wrench. just be sure to get em all out. i made the "wanna hurry up and get it done mistake" and forgot to get one out and started putting plugs in and realized .......an hour later LOL......the reason i couldn't get that last one threaded :sillyme: :rofl3:

I was able to get the boots off and the plugs loose, now im trying to take them out. maybe i'll just do as some others said and pull up the bottom of the airbox too. the tank is already completely off as i have two - one rashed for trackdays, etc.

ABout K&N - im shiocked you think it runs better with a K&N. extensive testing by many different people/companies shows a decrease in performance using a K&N and that the Honda filter actually flows better.

you;re the first person i know of with a 954 & K&N that has found success. I hear the BMC is the best route, but honda OEM a close second.

ya me too-----just a kn and stock everything else----i believed all the kn put downs myself-----it probably does suck in everyother situation

hell ----my 954 runs way better stock than just a erion bolt-on----that wont be the case with the pc----when ever i feel like throwin down some cash

well the reason i bought the erion bolt-on was the hopes of getting rid of the fueling hiccup at 3grand or whatever----well it did not cure it---but the kn did:applause:---i can definitely tell the difference with stock air filter and pipe .vs. the kn and stock pipe:kickass1:----2nd gear throttles up way easier than it ever did:w00ta:

extensive testing by many different people/companies shows a decrease in performance using a K&N

You're right, General. The stock filter will work much better. That was my experience. Usually, youwouldn't think you'd notice a difference purely due to an air filter. I did. Stock was much better.

Did I say that??? Stock was better????

i cant believe it myself older rr-------but the kn and stock pipe has a serious low end punch that is greater than all stock----did i say that-----better than all stock-----how many people u know has this combo----not many i gaurentee that----but once i get the pc i will probably junk the kn--

Well, I think different bikes have different characterisitics too. I wasn't doubting you Fiddy. Sorry if it came across like that.

hey man i wasnt trying to be a dick either----its all good:thumbsup:

I have a K and N and an Akra bolt-on. It seems that I have a lot of carbon built up on the tip and puffs of dark smoke, grayish blue smoke when I crack the throttle. It seems to have gotten a little better since I have switched to Motul semi-synthetic oil... I don't know if there is a connection. Also, when I am cruising at a constant speed it sounds like popcorn popping. I am getting a PCIII USB so hopefully that will solve all my problems. I am wondering if I need to change my plugs too. I have an 02 954RR bought new in 03 and with 18 000 km on it. Sorry to threadjack.

18k km translates to about , what?, 10k mi?

heck your plugs will last another 15k km if that's the case in my opinion


and yeah that popping is a lean pop and yes the pc is a mild aid but not a fix unless you get it mapped for your motorcycle.

yeah you can try out some maps that are floating around the i-net but none will be 'just' right

i've got a custom map for a full akra evo with a stock filter so just give a hollar if you want me to send it to you to try out.

update: following advice here, i removed the bottom of the airbox and it was about a 15 minute job changing out the plugs, no big deal at all. thanks for the help and advice :)

good deal:thumbsup: