Hi Guys... just a quick question.

Looking at the spark plugs below, would this be the reason the engine refuses to start?

You can't tell anything from a photo mate,These plugs are very temperamental,
And to be truthfull if your going to put a pic up it will need to be full on,We would need to see the electrode.

3 of them do look very black on the threads though.

And yes they are full of rubbish haha, IMHO I prefer replacing VFR plugs rather than cleaning them but they are incredibly expensive.

. . . would this be the reason the engine refuses to start?

Definitely!
No Engine will start while it's plugs are on your workbench . . .

Give them a good clean, check the gaps, check they spark strongly (bright white 'dense' spark, not a faint blue 'thin' flash).
Clean the surfaces at the spark gap with a strip of fine (>1000 grit) wet-and-dry paper folded over a 10 thou feeler blade.
De-grease the threads thoroughly, any oil/dirt on them will restrict the current flow.

Even a plug showing a strong spark out of the engine can fail to function properly when fitted though.
Only way to be sure is to try new ones, or a set out of a clean running Engine.
Any mate's Bikes you could 'borrow' a set from?

You've got nothing to loose apart from an couple of hours work to give cleaning a try, defo give them a good wire brush and heat the tips of the electrodes up until there just glowing on a cooker or with a blow torch. I always use a bit of copper grease on the thread of spark plugs.
The only way to be sure tho is by a new set.
Cheers
Ian

Thanks guys, gave them a good clean and managed to get the bike started. Figured the plugs are not at fault looks like one of the intake rubbers is worn and likes to suck air. Plugs here are not cheap. Managed to get a price of R180.00ea which is around 18.50GPB. Seems I will be working the street corner for a few weeks.

Sounds about right, £50 a set here . . . unless anyone on here knows otherwise, before I have to fork out in a couple of weeks?

I bought my lot from amazon..76$/set delivered to nz - so around 38 pounds :-)

You could always buy from http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/ap-m ... m/er9ehix/

I bought from this shop in japan and two years back i bought them for about 12,5E a piece. Cant remember about shipping costs, but it was a lot cheaper than buying them locally. Keep in mind they are iridium.

I know you own a nc30.... it is just an example. Just have a look

DocV400 wrote:Sounds about right, £50 a set here . . . unless anyone on here knows otherwise, before I have to fork out in a couple of weeks?

wow what a rip off, the yen is really weak at the moment, proabbly work out to about 7 quid a pop now. Obviously with shipping and what not youd need to order a fair few to make it worthwhile