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How do I plug chop a 68!!!

Windmill John

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 4, 2022
Total Posts
446
Total likes
64
Location
East Sussex, England
I’ve done many plug chops on other bikes, but trying to work out how to do it on Dude.

Bearing in mind those of you with a later bike, I have no kill switch and the ignition switch is down below, so how do I pull in the clutch and kill the ignition!

Of course I could kill the ignition, then pull in the clutch, but I do not know the effect on this bike, I don’t want the wheel locking up obviously.

I mean it could be very straightforward and killing the key may just drop power until I pull in the clutch……

See you in hospital….
 
I have a 69. Same thing. It was suggested I rig up a temporary kill switch.
 
What about shifting to neutral and then turning the switch off?

I don't think turning off the motor while moving and in gear does anything too bad to the motor, it's basically engine braking. It's unfortunate that we can't turn off the fuel as easily as we can turn off the spark.
 
I can see the point of a temporary kill switch.

I can’t see engine braking being the same if there is no ignition. I’d rather not try to get to neutral when running in top gear at around 50mph, but appreciate all views.
 
Depending on how fast you’re going, downshifting through lower gears at speed may not be a good idea, even with the clutch held in. Just reach down, turn the key off, and then pull the clutch in. Nothing bad will happen as long as you’re moving along at a good clip in an upper gear.
 
That’s what I’m hoping. If I’m travelling at 50 plus, switching off the ignition in fifth gear will, hopefully, still allow wheel rotation whilst I pull in the clutch. At a lower speed in a lower gear it could cause lock up.
Straight line, dry conditions, what could go wrong………
 
No worries at any speed IF you pull the clutch however I would bring it up to speed, select neutral and then switch off. Then it's just coast of brake to a stop.
 
The problem with switch off/pull clutch sequence is that the engine will still pull fuel as it coasts down. Plug read will not be accurate.

Add a kill switch. You want to be able to kill ignition and disengage clutch at the same instant.
 
You're spot on Twin Town, that is the plan. Getting to neutral cannot count as the fuel to the plugs will be different.

In the past on other bikes, it is clutch and ignition at the exact same time to get an accurate plug reading.

Short of fitting a kill switch, I’ll have to go for killing the ignition and then clutch as quick as I can. As you say, not the most accurate but….
 
Back the idle stop screws out 2-3 complete turns so the engine will die when you close the throttle ( keep track of how much, to return the idle settings later). Then all you have to do, to do the chop, is close the throttle and pull in the clutch, the engine will die as you coast to a stop . A lot safer than fishing around for the key at 50 miles an hour.
 
I’ve done it now, but the only issue with what you say is that it will give an incorrect reading, it will show as rich. I need that instant reading.
I hope you don’t feel insulted, not my intention.


Added:

Ahh, I misread your post, I read it as the air mixture screw rather than the throttle stop; got excited!
I still feel that will give a different plug result, but it probably would have worked. Your way was probably like mine, both giving a slight delay to the actual reading.
 
It would be pretty simple to find a cheap toggle switch, attach 2 wires to it with 2 female connectors (or a duplex female) on one wire and one male bullet connector on the other (I'm sure you have some pieces of old wiring harness lying around) and put it inline with the black wire that feeds the coils. Make the wires long enough to reach up to the handlebars and zip tie it to the bars near the throttle, then you could pull the clutch and flip the toggle switch as a kill switch, eliminating the engine from firing any fuel other than the rev range you want to check. Keep the clutch in after the engine is off and coast to a stop, downshift at the appropriate speed as you slow down.
 
Thanks ancientdad, I think a kill switch could be something for the future. The chop went well. Today introduced a new feature! More on that under Controls!
 
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