[PanteraBOy]

I have a 2001 pantera 580 efi with only 100 miles on it..I didn't get in much last year

I noticed 3 times when  checking plugs that they were fouled. (black and wet) I want to know if this could be a serious condition or is this normal for a new sled. Will fouling subside after heavy use this season

Heheheh.

 

[zr580s rule]

i'd say just run it in the ideal conditions 30 degrees and below and check those plugs after you run it hard for a while

 

[arcticman]

Run a couple tanks of fuel through it first , get it good & broke in before ya look for a problem,  the EFI's to me seem to lean towards the rich side, & the oil pumps like to go out of adjustment too , if the problem exists after a a few hunderd miles & like said ,you've ran in descent conditions , have dealer make some adjustments.

 

[mopar4u]

make sure your running the right plugs.  Probably br9eya??

 

[KSZRT]

One more commonly overlooked item is to re-adjust the oil pump cable setting.

 

[Mr Siv]

if you do alot of slow riding in warmer weather, the plugs will foul easly. ya have to get on it occasonly.

- Jason

 

[dgrasser]

My 2000 600 ZL EFI and my 2001 500 ZL EFI seem to both have problems with fouling.
I am particularly disappointed with the 600 because it uses a quart of oil in only 40 miles!!!
I took it to the dealer twice and he said that the calibration marks under the linkage near the oil pump is right on and would not adjust for fear of leaning out too much and burning up the engine.
If the calibration is on, then that must mean that it was setup wrong at the factory, or the oil pump is defective.
I really need to get it leaned out because it is fouling plugs, reducing performance, and no one wants to follow me because of all the smoke.
Any suggestions out there?

 

[Golsovia]

I don't trust the appearance of a plug unless I've just run the engine under load for at least 5 minutes in the 5000-7000 rpm range immediately before shutting it down. That means no idling or putzing around, just drive to a stop, kill it, and check the plugs. I normally put 3500-4000 miles on my main rig in a season and change the plugs as a matter of principal rather than need. It seems to me that an engine which is running (and run) properly shouldn't be having alot of trouble with plugs.

 

[dgrasser]

I just got done adjusting the linkage on my ZL600 EFI and it obviously is not calibrated to the pump.  Adjusted it almost 1/4 inch and it gave me about a 50:1 ratio.  Before this I was using about a quart of oil every 40 miles...Smokin' big time. This was about a 16:1 ratio.

Don't make any adjustments until you figure out your oil consumption.  Find out what the specified gas to oil mixture (ratio) is supposed to be for your sled's oil pump setting (e.g. 50 to 1).

To actually determine how your sled is consuming oil and the gas to oil ratio, do the following:
1) Wait until your oil reservoir gets down a quart or more.
2) Making sure your sled is on a flat and level surface, open the hood and make a mark with a pen or marker on the side of the oil reservoir at the current oil level.
3) Add a quart of oil.
4) Reset your trip odometer to zero.
5) Watch your oil level and when it gets back down to the line you marked, record your trip odometer mileage.  This gives how many miles it took to consume one quart of oil.
6) To determine your gas to oil ratio: divide your gas consumption (e.g. 10 mi./gal) by the oil consumption (e.g. 125 mi./qt. which is also 500 mi./gal).
In this example, 10 mpg gas divided by 500 mpg oil is 1 mi. gas/ 50 mi. oil (fraction), or, the inverse is 50 gal. gas / 1 gal. oil (ratio), or, 50:1.  You are using 1 part oil for every 50 parts of gas.

 

[7c Wanna Be]

That's basically what I do. I save my gas reciepts and keep track of how many gallons of gas I use for a gallon of oil used.I have my zr500 set now for pretty close to 50/1.

 

[jstimac]

Panteraboy, sometimes dealers put  extra oil in the fuel tank of a new sled just to make sure that it doesn't burn down during break in. In fact I think most manufacturers recomend this. I wouldn't worry if I were you.