Whats wrong with stock Champion plugs (2015)

[ashman]

I notice on this site most use other plugs other that the stock Champion N7Y plugs, I have had my Norton for over 40 years now and have never had any problems with the Champion plugs, yes they do wear out over time and need replacing and yes I have had one or two fail but for some reason my Norton runs better with the Champions, I have run NGKs, Bosch etc but running other plugs after a week or so my Norton gets a misfire, but I don't when I run the Champion plugs, I have run with points, electronic ingitions and now have been running the Joe Hunt for 6 years now, but since running the Joe Hunt maggie my Champion plugs have been in there for the 6 years and they still look the same as when I first put them in, the only diffrents with the Joe Hunt is the gap is set at 18thu not at 25thu, they have just done over 25,000 miles on these plugs, the Norton starts first kick every time and they haven't miss a beat.
I'm not riding my Norton as much these days, it was a everyday ride till 2 years ago when I brought my new Thruxton but even sitting for a few weeks it still starts first kick every time, so why do poeple think so badly about Champion plugs???
Just intrested to know, thats all.

Ashley

 

[1up3down]

I have never heard anything negative about Champion plugs for our Commandos.

What exactly have you heard and by whom?

I remember my Norton manual specifying Champion N7Y to use. And then later NGK BP7ES.

I use NGK just because they seem to be more available I live.

 

[comnoz]

Some years back, maybe mid 80's Champion had a few issues due to poor workmanship and/or quality control. They ended up with a shaky reputation among some people. [me included]

Champion was re-organized and is a whole new company since then. No problems with their stuff anymore. Jim

 

[ashman]

I haven't heard any negatives about Champion plugs but it seem that most run other brands of plugs here, I have used NGKs BP7ES before but like I say they get a misfire in them after running them for a week or 2, maybe its just my bike that don't like other plugs, who knows.

Ashley

 

[Onder]

I use Champions in my 850 my Trident and my Enfield. They used to be stocked everywhere but not so much now.

 

[ashman]

Some years back, maybe mid 80's Champion had a few issues due to poor workmanship and/or quality control. They ended up with a shaky reputation among some people. [me included]

Champion was re-organized and is a whole new company since then. No problems with their stuff anymore. Jim

Hi Jim

Thats was about the time I had a few plugs fail me, one plug was bad straight out of the box, plus I was having some carbie issues around that time as well, which didn't help.

Ashley

 

[ashman]

I use Champions in my 850 my Trident and my Enfield. They used to be stocked everywhere but not so much now.

Yes they aren't stocked in our range these days but it only takes a day to order them in from my auto store (Repco) and I always order 2 sets, but my last spare set of plugs went to my mate who has never replaced them, but what are mates for he has helped me out over the years

Ashley

 

[motorson]

In the '80s I worked on Hondas. The typical bike ran a 12mm plug and everyone was using NGKs. We used to pull out brand new sets of Denso plugs and throw them away. I don't remember any one ever using Champion or AC in any of the Japanese bikes. Other plugs just didn't seem to cut it in these new hotter running engines. Then the 100,000 mile requirement for cars came up and it seemed to me that Bosch and NGK kind of beat everyone to the punch with platinum and iridium plugs. It has only been recently that I have started to hear good things about Champions from guys who own older bikes and a few car mechanics.

I had a set of Bosch plugs actually spin in their ceramic (in my Norton) about a year ago. A mechanic I work with said he knows that some cars like one brand and others like other brands. I thought it was silly and told one of my Norton buddies about the superstition. He said my coworker was right and I had something to learn.

That is my experience in a nut-shell. I have NGK iridium plugs in my bike right now but I am planning to try some good old Champions soon.
Dan.

 

[dynodave]

From 1973 until 1979 I went to all the SCCA national run offs at ROAD ATLANTA. One of those years I went to a CHAMPION tech seminar at the track. An attendee asked about their cut threads rather than most modern rolled threads.

The silence was deafening....

The discussion ended with "be sure to use antiseeze". The summary was, in aluminum, they corrode much more than rolled threads.
Therefore if you have an old norton with original champion plugs that have never been removed or antiseized and stored in a barn for 15-20 years , you learn to cut them out rather then strip the head by removal with a 2 foot breaker bar......

In use, I find them just fine....

 

[Anonymous]

Hi.
My experience of frequent, early failing Champions was in the 1980's (resolved by using Bosch/NGK). I have not been back since but am heartened to hear that they have improved and may just drink at that well again.
Ta.

 

[Snorton74]

Once you lose a loyal customer due to your cost/corner cutting, it's damn near impossible to get them back. I suspect, that like a lot of former great American brands they went the way of CEO greed and outsourcing...

 

[Danno]

I used to love the N4G plugs for the Commando. Recently, I saw a pack of a dozen NOS N4G plugs on Fleabay. Considered bidding on them and then reselling the majority, but the starting bid was about $12 per.

 

[Biscuit]

Once you lose a loyal customer due to your cost/corner cutting, it's damn near impossible to get them back. I suspect, that like a lot of former great American brands they went the way of CEO greed and outsourcing...[/quote ]

Are NGK and Bosch outsourced or just foreign?

 

[Hobot]

I have had event with Peel in early 2000s that did not start on new Champions for miserable to abusive self opinion reaction of screwing up simple ignition work or bumping some wire loose, did not check all electrical components well & should not be allowed around machinery - until I had to think-feel like Sherlock > after eliminating all the logicals I dug out old plugs for 1 kick start to ride off for NKG brand of plugs. Commandos drive me nutz. Never heard of or had new plug fail prior in anything else.

 

[Snorton74]

Once you lose a loyal customer due to your cost/corner cutting, it's damn near impossible to get them back. I suspect, that like a lot of former great American brands they went the way of CEO greed and outsourcing...[/quote ]

Are NGK and Bosch outsourced or just foreign?

Both.

We used to make lots of quality things in Flint...

 

[dave M]

When I first started racing Champion were the standard that almost everyone used, but like others on here during the 1980s I had numerous bad experiences with them straight out of the box and so I started using other brands and never went back.

There was some discussion on here a few years ago about Autolites being a plug that Commandos ran particularly well on. I have used these ever since and I am very satisfied with them, supposdly because of their ability to run with engines that were a bit on the rich side. I tried these same plugs on a Lamborghini Muira and it wouldn't run well at all, whereas the NGKs that I also tried were much better in this application. It just goes to show that certain plugs work well in certain engines but not in others, at least I got 12 free Autolites to use n my Nortons.

 

[trident sam]

I notice on this site most use other plugs other that the stock Champion N7Y plugs, I have had my Norton for over 40 years now and have never had any problems with the Champion plugs, yes they do wear out over time and need replacing and yes I have had one or two fail but for some reason my Norton runs better with the Champions, I have run NGKs, Bosch etc but running other plugs after a week or so my Norton gets a misfire, but I don't when I run the Champion plugs, I have run with points, electronic ingitions and now have been running the Joe Hunt for 6 years now, but since running the Joe Hunt maggie my Champion plugs have been in there for the 6 years and they still look the same as when I first put them in, the only diffrents with the Joe Hunt is the gap is set at 18thu not at 25thu, they have just done over 25,000 miles on these plugs, the Norton starts first kick every time and they haven't miss a beat.
I'm not riding my Norton as much these days, it was a everyday ride till 2 years ago when I brought my new Thruxton but even sitting for a few weeks it still starts first kick every time, so why do poeple think so badly about Champion plugs???
Just intrested to know, thats all.

Ashley

Yep, my Commandos are the same, they just run better with Champions than with other plugs. As an aside, there used to be a huge Champion factory close to me that made millions of plugs (can't remember the amount but it was absolutely mind boggling), anyhow in my previous life as a fireman, we were required to inspect local factories and the Champion one was the same as most British factories, a mix of ancient manual press type machines , spot welders etc etc, and some bang up to date stuff like 4 or 5 engine test beds that if I remember correctly were 24 hour operated. Sadly now the factory has gone along with most heavy industry.
sam

 

[batrider]

Nothing wrong that I can see. Been using them (N7Y then N7YC then 813) for 40 some years. Try Sparkplugs.com.

Here's a picture and link to some info on the abandoned Champion plant near me.

Now a Superfund EPA clean-up site - http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/npl/PAD002390748.htm

Russ

 

[worntorn]

A few years ago I had a bike with a weak old magneto ignition. Hot starting was terrible and the spark looked quite feeble. I switched out the NGKs for AC plugs and that only made matters worse, if anything. I then tried some used Champions which had been removed from another bike after many miles. To my amazement the spark looked brighter. Hot starting was much better, though still took a few kicks most times.
The long term solution was to fix the mag, however the Champions did give a little fatter spark and helped with the starting problems until the mag was repaired.

Glen

 

[Biscuit]

This is purely an honest question. I'm not disputing anyone's claims here but what can be so different in a standard style spark plug from any manufacturer that would make one brand work fine in one engine but not in another? I'm not talking about defective out of the box plugs or those that completely failed too early in their life, I'm talking about sparkplugs that are up to the manufacture's specs. Seems to me that if a good ignition system is developing 45,000 volts or so, any brand of spark plug will light off and not care what it is screwed into. My own tale involves a 6 cyl TR6 sports car. My friend at the local BAP GEON offered me six free Hitachi spark plugs to try. Car started fine and accelerated well but at steady state low power cruise, herked and jerked all over the place. Would have been interesting to see if those plug would have worked in another application.