Advice on Spark Plug Wire Replacement - Ducati.ms

Ken · Nov 29th, 2011, 7:54 pm

During my service, I found a damaged vertical right spark plug wire. The Ducati replacement for a single 7mm wire is $81. Is there a better aftermarket replacement set available?

860GT · Nov 29th, 2011, 8:56 pm

EBAY. There are some reasonably priced OEM wires in the motorcycle junk yards. I wish somebody would make a high-performance set of wires for our ST3's.

Desmo_Demon · Nov 29th, 2011, 9:19 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ken

During my service, I found a damaged vertical right spark plug wire. The Ducati replacement for a single 7mm wire is $81. Is there a better aftermarket replacement set available?

I replaced the ones on my Bimota with aftermarket ones. I bought a set of the cut-to-length wires and actually have six spare wires, since I bought 8 of them. The one end is the factory, sealed straight boot about 3"-4" long. They also have a crimp-on style 90-degree boot with them. The ones I have are yellow in color. I believe you can get the twist-on type boot assemblies from any auto parts store for about $4-$6 each. I'll shoot you a PM.

BTW, the coils for most Ducs thread onto the coil. The coil has what looks like a wood screw (pointy and coarse thread) as part of it and you simply thread the wire onto it.

Ken · Nov 29th, 2011, 9:33 pm

My local O'Reillys sells 7mm Copper Core wire for .79 a foot. Does anyone know what the core wire is on a stock Ducati? I could simply do an OHMs test on the wire and compare?

tonered · Nov 29th, 2011, 10:11 pm

For pre-made wires, you have two good choices. Magnacors make a set for about $70 the last time I looked. It is in there downloadable catalog. They are thick, hi-perf wires. 8mm? I believe people prefer these over the other option.

TPO parts makes wires from MSD stock:
https://www.tpoparts.com/cat093/inde...&product_id=43

I bought the TPO set a while ago for my ST. With no other changes, they added about 3mpg.

Have a good one.

mbevans · Nov 29th, 2011, 11:02 pm

Magnacor wires rock!!

I installed a set during my springtime 2011 servicing of my ST4s. I purchased them through one of this sites sponsors. He is a west coast distributor for them.

They are the 8mm blue ones, something like $60.00 for the pair, cut to length.

Quality stuff.....

ptourin · Nov 30th, 2011, 7:01 am

Oh oh - I can see where this is going - it'll be like the audiophiles discussing the mucho-expensivo speaker wire companies vs. just buying real heavy cheap wire - "There's no speaker wire that costs less than $10/foot that has decent sound" and the like ...

Seriously - most of the car and bike wire failures I've seen are from obvious reasons - insulation deteriorates, cracks or gets damaged - a thread-on plug cap gets loose on the wire or has moved around too much so the connection isn't good - etc. Plug cap gets cracked - etc. Maybe part of this thread is where to get very high quality wire for a reasonable price, and who makes good crimped or screw-on caps. More info for the alternative parts section?

I have to say I'm blowing smoke a bit here - I'm new enough to ST's so I don't even know yet what's on the coil end of the plug wires - it's still not too cold to ride yet, I'll know in a month <g>...

tonered · Nov 30th, 2011, 9:07 am

I know what you're saying, but you can hardly argue about a $40 or $60 set when the dealer wants $80 for the shorter of the two wires.

Have a good one.

tonered · Nov 30th, 2011, 9:07 am

I know what you're saying, but you can hardly argue about a $40 or $60 set when the dealer wants $80 for the shorter of the two wires.

Have a good one.

Desmo_Demon · Nov 30th, 2011, 11:06 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ken

My local O'Reillys sells 7mm Copper Core wire for .79 a foot. Does anyone know what the core wire is on a stock Ducati? I could simply do an OHMs test on the wire and compare?

The stock wires from an older Monster (not the 696/1100) are marked 5000 ohms. I've got two spares I don't need laying around.

On one of the Monster forums a few years ago, a guy was suggesting the Accel Superstock 7mm plug wires. They are available in yellow, blue, and red (and maybe others). I actually slapped a pair of them on my Bimota to try out because stock Duc ones (the Monster ones I mention above) would not reach the vertical plug from where the coils are mounted on the bike. I bought a set for a V-8 car for less than $35...so I have six spares.