CFMOTO Spark Plug Service & Gap Reference

Plug Types and Gaps by Model

CFMOTO uses three different plugs across the current range, and the split does not follow model families the way you would expect. The most common mistake is assuming a ZForce takes a ZForce plug — the 800 Trail and the 950 are documented in the same owner's manual and use different plugs at different gaps.

Two patterns are worth internalising. The newer OmniDrive machines — U10 and Z10 — moved to TORCH plugs, so cross-referencing from an older CFMOTO to an NGK equivalent will give you the wrong part. And the CR8EK runs a tighter gap than the DCPR8E, so if you swap plug types you must re-gap rather than fitting them as they come out of the box.

Interval

Inspect at 100 hours, 2,000 miles, or 24 months, whichever comes first, and replace if worn or fouled. In practice, plugs on these engines are cheap enough that replacing rather than inspecting at that interval is a reasonable call, especially on the twins where you are pulling bodywork to reach them anyway.

Reading a Used Plug

The plug is the cheapest diagnostic tool you own. Pull it and look at the insulator nose around the centre electrode.

• Light tan or grey — normal. The engine is running as intended.
• Dry black soot — running rich. Check the air filter first, because a clogged filter is the most common cause and the cheapest fix.
• Oily and wet — oil getting into the combustion chamber, past rings or valve seals. Worth a compression test.
• Chalky white or blistered — running too hot or too lean. Stop riding it hard until you know why; this is the condition that damages pistons.
• Melted or eroded electrode — detonation. Check that you are running 89 octane or higher, which every current CFMOTO requires.

On a twin or a triple, compare all the plugs against each other. One plug that looks different from the rest points at a single cylinder and narrows the problem down immediately.

Fitting a Plug Without Damaging Anything

Blow or brush the debris out of the plug well before you pull the old plug, or it drops straight into the cylinder. Start the new plug by hand and turn it several full rotations by fingers alone — if it does not, stop and back it out, because you are about to cross-thread an aluminium head. Tighten to the torque in your manual rather than by feel; over-torquing distorts the plug and can crack the insulator, and under-torquing lets combustion gases past the seat.

Check the gap with a feeler gauge before fitting, even on a new plug. Plugs get knocked in shipping, and the pre-set gap is not always the one your machine wants — particularly if you are fitting a CR8EK to a machine that came with a DCPR8E.