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So even after cleaning and servicing the spark plug wire caps, I was not happy with my ignition system, still missed a little until the bike was fully warm, idle was not great, etc. Looked around and found a few posts on the site about what coils people used, but not much in the "how to" information was given as well as no pictures, so I figured I would make one for anyone wanting to do the same mod.
First of all, you will need to get ignition coils and the wiring harness from a 2005-2008 Kawasaki ZZR600. I got a set of 4 used ones on ebay for $24. Next you will need 16-14 AWG male spade connectors, I bought insulated ones to help protect from water intrusion. And lastly you will need some 1" PVC or CPVC pipe to make a rigid tube so the new coils don't flop around all over the place.
![52746]()
As far as how long the wire leads need to be, 4" will give plenty of wiggle room with the harness as to not have tension on it, but I cut mine to 4 1/2" just in case of any screw ups. After some trial and error, I cut the 1" PVC into 4 1/8" lengths, as that seemed to put some slight tension on the coil seal, yet still fully seat the coil onto the plug. After cutting the wire leads to your desired length, strip the ends of the wires and crimp on your male spade terminals.
![52747]()
Now if you haven't already, remove the fuel tank, rear grab bar, and side fairings, and remove the 2 stock coils and wires. You don't have to remove or loosen the front fairing, but it does make getting the coils out easier, but since the coils are each held in by 2 10mm bolts that you can access with a wrench without too much effort, I opted not to. Once the old coils are unbolted and disconnected, connect your newly made harnesses to the bikes coil wires. To hook them up, make sure the red wire connects to the red wire, and the other colored wires connect to each other. In my case I wrapped the exposed wires together with electrical tape to protect them and keep them together out of harms way while on the bike.
Pull the spark plugs out and regap them to .031in (OE gap is .025in) if the plugs are newer like mine, if they're not then this would be a good time to put some new plugs in. Now that your plugs are gapped to .031in, your harnesses are connected, and your PVC is cut to desired length, drop the PVC down the spark plug hole, it will fit fairly snug, and then install the coils and connect the coil harnesses to the coils. There should be enough fuel in the carb bowls to fire the bike up for a few seconds to test it, and if there are no problems with its running, then go ahead and put the bike back together. Here are some before and after pictures of the top of the motor:
![52748]()
Above picture is the before, and my bike doesn't have the PAIR system so if yours does it will look a bit different, below picture is the after.
![52749]()
So far I have only taken it for a 30 minute test drive, but from startup I could tell a noticeable difference, and now will never have to service the plug wires.
First of all, you will need to get ignition coils and the wiring harness from a 2005-2008 Kawasaki ZZR600. I got a set of 4 used ones on ebay for $24. Next you will need 16-14 AWG male spade connectors, I bought insulated ones to help protect from water intrusion. And lastly you will need some 1" PVC or CPVC pipe to make a rigid tube so the new coils don't flop around all over the place.
As far as how long the wire leads need to be, 4" will give plenty of wiggle room with the harness as to not have tension on it, but I cut mine to 4 1/2" just in case of any screw ups. After some trial and error, I cut the 1" PVC into 4 1/8" lengths, as that seemed to put some slight tension on the coil seal, yet still fully seat the coil onto the plug. After cutting the wire leads to your desired length, strip the ends of the wires and crimp on your male spade terminals.
Now if you haven't already, remove the fuel tank, rear grab bar, and side fairings, and remove the 2 stock coils and wires. You don't have to remove or loosen the front fairing, but it does make getting the coils out easier, but since the coils are each held in by 2 10mm bolts that you can access with a wrench without too much effort, I opted not to. Once the old coils are unbolted and disconnected, connect your newly made harnesses to the bikes coil wires. To hook them up, make sure the red wire connects to the red wire, and the other colored wires connect to each other. In my case I wrapped the exposed wires together with electrical tape to protect them and keep them together out of harms way while on the bike.
Pull the spark plugs out and regap them to .031in (OE gap is .025in) if the plugs are newer like mine, if they're not then this would be a good time to put some new plugs in. Now that your plugs are gapped to .031in, your harnesses are connected, and your PVC is cut to desired length, drop the PVC down the spark plug hole, it will fit fairly snug, and then install the coils and connect the coil harnesses to the coils. There should be enough fuel in the carb bowls to fire the bike up for a few seconds to test it, and if there are no problems with its running, then go ahead and put the bike back together. Here are some before and after pictures of the top of the motor:
Above picture is the before, and my bike doesn't have the PAIR system so if yours does it will look a bit different, below picture is the after.
So far I have only taken it for a 30 minute test drive, but from startup I could tell a noticeable difference, and now will never have to service the plug wires.
