How to remove sheared spark plug

Q. I have managed to shear off a new spark plug from my 2005 Suzuki GSX-R1000. What are my options for getting it out?
Oz Stephens, email

A. You may well have to lift the cylinder head to get at it, but if it is one of the outside cylinders with clearer access you could treat it like a big bolt and use an EZ-out extractor along with a socket set.

With luck the internals of the plug will have come out, so you have a hole to screw a suitably sized extractor into.

If not, you are going to have to drill a perfectly centred and vertical hole in the plug so the extractor has got something to bite onto. But you have to be so careful that nothing drops into the combustion chamber, and if you have any doubts it will be a head-off job.

The golden rule is that plugs only need to be slightly more than finger-tight. Good luck.