Got the bike down to the point where the cams are out, and valves have been checked. I've got proper shims swapped/purchased to be reinstalled and fix the way out of spec readings I was getting, but I'm facing another potential issue in regards to the spark plugs and cylinders. It seems like the bike might be running rich, although that isn't shocking considering it hasn't been properly ridden since last summer if I had to take a guess, and has only had short distance rides since. A mechanically inclined neighbour of mine explained that I'd be best to take what I saw with a grain of salt, due to the bike not being properly ridden, and that it often fouls up plugs a bit that way. Here's what I'm looking at:

https://i.imgur.com/GcA1og1.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/xuufjcd.jpg

Assuming the bike is running rich, what are my options? I've got a carb sync tool which will follow my valve adjustment and re-assembly, and I'm looking at getting new plugs. The PO said that the bike was synced to be slightly rich by the shop, so I'm thinking that the TBs might be running a bit rich IF that is true, and they will need to be balanced out as per the measurement in the service manual. If that isn't the case - where should I look about running rich? The inside of the cylinders was rather dark too, but admittedly I didn't get a very clear look and the bike seems to run like a top otherwise with no crazy gas smell or anything. Carbon buildup to some degree would be normal, and I'm considering cleaning it out with a cylinder cleaner or maybe water sprayed into the intake. With the Hindle pipe, should I eliminate the O2 sensor?

Thanks, guys!

 

Honestly, those plugs look A OK to me. Now I`m no expert but I don`t really know how an injected bike could be synched to run slightly rich as the entire syncing procedure is first off to balance the cylinders with each other, and second doesn`t the Lambda sensor control the mixture in an injected bike?

How old is your battery? From my experience a surprising amount of weird issues around fuel injected bikes, Honda and others, have been the cause of a bad battery. I`d start with replacing that if it hasn`t been done very recently.

 

That's true. With throttle bodies, you could really only alter the amount of air and such that gets in, richening the mixture through a ratio as opposed to quantity. I'm thinking the claim was bogus, and the PO had either lied to me, or been lied to. I'd imagine the fuel pressure regulator, and O2 sensor would be the main deciding factor in regards to how much fuel goes through the bike, and of course the final calculation being determined by the ECU.

The battery seems to be in excellent shape. Very clean, almost like brand new, and seems to hold a strong charge. I have it downstairs right now on a battery tender to maintain it over the winter. No issues with starting, idling, revving, etc. No headlight flicker either - just HIDs which take half a second before they pop on, as they always do to my knowledge. What issues might a bad battery cause me, do you think? The only real thing I was worried about in this case was the spark plug condition, and potential to be running rich.