so i changed the sparkplugs on my f4i and noticed that they were pretty badly burned. the burned part was kinda moist and smelled like fuel.
what do u guys think? is that normal?

 

Pix aren't in sharp focus. Looks to me like possible overheating or light detonation. Any other issues with the bike, like low power, possible head gasket leakage?

 

Yeah, take some better pics and preview them before posting. That'll help us out quite a bit.

I'll wait until better pics are posted b4 saying for sure but they might be fine. As long as there isn't any wearing away of the metal surfaces. If you have a lot of fuel residue it typically means you might be running a bit rich. Too much fuel and not enough air.

A good looking spark plug isn't that dark.

 

i agreed with ike most likely running rich did you change the air filter too???? air fuel mixture off maybe

 

looks a little darker than usual. take pics of top and side. thanks.

 

i already threw them away :/

 

should I change the air filter? it looks pretty clean to me. how do i adjust the air fuel mixture? btw i got a PCIII. thanks!

i'm attaching a sharpened pic of the plugs for u guys.

 

You should change the air filter if it is visably dirty. A filthy filter could cause the engine to run rich. If you have a PCIII then I would recommend taking the bike to a dyno shop and have them tune it correctly. You may have a map installed that is running too rich.

 

When checking the air filter, hold it up to a light source, if you can't see light through it, then it's dirty. You can have a brand new filter next to an old one, but by just looking at it from the top, it can sometimes be difficult to tell which one is which.
+1 on what Mike and Ikes said. Do you ever smell gasoline after the bike's shut off? That could be indicative of an engine running rich. You could also try running a lower octane if you're using the expensive stuff.

 

This thread was bugging me, so I dug out one of my replaced sparkplugs, with 12,000 miles on it. Bottom line: pictures lie.

Your plug looked blued and burned to me along the threaded stem, but mine looks the same in the photo. But it isn't. My plug also looks carboned up and crappy, but again, it isn't. It exhibits the normal gray/brown you'd expect to see coming out of a normally running cylinder.
It does have a little erosion around the base, but it's still a serviceable plug that wasn't in need of replacement.

Live and learn.