Hey guys I have a problem I need help with.

On wednesday I started the bike like normal letting it warm up after cleaning and polishing preparing for a quick ride. I pulled out of the driveway and it started sputtering bad. I reached the stop light and it almost shut off on me, needless to say I only went a mile before turning around to go back home. I pulled a spark plug out and noticed oil on it, no doubt the oil fouled the plugs but what I was wondering is even though my 954 has 12,653mi. will the go bad that quick or is it maybe a head gasket? I'm really at a loss on this and will greatly appreciate any help any of you have. Jamie

 

oil fouled plug points to motor issue. but if the oil was on the outside of the plug and on the coil, you have a leaking valve cover gasket. enough oil in the tube can cause a misfire due to the spark going through the oil to ground. if you took out the plug, the oil went down into the engine, so dont be alarmed if you have some smoke out the exhaust for a bit.

 

The oil wasn't on the electrode itself it was around the threads and just above it. I also noticed oil on the blades of the throttle bodies. The plugs looked very worn, but I am worried I might have a motor issue, just not sure how bad yet. It runs fine at idle but if there is any load put on the engine at all it will hesitate and sputter and try to cut off. Thanks for your input man. Jamie

 

I'm happy to report after further investigation that the fuel pressure regulator was the cause of my bike sputtering. The oil I found on the spark plugs were from a small leak in the head cover gasket. I haven't replaced that yet, (but I'm planning on it soon) because it is such a small quantity. Thanks 74demon for pointing me in the right direction. I appreciate all the help I can get. Jamie