Due to the cold Fall weather, I have been using the choke a lot more lately. I pulled my plugs yesterday and they have black (rich) deposits on the base. The bike starts and runs fine except maybe a bit of low RPM stutter that I didn't notice before; could be the normal HD odd firing stutter. It runs like a top when going down the Highway.

I hear talk of plug fouling but am unsure when they are truly fouled. Does the bike miss completely or is it more subtle like a low RPM stumble?

The cold weather "choke-on" season lasts a long time here in MN. Are my plugs shot? Am I stuck changing plugs a couple times during cold months or can I ignore the deposits and/or clean them?

 

Understand cold choking but after first crank it up should push the choke back in as far as possible until it stumbles or dies.. or gonna have sooty plugs .. If your bike still needs the choke pulled all the way out when your jugs are warm to the touch of your hand your carb is set too lean.. The colder it gets the denser the air my Bike loves cold weather after a couple mins idle

 

My post may sound like it but I didnt mean to say my bike needs choke to stay running when warm. It's not running too lean. I use as little choke as possible to keep the bike idling but when it's 28 degrees outside in the morning the choke needs to stay at least partially on for a few miles before it's fully warmed up. The result is some soot on the plug base. It doesn't look too bad but I am wondering if there is degrees of fouling.

I'm guessing in Fla the choke is largely unused or briefly at best.

 

Fouled plugs will have soot on the insulator, so the spark will short from the center electrode back inside the plug instead of across the gap to the outer electrode. Result is engine misses badly or won't run at all.

A little soot at the base of the plug (near where the threads are) is normal immediately after a cold start, but usually will burn off when you run the bike at temperature. If you run a lot of short trips, this can build up to the point where it becomes a problem too.

If the black stuff is caked on, the carbon deposit is probably on your cylinder head and valves too, which can cause pinging.

 

Doesn't sound like you are over using the enrichner (choke), If in doubt, though, plugs are cheap, - replace them. I seem to change mine every year -10k anyway.

 

Your plugs are fouled if they are black. Under the right side switch pod, is a ****. This is a throttle lock for warming the engine up. Use the choke when you start for about 30 seconds. Reduce the amount of choke and increase the throttle, use the lock to hold the idle.

 

Your plugs can look black as mudd and not be fouled.
Your plugs can look clean as a whistle and still be fouled.

I fouled many a plug back in my carb days during the colder months.
Sometimes they corrected them selves after 1/2 hour, sometimes the never came back.

To me, the time thing is the easiest way to tell. If it's still sputtering and farting after 1/2 hour of riding without the choke, I slammed another plug in there and lived happily ever after.

I always put the choke back in as far as I could get away with, but every now and then you just plain forget that it's still on, and that's why it's handy to carry a few spares and a wrench.

No Big Deal.

Little hard to do while you are riding. Too long of an idle in your driveway ain't healthy for your bike or your neighbors.
Some warmup, of course. But dangerous to over do on an aircooled motor.
Better to just ride softly til she's happy.