My bike just started running very bad at Idle

I have a 2003 r1. This year my bike started running rough and missing. At first I started my bike and It was running rough and did not want to idle. After I rode it it cleared up. The next time I rode it, it started missing and backfiring and dieing at idle. I figured the spark plugs were fouled so I remove the plugs and I was right the plugs were black and wet. I changed the plugs and the bike ran like new for the first day. Then it started running bad again. It smelled very rich. I removed the new plugs and they were already black and wet. I was wondering if anyone has had this problem? If so I could really use some help. I was wondering if there might be a bad sensor or something simple that might be causing this problem. I hope someone can give me some advise. Thanks Joe

Joe, I had similar problem. . . and I checked all sorts of stuff (plugs, coils, air filter, PCIIIUSB, some sensors and wiring, and more) before I just adjusted the idle speed itself. . .instantly fixed the problem. . .I was super PO'd at myself. . .I couldn't believe that I wasted all that time checking a bunch of misc. stuff and it was as easy as adjusting the idle and that thought hadn't even crossed my mind for some reason. . .so I would suggest adjusting your idle before you try anything else. Oh and out of curiosity how are the plugs wet? You say black and wet. . .are they sooty and wet? or are they oily? How many miles on the engine?

wheres the idle screw at.. still cant find it.. 00 r1

On the left hand side of the bike (if you were sitting on it) look where the gear slector shaft attaches to the shaft that controls the shift fork. . .attached to that small engine cover (it will be a block cover. . .the rest of the engine in the area is bare metal) is a small metal bracket that holds the idle adjusting screw. . .you don't need a screwdriver or anything it has a knurled plastic knob just twist it while the bike is idling to adjust the idle to the desired RPM. . .easy as cake!!! Hope that fixes the problem for you!!!

Thank you for the tip about the idle adjustment. I have not tried that yet. I thought about it but I figured that I never messed with the idle adjustment so it can't be the problem, but I will try it anyway. You asked me about my spark plugs. My spark plugs are black and sooty. The spark plugs were another reason why I thought that my bike had other issues. From the looks of the spark plugs I would guess that the bike is running rich. I will let you know what I find out. Once again Thanks for the help! Joe

you might also want to try to run some fuel injector cleaner through it. I had a similar issue and did this while also changing plugs/coils/air filter. It cleared right up.