Number of issues, thinking carbs...
 

First time here, been riding my 98 vtr for four seasons now. Anyhoo, the exhaust on my bike smells a bit gassy, also I tend to get a cold cylinder on the front side when the mornings and evenings are pretty cool, she kind of pops when she is cold too, and the spark plugs foul by the end of the season (I replace them every spring). Any thoughts? Thanks much from Fargo, ND!

Oh yeah, and she's a little doggy if I get on her off the line...

Are the plugs carbon fouled or oil fouled. A loss of compression in the cylinder would cause the same issue. Borrow a compression tester from advanced auto, that would be my first step anyway before tearing into the carbs. Not that tearing into the carbs is all that more involved than doing a compression test on the front cylinder, I just don't like tearing into them when I don't need to. I'm always worried about tearing the expensive rubber vacuum boots

Strong spark up front?

Yeah, they I'm sure now that you say it, they are oil fouled...I thought maybe they needed a carb balance or my mix was rich, but compression makes more sense. Maybe I should look at doing head gaskets and rings in the off season...