Motorcycle Repair: follow up question about my harley, vin number, apraiser

Question
hi mike,you were asking me the color of the  plugs, yes they are covered in carbon ,very black. the vin to the bike is 5e23069h9 ,as i know it is a 78 1/2 1340 shovell head fat bob,for insurance purposes they dont do half years they are calling it a 79.i thought the 5e on the vin was the motor which would mean it was a 1200 but its very obvios that its a 1340 as well as what the apraiser said.

Answer
Acording to your vin number you bike is a 1979 and the 5e stands for FXEF 1200, not a 1340. The only way you can tell the difference in the 1200 and the 1340 is to remove the heads and check the bore.
The black plugs indicate you are fouling plugs. There are several reasons for this. One, if you have points, is that the condenser is bad. You need to do a OHMs test on the coil and plug wires. If they are bad they will cause the problem. Lastly, jet is to big in the carb. If the bike was running fine and this just started then the jet is not the problem. Jets dont get bigger with time.
Good luck and happy riding
Mike