Motorcycle Repair: yamaha- carbon on plugs, 4 quarts, carbon buildup

Question
I have an 1992 virago750, my problem has been carbon buildup on the spark plugs. Others have told me rings,carbs,loss of spark-- I'm afraid to take it to the repair shop knowing that it's a guessing game. Have you had any experance with anything like this? The bike run sluggish on an incline,backfires a little when coming down on the rpm's. I've had no repairs on it other than starter rebuild last year. By the way,how much oil does the crankcase hold.
             Thanks
               STRETCH- BLACKSHEEPM/C
                       KAUFMAN CHAPTER

Answer
Hey Stretch.
 The XV700 holds 4 quarts of oil.  Get the repair manual for it, because you will find a lot of things on the bike that you can fix and/or adjust yourself with the aid of the manual.

 As far as the carbon fouling, you may want to check the carbs.  The needle valve is adjustable and may have slipped out of position.  This happened on the one I used to have and probably happened with yours.

 If you have near to or more than 50,000 miles on the bike, then do the valves and cam chain adjustment as well as the carb synch.

Let me know how it goes.
Good luck.
FALCON