running on 2 cylinders HELP!

I think my bike is only running on 2 cylinders. It just started backfiring today, and it is cold outside, i have never noticed it before, everything sounds alright, but i think it is only running on two cylinders, only two pipes are getting hot, the ones that correspond with the second and fourth cylinder are not getting warm. Any imput on fixing this?
Also it is now leaking oil out of the second pipe?
Any Ideas?

ps. This is Mpotter, my other account will not let me post

 

Well, mine is only firing on the two on the right side. Weird because they come from diffrent coils. Any help? Please???

 

I am going to change the spark plugs on mine to start out with, the other chance is that the carbs I figure

Woot told me
I can't remember the order they are in the coil... but I think 2-4 are
related.

First check you're getting spark... while you have the plugs out check the
colour. If 2-4 look very different than 1-3 you've got a big clue.

Oil coming out of the pipe - are you sure it is oil and not really carbon
blackened water? Oil wouldn't tend to come out of the exhaust unless it
was blown in through the exhaust. Oil on the other hand could be dripping
from higher up and running down the outside of the exhaust.

Uneven heating can also be a signal that the carbs aren't balanced. Cold
weather leans out mixtures - maybe it's time for some carb work...

Again start from the begining.

Check the plugs, check you have spark, consider carb sync if you can't
remember when it was last done.

Check carb float bowls for obvious dirt... although at this point I'm not
in carb clean suggestion mode. That could change if you find the bowls
full of garbage.

Woot.

 

As the coils go: 1 & 4 are on the left side coil and 2 & 3 are on the right side coil. Another source of missing associated with cold weather is condensation in the tank. A little Seafoam in the tank will help because it will mix with the water and let it pass on out. This is also a good time for bad plug wires and caps to show themselves. Check the caps by removing them and measuring resistance. Should be around 5 to 8 Ohms. Then check the wire ends before inserting the caps for black carbon which is indicative of weak connection. This can usually be fixed by cutting an inch off of the plug wire.

 

thanks for the help, I am just going to go down the list!

 

Yeh, I found 2 poorly seated caps, I recut and reseated them on the wires and now it runs like a champ.