I took my plugs out today and all four are covered in oil on the thread. the tip where it sparks looks fine but the rest of it on all 4 were dripping in the black stuff. from the thread up to the washers...
I'm no way an expert but this aint a good thing is it...

i have done a search and it looks like it could be caused by a number of things,
the bike doesn't smoke, it starts first time everytime with no drama's, ticks over lovely and it pulls like a train when out on the road,
am i right in thinking it could be anything from simply running too rich to something very complicated (for novice) valve stem seals and piston rings
i wanted to ask what should i check first and the process of eliminating the causes..

I would say a bit of oil is normal. Swimming in it not so cool, but certainly not ragnarok time and the end of the world.

would this be classed as swiming?
or normal

no, don't reckon so. Pretty scabby, but not impending engine failure..

When were they last changed? Were they torqued up properly when last fitted?

A small amount of oil needs to pass the valve stem seals and oil control ring to lubricate valves and piston.
On combustion it has no where else to go really.
Excessive oil will be blown out of the exhaust as smoke on the exhaust stroke, but if the plug contacts are not contaminated and the is no excessive smoke or oil consumption, I would say that it indicates nothing.
I have seen many plugs like that one, and ignore it if no indications of engine wear.

If 1 was a lot worse than the rest, I might investigate, as it would indicate some problem but not if all the same.

Considering the recent claims of 120,000km, engine wear is the last thing I worry about, even the NC 30 from Hell has done 122,000km

Dave.

not sure when they wre last changed or if torqued properly as they was in the bike when i bought it last september..

Mate it looks to me like your valve cover gaskets have gone thats all, If the plug tip is clean but the bit above the threads is oiled it could just be oil running down the plug tunnels. I would say you just need to get new rocker/valve cover gaskets and touque them correctly.
I know this as I drive a Vauxhall with an ECO-TEC engine...........
it looked exactly the same.

so differences of opinion then??
leave it and sort it.

if there are things i am able to fix myself to sort it out then i will do, but if it isnt gonna kill the bike through the summer i'll leave it be rather than take it to a garage

if it was your valve cover gaskets then even a child could replace them...

I take it that you removed them to replace them? If so clean them up, put them back in and run the engine for a couple of days. You can then remove them and check to see if it's happening over a short period of time or longer.
It seems to be fine as it runs without any smoke. Have you monitored oil levels since you had it? is it going down at all over a period of time that you have to top it up regularly?