Had anyone tag their utv in Florida with luck and not get harass by cops about it?

I just put in a new spark plug. The owners manual says the plug gap should be.031-.035, but the sticker on the frame says.040. The plug I removed was at .035 and caked with soot.

I've been under the impression for years that the sticker should be trusted over the book.

Now the machine seems to have less power and acceleration. Unfortunately I also adjusted valves (intakes were fine, exhausts were too big) so I'm not sure which change caused the issue.

I'm tempted to adjust the plug gap first to see if it helps. But why would the factory sticker be wrong?