Well time to get in over my head. Any advice to a new guy?
I posted this reply after digging into my own carbs for the first time. Probably a couple nuggets of good info in there:
"There are obviously mixed reviews about carbs being easy or difficult to work on, but as long as you do one at a time (and leave at least one carb intact as a rebuild example) you really can't get into any trouble. Before you start, buy a rebuild kit that includes gaskets and o-rings, I promise you'll rip and/or break some as you take the set apart.
Take your time upon disassembly so as not to damage any of the soft brass parts. Buy a gallon of carb cleaner or Simple Green at home depot and make a 50/50 solution to soak the parts in. Don't soak any rubber parts you want to salvage in the cleaner. The great thing about those genius Japanese engineers is they designed much of these bikes so you can't put parts in the wrong spot. Every piece has it's own place.
While the parts from the first set are soaking, start working on the second set. Keep organized with muffin trays (not my wife's favorite) or something similar. Before reassembly, make sure all the jets are clear of debris by blowing compressed air through the pathways. Those cans of air for cleaning your computer are cheap and work well if you don't have a compressor. The pathways really are the most important component of the cleaning process. They can look clean as a whistle on the surface, but a clogged jet will leave you scratching your head when trying to run the bike.
Adjust your float level carefully to spec and put it all back together with your new gaskets. Spray a bit of WD40 on the inside of the bowls to protect your hard work in the event they end up sitting on the bench for another month or so.
Bench sync the set to ensure that the linkage is engaging each carb evenly. A vacuum sync will probably be a good move after you reassemble the bike.
Good luck with the bike!"
