Oh, the other thing I have changed besides needle clip position...
The idle screw.
Not sure where it should be on the kawasaki, but best engine throttle response is around 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 turns out.
Possibly too small a idle jet?
Who cares.. it runs like a raped ape.
If anyone does try these out, on the '79 head...
Align the carb isolators so they best match the spacing of these carbs.
Upon insertion of the carbs it may seem easier to start with carb 1 or 4 and work the rest in...
don't try it.
it turns into a fight.
angle the intake side down so they are touching the motor, and get the lower edge of the motor side of the carbs to cradle in the bottom of the kawasaki isolators.
With one pull put all 4 in by pulling, and rotating the carbs into place in the same movement.
I gotta say these were actually easier to install than the 750 carbs were. And I was using NEW cb650 carb isolators with those.
It makes it even easier with some type of lube.
Personally I have the off chance of having a tube of Dow Corning "55 O-ring Lubricant".
On the tube it also refers to this stuff as "MOLYKOTE 55 M Grease", "Designed to meet MILG 4343", "contains silicone", "swells rubber for better sealing", and a temp range of "-85 F to 350 F".
Also "not recommended for use as a lubricant on silicone O rings and seals"
In the past with my '73 750 carbs, I have used di-electric grease as a insertion aid.
I know the Dow Corning stuff is made for rubber, and the di-electric grease is supposed to be non-damaging to rubber... but given a choice, i'd go with the Dow Corning stuff any day.
As a side note for cb650c and cb650sc riders(CV head cb650's)...
I have tried insertion using non-CV isolators stock for a '79cb650.
They dropped right in as the stocker CV carbs do.
I have tried putting them on a CV head with the (old) CV carb isolators, and it worked too... just that they were harder to install, since the isolators were stiffer due to age.
I have read that the longer the intake the better the lower rpm torque... not sure if this is true, but the '79 carb isolators are longer, so it may give even more benifit to a CV 650 with them than stockers in low rpm torque.
But thats just from reading, no personal proof there.
l8r