After experiencing some recent pinging and detonation issues, I decided to pull the carbs and clean them.

Someone put a "Factory" sticker on the airbox on my 97', but I've noticed that it has always ran flat around the 5K mark. When I bought the bike a year ago, it was fully piped (Yoshi), with a K&N filter and what I was told to be a Factory jet kit installed. Upon pulling the carbs, I noted that the foam breather had deteriorated and the carbs had sucked some of the foam back into them, a small piece was up in between the diaphram cap and the bladder. Upon flipping the carbs, it appears that the pilot adjustment screws has the stock tamper plugs still on them. I could also see that the tamper paint on the float bowls & bolts appears to never have been disturbed, not to mention the pilot screws. You would have to adjust these with a jet kit, no?.... Hmm. One would think that with a full exhaust and K&N the stock bike would be hesitating like hell... but it is somewhat boggy in the midrange, and loses a bit of punch at the topside.

So the question is, how do I identify that a Factory jet kit is indeed installed? Anything in particular to look for?

PS how do you get the freaking needles out of the slides

The pilot screws don't have caps on them. They are shaped like tiny letter D's.

Pull off the top of the vac. chamber (4 screws) and then screw one into the post and pull out the needle. If the needle has 5 step positions on it with an E clip it has a jet kit. If only one position it's stock.

Get or download the manual, It's invaluable.

IIRC the slides will be drilled as well.

Thanks. The kit is indeed installed, the needles are on the second clip from the bottom, and there is a single small washer under them. I wonder if it's a shim or by default. The slide has two small holes, one through the bottom wedge and another off-center from the needle, and it's fairly small.

The one washer is there from the factory.

It's time to start tuning.