Very high idle

ok guys this is what my problem is.... bikes starts with 5000 rpm idle with idle screw all the way out. even with the throttle cable disconnected. already put liquid gasket on the outside and insides of carb boots. with the pods off it what i see is the vacuum diaphrams are sitting down almost all the way and fuel is spitting out around the needle. when i cover the carbs individually with my hand, the idle goes down to 3000 on everyone of them. Please tell me what to look for!! Ask me questions if you need to know anything else

First, I would replace the carb holders... never put goop on the inside as it is likely to be sucked into the engine as it dries and flakes.

Second, take the carbs off. Look at the throttle butterflies. The butterflies MUST all be able to shut completely. Sounds like they are not shutting. Toooooo much air may be getting in when the throttle is shut. If they can completely shut, then the air is getting in some other way. You may have already figured that out since you have attempted to seal your carb holders. Since you have NOW bought new carb holders, the only other thing that can leak that bad is the vacuum plugs or a leak in the emissions hoses connected to the carbs or even the vacuum line to the petcock.

When you CHOKE the carbs by sticking your hand over the intake venturi you are reducing the amount of air getting into the venturis. The excess air is causing the high idle. To recap, it can ONLY be from the throttle butterflies staying ajar slightly (doesn't take much) OR an airleak from the carb holders or vacuum plug areas...

I lean towards the butterflies because usually, if you completely leave one vacuum cap off, it won't cause the idle to go to 5K... maybe 2500 rpms... so it has to be happening on multiple cylinders. The only other thing that can hang the idle is having long carb holder screws interfere with the sync mechanisms and hold the carb's throttle plates open. I have cut off the 5mm screws on my carb holders on my carb test bikes just for this reason... they tend to interfere on BS34s.

I now see why there is only 1 reply here, WG has covered it all!

I agree with wg:P