Dumb Air screw question

I have a 1980 KZ650 LTD.
I took the carbs off to clean and bench sync them. Everything on this bike is stock and I'm pretty sure the carbs are Mikuni VM24SS. I didn't see any air screws so I checked for a pilot screw on the engine side and didn't see one. My Clymer manual says the air screws on 1980 and on were covered with a cap. How should I get the caps off without damaging the screw below it?

Most of the time you just drill them out, but dont use pilot point drill bits or you will be looking for trouble.

yeah I always drill them but be very very very carefull. If you drill through and the drill hits that screw your going to have a bitch of a time getting it to turn. Those screws damage real easy and if the drill hits it your going to ruin the screw driver slot and that is NO FUN!

You can possibly put a buttload of electrical tape on the drill so you don't drill in to far. Ya know what im sayin? Kind of use the tape as a stopper. Start a very small way up the drill. If it doesn't make it all the way through the cap, take the tape off and move it up a tiny bit.

Someone else may know how long that cap is, I don't offhand. I don't want to steer you wrong man so just be REALLY CAREFULL!

I had a homemade 1/8" wide chisel, carefully tapped away until I was able to pry off caps. Worked well, be careful and work slowely. Good luck!

The air screws on your bike are more than 1/8" below the blank plug. Drill a 1/8" hole in the blank plug. Heat the plug a bit with a torch and then it will just pry out easily using a nail or something along those lines. Before drilling, it doesn't hurt to use an automatic center punch or punch a dimple in the center manually.

Thanks for all the advice. I did the small hole and heated it with a torch, they came out no problem at all.