EasyRider1 wrote:...How hard is it to rebuild a carb (with one of the kits)?
You might not need a kit. You should just take off the bowls, make sure there's no gunk in there, or old gummed up fuel. All I've ever needed are repacement float valves and bowl gaskets/o-rings, which I've purchased from z1enterprises.com (though my models are different from yours).
Is there anything that would require professional tools/skills?
You'll need metric wrenches eventually, and a set of screwdrivers... and over time you'll find you'll need more stuff, but not right now for this kind of carb work. Maybe a carb balancer, but there have been many descriptions in this forum on how to make one cheaply, or you can spend up to $150 for one.... and a timing light... that should get you started...
My engine runs best with the choke lever just a little bit up, is that bad?...
Yeah... that probably means it is gummed up. I have become a believer in Seafoam fuel additive to get into parts of the carbs where you can't to clean. Maybe when you clean out the bowls and such, get yourself a can of Seafoam (from Autozone or whatever) and run half a can through with a full tank of gas. Of course, you should also follow all the tune-up steps outlined in the manuals, since you probably don't know when they were last done. Assume nothing...
