Removing carbs

I have a buddies 78 KZ 1000 and can't get the carbs out. I don't see how to move the airbox back any. I have losend the clamps front and rear of the carbs and discconected the cables, pried the carbs back and up but cannot get them to the left or right. I can't rotate them to any way that doesn't hit the boots or frame.
What's the Idiots guide say?

His rear brake M/C is locked solid,too. Any rebuild kits available or any member have a decent setup for sale?

You hafta push the boots from the air box to carbs back into the airbox.not an easy job if they are old and hard.but this will let the carbs go back far enough to slide out of the rubbers then you should be able to take them out either side

This has been discussed (and CUSSED) for years. It depends how hardened the rubber boots between the airbox and carbs are to how difficult carb removal will be. When new the boots are very soft. In this case you can just loosen all the clamps, pull the carbs backwards compressing the boots till the front of the carbs are out of the intake manifold rubbers, then pull the carbs straight up and they will slide up off the intake boots, then pull the carbs out whichever side you choose. If the boots are a little hard, this still works, but the hardened boots will usually press back into the airbox. If the boots are hard as a rock, you have no real choice but to cut or otherwise beat the crap out of them, then buy new ones, because even if you get the carbs off you'll never get them back on. So somewhere between these extremes there is a way to get them off. Remember getting them off is 10 times easier than getting them back on, so if they are hard to get off, you're in for a tremendous time reinstalling

I have never tried this but have been told it works wonders with old boots. I personally love the pods. Makes carb cleaning sooo much easier. I busted my knuckles trying to take that stupid airbox off. What a PITA that was. Three times or more on different bikes.
Getting back to old boots. I heard if you boil them in water that it makes them soft again. I don't know if that really works but it is worth a try unless you like spending your hard earned money on new boots when you could be better off buying the pods.

I have never seen a stock air box, and have therefore never experienced any of these problems. Consider the pods.

The last only stock air box i had i sold to a guy doing a Resto.and replaced it with K&Ns. We were Both happy.

Thanks for the replies, I was getting worried about my lack of skills. The airbox boots seem to have some movement so I will try to push them back in when it's warmer in the day or get the heat gun out. I assume they are just glued to the airbox and can be resealed if I take them out all they way. Are they accessable from inside the airbox with fat American fingers?

Yep, just plan on getting your knuckles scraped up a bit. The boots are just a compression fit, not glue. A lot of people recommend buying new ones, but if you're cheap (like me)I just soak them in almost boiling water for about 10 seconds and that gets them soft enough to put them back on (if your fast enough)

I'd rather spend 4 hours putting on carbs with a stock airbox than use pods. Been through that. They do make carb removal easy though.